Suffering from an ankle injury is painful and affects the quality of your everyday life. You may be uncomfortable or, in the worst of circumstances, lose your entire mobility. Depending on the severity of the injury, the recovery time for a sprained ankle is often lengthy.
Ankle sprains are an injury to one or more ligaments in the ankle, usually on the outside of the ankle. Ligaments are the rubber band-like tissue connecting bones to other bones while binding the joints together.
What Causes a Sprained Ankle?
Sprained ankles can happen to anyone. They can happen when you fall or if there is a sudden twist in your step. They can happen while you are playing your favorite sport or wearing a favorite pair of high heels. Mistepping over rocks, curbs, or cracks in the ground can have you on the ground with an ankle injury.
How Do You Know You Have an Ankle Sprain?
The symptoms of an ankle sprain often include:
- Soreness and pain
- Bruising
- Swelling
- Trouble walking
- Stiffness in the joint
The severity of a sprain ranges from mild to severe. It is important to seek treatment if you believe you’ve had an injury, as untreated sprains can leave you with ankle instability. This kind of instability could eventually lead to pain in other areas of your body. You also need to receive treatment for the ankle to heal properly and avoid further injury.
Shockwave Therapy
Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (SWT), commonly known as Shockwave therapy, has been around since the 1990s. It is noninvasive and uses high-energy acoustic waves (shock waves) to deliver a mechanical force to the body’s tissues.
The damaged tissue within the tendons and ligaments receive the impulses of energy, which stimulates stem cells and starts the healing process. These stem cells are special cells that generate healthy cells to replace diseased ones.
Shockwave therapy also stimulates osteoblasts, the cells needed to produce new bones. Fibroblasts, cells found in connective tissue that secrete collagen proteins that help maintain the structure of tissue, are also stimulated, which provides healing in the connective tissue. This process also increases the blood supply in the surrounding soft tissues, which helps with healing. Podiatrists often pair this treatment with physiotherapy for overall treatment to get you back on your feet faster.
Shockwave Therapy as a Sprained Ankle Treatment
Ankle sprain treatment requires rehabilitation. There are several options for treatment and many of the treatments can be used together:
- Rest the ankle
- Apply a covered ice pack
- Wraps or walking boots depending on the severity of the injury.
- Keep the ankle elevated
- Physical therapy
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen for inflammation
Most podiatrists prefer these noninvasive treatments with the addition of Shockwave therapy for sprained ankle treatment.
Shockwave therapy is the most advanced and highly effective treatment for ankle sprains and more. It has been approved by the FDA. Many people experience beneficial effects after 3 treatments and people with more mild ankle sprains may feel immediate pain relief. Treatments have been shown to eliminate pain and restore full mobility. This is great news for those who have been suffering from chronic ankle pain.
Have You Sprained Your Ankle?
Sprained ankle treatment is necessary for proper healing of the foot and ankle. Diablo Foot and Ankle wants to help you recover using the least invasive and modern FDA-approved treatment options. We are trained to handle many foot and ankle conditions and are passionate about getting you back on your feet as quickly as possible. Call today with any questions you may have or to schedule a consultation.
Common Podiatry Questions
What is a Podiatrist?
A podiatrist is a doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the foot and ankle.
What does a Podiatrist treat?
A podiatrist is a doctor who specializes in the medical and surgical care of the feet. They can treat conditions such as ingrown toenails, fungal toenails, bunions, hammertoes, and plantar fasciitis.
What’s the difference between a Podiatrist and Orthopedist?
A Podiatrist and Orthopedist are very similar to each other in many ways. They use most of the same tools and treat a lot of the same conditions. The main difference between the two is their medical training. Podiatrists are trained exclusively on the foot and ankle, whereas the Orthopedic is trained on the whole body with an additional year of training on the foot and ankle.
Where are your Podiatry clinics located?
At Diablo Foot & Ankle, we treat our foot and ankle patients in two main clinic locations in Walnut Creek and in Antioch California. Dr. Eman Elmi and Dr. Shayan Esspoor are Board Certified Podiatrists who specialize in the treatment of foot and ankle disorders.
