In clinical practice, some patients often suffer from sprained ankles that are not very serious, but in the past week or two, even a month or two, they still swell, or still feel sore, or some kind of walking on an uneven road will happen again at any time. Sprained feeling!
The patient will ask us, "Why is this?".
General mild ankle sprains, although still able to walk, sprains can cause ligaments to loosen or torn ligaments and cartilage slightly. Since the ligaments and cartilage are relatively weak in regeneration, it is generally difficult to recover on their own. In addition, after spraining, they still walk or exercise, resulting in continued damage to the sprained soft group, which makes the recovery of ligaments and cartilage even worse! It even caused a second and third sprain. If there are more than three sprains in a row, it is called a habitual sprain, and it is more difficult to return to normal!
So even if it is a general sprain, don't take it lightly, you should seek reasonable treatment immediately. If it is a serious ankle sprain, it is more necessary to seek reasonable treatment. If the treatment is delayed, it will be like the patient we encountered below.
We once encountered a patient with a severe ankle sprain. He did not dare to massage or move around following the advice of the doctor. After bandaging the wound, he rested at home for more than a month. The swelling and pain subsided a lot. 'S ankle became thicker and inflexible than the normal side, so we asked for our help. Western medicine has no special treatment for soft tissue injuries. In order to prevent further damage, patients will be advised to rest, and ice packs and bandages will also be taken. We met patients with sprains, except for fractures and severe ligament tears that required surgical treatment, we would do acupuncture and apply Chinese herbal ointment in time, and then cooperate with the massage such as TuiNa. This will promote faster recovery of the injury, and the more timely the treatment, the better the recovery!
After encountering another patient's ankle sprain, we searched the Internet for treatment information, and then applied ice for a few days at home. Later, we found that the bruises and pain in the foot did not improve at all. When we came to the clinic, we found that the patient's injured side was the entire The feet are cold, which is very unfavorable for sprain recovery. After a sprain, the doctor will recommend ice compress within two days to reduce inflammation and suppress muscle spasm. Ice compress can constrict blood vessels, reduce local capillary exudation, relieve local swelling and pain, but Chinese medicine believes that cold stagnation is not conducive to the repair of soft tissue injury! We don't recommend applying ice as soon as you encounter a sprain. Depending on your personal situation, do not blindly apply ice. We found in clinical treatment that blindly applying ice is often more than worth the effort! We apply Chinese ointment, oral Chinese medicine, acupuncture, and moxibustion to the patient's affected area in time, and then cooperate with massage, the treatment effect is often much better! There are also many cases of poor recovery of sprained ankles, which are not introduced here one by one.
Not only sprained ankles but in clinical practice, we often encounter cases of poor recovery due to improper treatment after spraining other parts of the body. Traditional Chinese medicine has accumulated rich experience in soft tissue injury. If your body is sprained and still does not work well after other methods of treatment, please do not forget to seek the help of Traditional Chinese medicine in time!
By Zhao Gong Xiao 赵功效 Yong Kang TCM TuiNa Therapist