Ankle pain can be experienced by all ages from young children to the elderly and can be result of different types of injury or arthritis. The osteopaths at the Brisbane Osteopathic Centre are very qualified to treat ankle pain.
Common causes of ankle pain
The most common cause of ankle pain is twisting your ankle. This ankle sprain usually occurs when the foot rolls inward, often when playing sport or tripping over. Other causes can be due to landing on your leg heavily, fractures, arthritis, tendonitis or spinal injury in the lower back causing referred pain to the ankle.
Common symptoms of ankle pain
Pain is usually located deep inside the ankle or on the inside or outside of the ankle. Sometimes pain can be referred to the foot .Pain can be very specific to these areas or can be generalised throughout the ankle. The site of pain is often related to the type of injury or cause of the ankle pain. For example if the foot and ankle is twisted inwards the pain is often on the outside of the ankle. If the bone inside the ankle or the heel is fractured this may result in pain deep inside the ankle. Arthritis can cause swelling and pain deep inside the ankle and foot.
Osteopathic treatment for ankle pain
Osteopaths can be very effective in treating new or old injuries that have resulted in ankle pain. Commonly, persistent pain can be due to the ankle not being treated holistically. Not only must the ankle joint be treated but other bones, ligaments and muscles associated with the ankle most be examined and treated as well. This where the osteopaths at the Brisbane Osteopathic Centre may be able to help.
With any ankle injury there is commonly a twist or restriction in the ankle joint itself but associated with that the rest of the foot can be become twisted. Importantly the fibula, the thin bone that runs down the outside of the lower leg to help create the outside of the ankle joint can become twisted which can result in pain around the outside of the ankle and foot.
The osteopaths at the brisbane osteopathic centre use a very gentle balancing technique to remove the tension and twist in these bones and joints. This means we can effectively treat new injuries causing strong pain which would be difficult to treat with massage or manipulation.
Chronic ankle pain can also be treated this way. Our osteopaths commonly observe that the foot and fibula has still got strain present, which is affecting the ankle joint. Osteopathic treatment works to unwind these twists and muscles tensions to improve your function and decrease the pain.
In conjunction with treatment of the ankle osteopaths also consider any imbalance and tension in the knee, hip, pelvis and lower spine that can be affected from ankle injury. This results in more effective management of the pain and helps to get our patients moving again quicker.