News
The most frustrating thing on a beautiful day in Vail is to be on the mountain skiing, snowshoeing, or just hiking and suddenly find yourself on the ground in pain grabbing your ankle or knee. The bad new is your day on the mountain is over. The good news is that if you follow certain steps you can be back on the mountain quicker than you may think.
The knee and ankle are very common areas of injury on the mountain. Very often, the injury you are suffering from is a sprain of a ligament of the knee or ankle or a strain of the muscle or muscles that control the movement of the joint in question. Grade I and Grade II sprains are the most common. Grade I sprains involve some stretching and microscopic tearing of the collagen fibers of the ligament, there will be minor swelling and minimal tenderness. Grade II sprains involve complete tearing of some but not all of the collagen fibers in the ligament. There will be moderate swelling and tenderness and some loss of stability and mobility. Grade III sprain is a full tear of a ligament and the most severe. There will be severe swelling and tenderness and the joint will be very instable. Keep in mind before reading on that you should always consult an expert when trying to determine what kind of injury you have and the recommended treatment. Some injuries can be deceiving and misreading them can lead to further damage and more severe problems.
The first step, no matter what grade of sprain you have, is to practice RICE as soon as possible after your injury. RICE becomes more and more effective the closer in time you can perform it to when you sustained the injury. RICE is an acronym for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. Rest the injured area above your heart, ice the area for 10-20 minutes at a time three to four times a day, wrap a compression bandage around the area taking care not to completely cut off circulation.
The next step is rehabilitation of the sprained joint. The rehab component is where the quickness and quality of healing are most evident. Here are the top three things I have found success with to help my patients have an efficient and long-lasting recovery:
• High-quality proteolytic enzymes, which according to a double-blind placebo controlled study and clinical observation increased healing and reduced time away from sports as much as 50 percent. Proteolytic enzymes are enzymes in your digestive tract that help digest proteins, but when taken as a supplement may be absorbed internally to help with reduction of pain and inflammation. Omega 3 Fish Oils when taken long-term as a prophylactic are also excellent and well researched for their anti-inflammatory effects.
• Cold laser therapy has numerous research studies showing the benefits on healing. There are several double-blind studies published and approved by the FDA demonstrating the effectiveness of cold laser for treating musculoskeletal injuries. One study approved by the FDA showed over a 30 percent improvement in pain with a 635nm pulsed cold laser after only one three-minute treatment.
• Balance training or proprioceptive training is key to ensuring that the chance a re-injury occurs is minimized. Not performing balance training is a major cause of repeated sprain and chronically unstable joints. Once balance is optimized strength and range of motion training can be added.
So next time you sprain your ankle, knee, or any other joint, keep these tips in mind.
Sean Miller is doctor of chiropractor in Edwards whose practice focuses on “muscle activation” and nutrition to restore proper function and movement patterns to acute and chronic spine and extremity complaints. You can contact him at miller@palicmiller.com or go to his website, drseanmiller.wordpress.com, for more information.
The knee and ankle are very common areas of injury on the mountain. Very often, the injury you are suffering from is a sprain of a ligament of the knee or ankle or a strain of the muscle or muscles that control the movement of the joint in question. Grade I and Grade II sprains are the most common. Grade I sprains involve some stretching and microscopic tearing of the collagen fibers of the ligament, there will be minor swelling and minimal tenderness. Grade II sprains involve complete tearing of some but not all of the collagen fibers in the ligament. There will be moderate swelling and tenderness and some loss of stability and mobility. Grade III sprain is a full tear of a ligament and the most severe. There will be severe swelling and tenderness and the joint will be very instable. Keep in mind before reading on that you should always consult an expert when trying to determine what kind of injury you have and the recommended treatment. Some injuries can be deceiving and misreading them can lead to further damage and more severe problems.
The first step, no matter what grade of sprain you have, is to practice RICE as soon as possible after your injury. RICE becomes more and more effective the closer in time you can perform it to when you sustained the injury. RICE is an acronym for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. Rest the injured area above your heart, ice the area for 10-20 minutes at a time three to four times a day, wrap a compression bandage around the area taking care not to completely cut off circulation.
The next step is rehabilitation of the sprained joint. The rehab component is where the quickness and quality of healing are most evident. Here are the top three things I have found success with to help my patients have an efficient and long-lasting recovery:
• High-quality proteolytic enzymes, which according to a double-blind placebo controlled study and clinical observation increased healing and reduced time away from sports as much as 50 percent. Proteolytic enzymes are enzymes in your digestive tract that help digest proteins, but when taken as a supplement may be absorbed internally to help with reduction of pain and inflammation. Omega 3 Fish Oils when taken long-term as a prophylactic are also excellent and well researched for their anti-inflammatory effects.
• Cold laser therapy has numerous research studies showing the benefits on healing. There are several double-blind studies published and approved by the FDA demonstrating the effectiveness of cold laser for treating musculoskeletal injuries. One study approved by the FDA showed over a 30 percent improvement in pain with a 635nm pulsed cold laser after only one three-minute treatment.
• Balance training or proprioceptive training is key to ensuring that the chance a re-injury occurs is minimized. Not performing balance training is a major cause of repeated sprain and chronically unstable joints. Once balance is optimized strength and range of motion training can be added.
So next time you sprain your ankle, knee, or any other joint, keep these tips in mind.
Sean Miller is doctor of chiropractor in Edwards whose practice focuses on “muscle activation” and nutrition to restore proper function and movement patterns to acute and chronic spine and extremity complaints. You can contact him at miller@palicmiller.com or go to his website, drseanmiller.wordpress.com, for more information.
