Ankle Sprains

As a sports doctor, I see many injuries. The most common is the ankle sprain.

It never fails, if I'm covering an event, such as a soccer tournament, a kid will twist an ankle and some well meaning parent with some medical training will jump right in with the "Standard" advice. Don't take off the shoe, ice right away, don't walk on it, take some ibuprofen.....

While these steps have been firmly implanted into our heads; this approach actually slows the healing process and sets up an inferior repair that will lead to repeat ankle injuries.

The old RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation) treatment is good for immediate pain relief, but does nothing to enhance or speed the healing process. Let me explain...

When an ankle or other joint is sprained, the ligaments that hold the bones together get stretched or torn. This can only happen if the bones get pulled apart. When you twist an ankle, one side gets opened up and stretches/tears the ligament. It is imperative that the bones get re-aligned immediately to start the repair process.

The first thing I do is evaluate the injury and see if the ligaments are intact, then traction the joint to re-align the boney structures. This usually brings great relief to the injured athlete. This must also be done before the swelling begins.

Conventional wisdom tells us that swelling and inflammation is bad. If it is bad, why does the body do it? Swelling and inflammation is vital to the repair process. The swelling floods the damaged area and cleans out the damaged tissue. This gives a foundation for the repair. Inflammation occurs when tissues are damaged. Histamines are released from the cells. This histamine release sets in motiion the repair process, as the body begins to deliver repair materials to the area. The pain and swelling helps to protect the joint durring this phase.

Taking NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs-ibuprofen) leads to fibrosis formation. This creates an inferior and weak repair, prone to reinjury. Natural anti-inflammatory remedies include tumeric, curcummin and the enzyme bromelain are effective.

Weight bearing, as soon as possible, will strengthen the repair and speed healing. Weight stresses the repair and the body will build a stronger repair along the stress zones.

Best advice... if you suffer a sprained ankle, have a trained sports chiropractor evaluate it and treat as needed. Within a week to 10 days, most ankle sprains are healed enough to resume normal activities. Any questions or comments would be welcome.

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Office Decore

My office has, of course, the standard "health care office" decorations. Magazine rack and educational posters in the reception room, diplomas on the wall, etc.... But in my Patient Education Room I have some very interesting "Props".

I have Silly Putty, several bent and rusty bolts and nuts, rubber bands, a bowling ball....But my favorite Prop is an actual tire from one of my cars!

Why on God's Green Earth would a doctor have an old worn out tire in his office (not to mention the rusty bolts, but that is a subject for a future post)? Remember, this is my patient education room. Any good teacher will tell you, if you can get your "Students" to ask questions, they learn better. I don't bring up the tire subject for everyone, and it is really fun to watch people look at the tire, wonder about it, then finally get up the nerve to ask about it.

"What's with the old tire?" Well, you will notice a distinct wear pattern, this is a symptom, much like a headache or back pain. If you treat the symptom by replacing the tire only, what would happen later? Of course, the new tire will quickly wear out like the old one. That is why we must address the underlying "Alignment" problem to fix this symptom. The lightbulb really pops on about now!

Understanding that just covering up a symptom with medication, does not actually fix anything and the symptom will return until the underlying alignment problem is fixed.

Got a symptom? Get your alignment checked!

Love to hear your comments or questions, leave a note!

Great Success Story From One of My Patients

I just received this from a recent new patient. Oko has come along way already, and I greatly appreciate her sharing this with you.

"I'm pain free now! I had no knowledge about chiropractic, when my co-worker recomended me Dr. Fischer. I was skeptical, and a little bit nervous, but felt really comfortable right after my first visit. My headache was terrible, I had been suffered (sic) for 2 months with pain and was desperate. I'm lucky to have Dr. Fischer as my chiropractor. He knows the best, does the best, he is the best. Now after 7 visits so far, I ask myself why I didn't come earlier instead of suffering... Anyways, thank you Dr. Fischer and your staff are great too."

Oko Janssen,
Neenah WI