Ankle mobility is essential for both daily walking tasks as well as higher level athletics and sports participation. In our Physical Therapy practice in Boulder we see a loss of dorsiflexion, bending, among athletes with lower extremity injuries and conditions. A lack of ankle bend, dorsiflexion, has been associated with many conditions including heel pain, plantar...
Ankle sprains are one of the most common sports injuries and one of the most common we encounter at Mend Physical Therapy. These injuries lead to pain, lost practice and games, as well as chronic balance impairments up to 1 year after the injury. As our manual therapy and exercise treatments have evolved we are seeing...
My approach to treating ankle sprains has changed dramatically since I began working with athletes in the late 1990s. The PRICE (protection, rest, ice, compression, and elevation) approach has been replaced with a clinically superior movement approach designed to reduce pain and facilitate a return to an exercise program. The PRICE approach was effective to...
Have a student athlete that is injured, or always seems to run into issues as the season ramps up? At Mend, we are dedicated to keeping our young athletes healthy. One of the tragic consequences of sustaining an injury or experiencing pain as a young athlete is becoming the adult that doesn’t run, ski, hike,...
When we began playing sports, our pre game routines consisted of a cardiovascular warm up, some agility work, followed by static stretching (sustained holds >15 seconds of the muscles). This type of stretching has fallen out of favor in the last decade because of the negative impact of static stretching on muscle performance. Research has...
Basketball has one of the highest injury rates in sports with articles reporting up to 7-10 injuries per 1000 athlete exposures (Dick et al. J Athl Train. 2007). As expected, the majority of these injuries occur in the lower extremity, in particular within the knee and ankle. Authors report both overuse (tendinopathy) and traumatic (sprain,...
After hearing a patient’s history, Physical Therapists decide on known tests and measures to assess for impairments such as a loss of joint range of motion or muscle weakness which either precipitated or perpetuated a patient’s symptoms or injury. The foot and ankle are commonly assessed as a contributing factor to lower quarter injuries and...
Ankle Sprain Injuries Ankle sprains are one of the most common orthopedic injuries with an annual incidence of 7 sprains per 1000 individuals(1). Lateral ankle sprains involving the outside of the ankle account for 85% of these sprains (see picture) and involve flexed and inverted foot(2). Authors reports up to 72% of individuals who sustain...
Achilles Tendon Problems Achilles tendinopathy commonly occurs in runners and jumpers, with up to 50% experiencing the condition in their lifetime(1). Not all those affected are active with 33% of individuals reporting a sedentary lifestyle(2). Individuals with this condition report pain, stiffness, and loss of function with daily and recreational activities. This condition was originally...
