How We Treat Ankle Pain At Severn Pain & Injury Care
Our service is for people who want to be truly free from chronic pain & injuries. This involves healing the real causes of pain and injury susceptibility, deep in the body and nervous system. It also means moving beyond outdated ‘symptom based’ approaches to pain.
We combine cutting edge technology, hands on methods, tailored rehab programs and stress management. This enables us to manage everything from fresh ankle sprains; to the chronic pains associated with conditions like osteoarthritis, disc bulges and PTSD.
We provide transformative healthcare in a welcoming and friendly environment. For us, genuine care and authentic communication are not bonus features. They are healthcare fundamentals.
Successful management and relief of stubborn ankle pain can be surprisingly straight forward. Yet in other instances a systematic, focused, and persistent approach may be required to get your ankle pain under control.
We specialise in providing flexible ‘multidisciplinary’ pain relief – using a wide range of tools and techniques. This ensures we have the best possible chance to help everyone: from the most easy straightforward cases right through to the most treatment resistant forms of ankle pain.
Find The Cause
Hands On Pain Relief
Rehabilitation / Prevention
Getting to the bottom of your ankle pain means finding out exactly where in the body the pain is coming from – and exactly what is causing it.
The first thing we want to know is which tissues are generating your pain.
Ankle pain can come from muscle, tendons, joints, ligaments, nerves, bones, fascia (connective tissue) or even an internal organ. Establishing clearly which tissue is creating the pain is the first step towards relief. But we don’t stop there because we want to know WHY you are suffering.
Some ankle pain is caused by damaged or degenerated tissue. Some ankle pain is caused by weakness deep in the glute and leg . Some ankle pain is caused by scar tissue from old injuries. Some ankle pain is caused by the nature of a persons job. Some ankle pain is caused by flat feet or even a rotated pelvis. Some ankle pain is even caused by psychological stress.
Finding out why you have ankle pain is essential if you want longer term relief from pain. Which is why we place great importance on this step. We have a wide range of technologies and tests at our disposal, in order to identify the source of ankle pain. In the unlikely event that you need an X Ray or MRI to diagnose your pain we can organise a referral for the relevant imaging for you on the spot.
In most cases of ankle pain, it’s necessary to work with someone who combines a variety of technologies and hands-on methods to ease your ankle pain. So that’s exactly what we do.
Most people who require treatment for stubborn ankle pain don’t respond particularly well to just being given home exercises. Much in the same way that most people with toothache don’t respond too well to being sent home with some dental floss. When toothache is bad you need a filling, when ankle pain is bad you need access to treatments and technologies that ease your pain.
If you have chronic ankle pain you almost certainly need hands on treatments with professionals who are trained to physically relieve the pain for you. We use some of the most advanced pain technology available anywhere combined with a wide range of skill based manual techniques.
Successful prevention of ankle pain in the longer term often requires more than just the right ‘treatments’.
For many patients, ankle pain treatments that bring some blessed relief are often just the start point. Glute strengthening, custom orthotics, stress management, postural correction, lifestyle tweaks, workstation tweaks and even dietary tweaks are often necessary. Muscle weakness throughout the leg is also often a key issue.
Most cases of ankle pain are either caused by something that we are doing wrong or something that the body needs help with like strength or alignment. Making necessary adjustments to your lifestyle and the wellbeing of your body may be necessary for longer term success. Coaching for these important changes in those who wish to make them is a part of what we do
Book an online consultation and get personalized advice from the comfort of your home. Our licensed practitioners are here to assess your concerns, provide expert diagnosis, and offer treatment recommendations—all through a secure virtual session.
027 508 8083
tobias@severnclinics.co.nz
There are many different ways to treat ankle pain, and it’s just as well because we don’t all respond to the same stuff.
The ultimate key to successful treatment of ankle pain is working with a team who are willing to take a sufficiently flexible approach, and trial a number of different therapies to see what works best on your specific case.
Low Energy Laser Therapy is the application of specific deeply penetrating light waves to a painful area. Light with a wavelength in the red to near infrared region of the spectrum (660nm–905nm) is generally employed because these wavelengths have the ability to penetrate skin, and soft/hard tissues. Lasers like these are known to trigger the release of a substance called ATP within cells, this suggests that they boost tissue metabolism in painful areas.
A great many clinical trials have shown this type of treatment has a meaningful effect on ankle pain, inflammation and tissue repair. In our experience people with ankle pain often experience immediate improvements in their pain after laser sessions.
Shockwave Therapy is a non-surgical – non-drug-based – scientifically approved therapy that is widely used as ankle pain treatment. There have been literally hundreds of studies that support the use of shockwave therapy for a very wide range of pain complaints.
Shockwave Therapy was originally developed for its application as a non-invasive treatment of kidney stones. We use a gentler form of the same technology to break up deep muscle knots, calcified tendons and tracts of scar tissue in the ankle. For more information on shockwave therapy visit our shockwave homepage here.
Gait Analysis & Stride Analysis tools are for people who are interested in long term prevention of pain. When the root cause of your pain has been uncovered it takes all the guess-work out of treatment and rehabilitation of pain. Deep insights into our movement patterns are now possible: with the use of cloud based AI machine learning; and complex sensors that go in your shoes while you perform movement tests.This data opens the door to tailored forms of rehabilitation
We believe that all pains have a story to tell and that there are genuine underlying physical issues behind all stubborn pain. In other words, you don’t get sore overnight, and you certainly don’t get chronic pain overnight, unless you have had a real physical issue. Gait Analysis & Stride Analysis are designed to identify these issues.
Orthotics are a tool that have helped millions of people move past exactly the type of stubborn pains that tend to chip away at the fun, freedom, and choice that make life enjoyable.
An averagely active person takes in excess of 3 million steps per year. Modern humans do all this on extremely flat, hard surfaces like concrete, tarmac and paving stones. Hard, flat surfaces are as stressful to our joints and connective tissues as sugar is to our teeth. This is a major part of why we live in an epidemic of lower body pain and degeneration.
Orthotics are a way of protecting us from the lifelong strain concrete and tarmac inflict on our tissues.. The Increased support for the foot that orthotics provide often brings greater ease and freedom to our movements in the long term. The benefits are often felt not only in the feet, ankles, and knees but even in the back and hips.
Most ankles with persistent or recurring pain are full of ‘pressure points’ or myofascial trigger points (the sore spots you feel in muscles when you get a deep massage). At Featherston St. Pain Clinic we consider ourselves experts at finding and releasing the most stubborn trigger points. It’s not always fun to have done (we know that ourselves) but boy can it help with persistent ankle pain; when it’s done properly!
Acupuncture can be extremely helpful in the management of many ankle pain cases. We don’t approach acupuncture in the traditional way where needles are placed in a wide no.of locations, we focus directly on the area of pain.
Acupuncture aims to promote blood flow, release pressure points in muscle and reduce pain signals. Needles are placed around the area of pain and we generally leave them in for around 10 minutes, depending on your body’s tolerance to them. If acupuncture works for your ankle pain, you will usually start to feel the benefits within the first 2-3 sessions.
A large number of people suffer with stubborn ankle pains caused in part by old unhealed injuries. These injuries can come from almost any historical back, hip, knee and ankle injuries. Naturally, one of the long term repercussions of unresolved trauma to the ankle is scar tissue.
Scraping gently in and around the connective tissues and muscle using a blunt scraping tool is the basic method behind how we manage scar tissue in the ankle. Guasha is the old Chinese name for this technique but there are many others from different cultures and there are more modern techniques like Graston Technique. The idea with all of them is to break up and assist with remodeling of microscopic scar tissue adhesions, which are a major cause of ankle pain.
Muscle tension Is a major contributor to many cases of ankle pain. By using specific stretch techniques for the muscles in the back you can often release a great deal of tension. Post Isometric stretches are a specific style of stretching that utilises your muscle’s tendency to relax after it has contracted strongly.
Cupping massage or cupping therapy has been used for thousands of years by multiple global cultures and not only is it still around for good reason, it is currently undergoing a powerful resurgence.
Using suction cups for the treatment for ankle pain increases blood flow in the area, stretches the fascia, can bring massive amounts of relief; and yes leaves funny marks that your friends and family will assume are bruises. The most common myth around cupping is that it releases toxins, the actual cause of the marks in cupping leaves is deoxygenated blood that has been drawn to the surface.
Percussive movements have been an established component of soft tissue release, massage and even respiratory healthcare for thousands of years, and it is no less effective today. Percussion massage as treatment for ankle pain generally involves the use of mechanical massage devices. It is designed to reduce muscle tension and promote blood flow within the soft tissues. Percussion is generally at its best when used in combination with the other treatments for ankle pain like those in this list.
Heaps of people find the application of ice packs for the treatment of their ankle pain can prove to be very beneficial. Ice works by interrupting pain signals within the nerve, stimulates the activity of blood vessels, and reduces both inflammatory and pain chemistry in the soft tissues.
One of the most common questions we get asked is whether heat or ice is better. Nine times out of ten ice is a better option than heat when you have pain. Heat can be a bit of a tricky one because it does often feel soothing at the time. Sometime after heat application however you may have more pain than you might otherwise have had.
Hands On Treatments
We are in the business of helping you get out of pain. The heart of our clinical process is a committed and very hands on approach to relieving your ankle pain as quickly, painlessly and safely as possible. We are willing to use a wide range of tools and also to work tirelessly in our efforts to get you out of pain.
Flexible Treatment Approach
Even among professionals there is little agreement on the best ways to treat pain. If there is one thing that we know for certain about pain management though.. a flexible multidisciplinary treatment approach to pain is best. This is why we take such great care to provide the most diverse range of pain relief tools possible under one roof.
Get To The Bottom Of It
Unlike a one-off filling at the dentist, successfully managing ankle pain is a process. A process that often requires commitment, trust and clear communication. We believe that clear and open communication combined with genuine rapport are fundamental within our arsenal of pain management tools.
Excellent Communication
Unlike a one-off filling at the dentist, successfully relieving most pains under control is a process. A process that often requires commitment, trust and clear communication. We believe that clear and open communication combined with genuine rapport is fundamental within our arsenal of pain management tools.
Assume Nothing
Just because a treatment has worked for us a thousand times before; doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to work on you! Pain management is not a ‘1 size fits all’ moment in life. We monitor our patients’ response to treatment very closely. This approach enables us to make agile treatment protocols that can be altered in real time should we find that you aren’t responding to the methods that we expect to work for you.
Our team offers a wide range of treatments, helping you to achieve your recovery goals.
If you are in a lot of pain and need an urgent appointment please call us.
If you need a regular appointment just fill out the form below and we will be in touch.
If you are in a lot of pain and need an urgent appointment please call us.
If you need a regular appointment just fill out the form below and we will be in touch.
To book an appointment in Wellington, please use our booking system by clicking the button below. For Wairarapa bookings please complete the appointment request form.