Three physical therapy-based ankle injury treatment benefits

People who are active and who play sports can be at greater risk of an ankle injury. In fact, Massachusetts General Hospital estimates that there are about 1 million ankle injuries every year. If you or someone you know has recently injured an ankle, you might be interested to know that physical therapy can be very helpful for this injury. Here are three benefits that physical therapy-based ankle injury treatment can provide to people who use it. 

1.   Reduces pain faster

It’s no secret that one of the most troubling symptoms of an ankle injury is pain. This pain is typically the result of the overstretching or tearing of tendons in the ankle, and there are many ways to treat this pain. Many people rely on rest and other at-home remedies to treat this symptom. If you see a doctor for the injury, they may give you a set of exercises to do at home. 

However, one study published by the Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy (JOSPT) provides some interesting information about such methods. It reports that home exercise programs alone only allowed for a 39% reduction in pain in a four-week period. However, patients in the same study who used physical therapy to treat their ankle injury saw a 70% pain reduction in the same four-week time frame. 

2.   Restores normal function more quickly

Another common issue that ankle injury treatment must address is the loss of function such injuries cause. People with an ankle injury often have difficulty walking; however, physical therapy can also help treat loss of function. The JOSPT study showed that patients who had physical therapy for their injury regained function more rapidly. In fact, patients in the physical therapy group of the study had 14% more ankle function four weeks after their injury than the non-physical therapy group. 

3.   Allows for a faster return to sports

For people who have injured their ankle playing sports, the faster they can recover, the better they like it. This is also true for anyone with an ankle injury. Since physical therapy can help reduce pain and restore function faster, it also helps people return to playing sports sooner. Additionally, physical therapists can help you learn movements and stretches that can help prevent future ankle injuries. This can be very helpful since about 80% of the people who sprained an ankle sprain the same ankle again.

Get ankle injury treatment from the physical therapists at Armor Physical Therapy

Are you looking for an experienced physical therapy team to help you treat an ankle injury? Armor Physical Therapy in southwest Michigan has just the team you’re looking for. We provide complimentary initial screenings, and we can also build you a personalized treatment plan for your injury. These personalized plans typically contain multiple therapy methods, including: 

• Manual therapy
• Redcord^® treatments
• Therapeutic exercise
• Kinesio taping

Contact us today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment if you have an injured ankle.