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Ankle sprain - Acupuncture treatment (Your Wellness magazine - 24ed, 2012)

posted 16 Sep 2012, 02:58 by Andrea AnJia   [ updated 16 Sep 2012, 03:54 ]
I am a 25 year old man who enjoys an active lifestyle and in particular playing sport. However, on a number of occasions I’ve sprained my ankle, and each time this has resulted in pain and swelling. I always rest the ankle for a few days, and the symptoms resolve, allowing me to return to sport 3-4 weeks later. More recently I sustained a twisting injury with more force than usual and the swelling on this occasion took 8 weeks to settle. Six months down the line from the latest injury I’m continuing to experience pain when I run or walk long distances. The ankle does not give way, but I have not been able to test it playing sport, due to the pain. What should I do? Sprain (ligaments) and strains (tendon) are a result of over stretching the fibres (like stretching an elastic band). The anatomy of tendons and ligaments are very similar to muscles, except that they are twisted and tight, into a rope-like shape, which sustains impact and keep our body parts in place. This tightness means they are very short of blood supply. Blood delivers nutrients needed for healing throughout the body, which is why those injuries heal slowly. Having your ankle checked by a doctor will help establish the nature and degree of damage and help deciding on a treatment plan, allowing for a speedier and better recovery. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been proven very successful at treating tendons and ligaments. Acupuncture enhances the flow of blood to the area being treated, including tendons and ligaments, promoting healing. I would highly recommend a course of TCM acupuncture treatment, which can be used in conjunction with other therapies. TCM practitioners discourage the use of ice and cold, as this slows down the blood supply to the area. In fact we encourage use of heat. Make sure you wear thick socks which covers your ankle, keeping the area warm and choose appropriate shoes, which will harness you ankle and absorb impact. Andrea Steinlechner, www.anjia.co.uk is a TCM acupuncturist at Harley Street Acupuncture and Embody Wellness, and member of British Acupuncture Council.
Sprain and strains are a result of over stretching the fibres, like stretching an elastic band. The anatomy of tendons and ligaments are similar to muscles, except they are twisted and tightened into a rope-like shape, which sustains impact and keeps your body parts in place. This tightness means they are short of blood supply. Blood delivers nutrients needed for healing throughout the body, which is why those injuries heal slowly. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has proven very successful in treating tendons and ligament injuries.

Acupuncture enhances the flow of blood to the area treated, including tendons and ligaments, to promote healing. I would highly recommend a course of TCM acupuncture, which can be used in conjunction with other therapies.

TCM practitioners discourage the use of ice and cold as this slows down the blood supply to the area. In fact we encourage the use of heat. Make sure you wear thick socks which covers your ankle, keeping the area warm and choose appropriate shoes which will harness your ankle and absorb impact.

Andrea Steinlechner is a TCM acupuncturist at Harley Street Acupuncture and Embody Wellness and member of the British Acupuncture Council.

  

 

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