Do you experience lingering ankle pain every time you run? Ankle pain is a common issue for runners. Whether you’re a professional athlete or you just like to go on morning jogs, ankle pain can affect your ability to do what you love. By finding a solution to your pain, you can keep running without being hindered by discomfort.
Ankle pain should not go untreated. Without treatment, even a relatively minor injury can lead to more persistent symptoms and complications. Up to 40% of ankle sprains go on to develop chronic symptoms, according to one study. These symptoms include pain, swelling and instability. Fortunately, physical therapy can help. With a personalized treatment plan, your physical therapist can help you stay on your feet with less pain. Learning more about the ways PT addresses ankle pain can demonstrate why it’s such an effective treatment option.
How physical therapy can address your ankle pain after running
- Exercise — Exercise is a great way to address and prevent ankle pain. While some types of exercise, such as running, can make your pain worse, targeted exercises can strengthen your ankle and reduce the risk of future injury. Your physical therapist can recommend strengthening exercises meant to stabilize your ankle. Good ankle strengthening exercises include calf raises, toe curls and resistance band exercises. These exercises engage the whole lower leg, from your calf to your toes. By building strength throughout the leg, these exercises can improve your mobility and help you continue to run without experiencing symptoms like pain and stiffness. Your physical therapist may also recommend lower leg stretches. These stretches can help relieve pain by reducing tension around the ankle.
- Manual therapy — Manual therapy refers to hands-on physical therapy treatments. Key manual therapy techniques include myofascial release and joint mobilization. With these techniques, your physical therapist can promote healing and pain relief around your ankle. Different manual therapy techniques serve different purposes. Myofascial release, for example, is used to address tension in bands of connective tissue called fascia. One of these bands, the plantar fascia, runs along the bottom of the foot. Plantar fasciitis is a condition that develops when the plantar fascia becomes irritated. Plantar fasciitis often leads to foot and ankle pain. If you have plantar fasciitis, myofascial release may be a great solution. This is just one of the many ways manual therapy can help you find relief. After assessing your physical condition, your physical therapist can provide manual therapy tailored to your particular needs.
- Acupuncture — Acupuncture is a pain relief technique that’s been in use for thousands of years. By promoting relief and healing, acupuncture can be a great addition to a holistic treatment plan. This treatment method can be especially effective for treating painful swelling. If you’re experiencing swelling from a recent ankle sprain or inflammatory condition, acupuncture can be highly beneficial. Acupuncture is used to treat a wide range of conditions, from headaches to muscle pain. Are you looking to get rapid pain relief and speed up your recovery? Acupuncture can help.
- The Graston Technique® — The Graston Technique is a form of soft tissue mobilization. Like other manual therapy techniques, the Graston Technique can help improve mobility in your joints and muscles. However, it differs in a few important ways. The biggest difference is that the Graston Technique is a type of instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization. With this technique, your physical therapist will use specialized instruments instead of their hands. These special stainless steel tools are designed to break up tense or inflamed tissue. With the Graston Technique, your physical therapist can address conditions such as plantar fasciitis and ankle sprains.
- Cupping therapy — Looking for a treatment method that can provide lasting relief from your ankle pain? Cupping therapy may be another effective option. In addition to providing pain relief in the short term, cupping therapy stimulates blood flow in injured areas of the body. This allows more nutrients to reach injured tissue, accelerating your body’s natural healing processes. Cupping therapy involves suction cups placed on the surface of the skin. The vacuum created by these cups helps to relieve tension and improve circulation.
Find ankle pain relief with specialized treatments from REPAIR SI
You can receive top-notch ankle pain relief treatments at REPAIR SI. Our state-of-the-art facilities are equipped with the latest equipment, and our expert team is committed to helping you achieve your goals. With a range of treatment methods designed to provide lasting relief, we’ll work with you each step of the way toward recovery and beyond.
Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.