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SMRT for Sprained Ankles
A twelve year old girl was in my office a few days ago with a sprained left ankle from cheerleading. Her inflammation was mild, but she was in a lot of pain. Her inflammation was mostly on the dorsal lateral aspect of the foot over the cuboid, and that is where the pain was as well. The cuboid, as well as the proximal ends of the 4th and 5th metatarsals were shifted toward the plantar surface of the foot.
I worked the dorsal surface of the foot, releasing extensor digitorum longus and brevis. The inflammation decreased, but it was still present and it still felt like the cuboid and the 4th and 5th metatarsals were shifted toward the plantar surface of the foot. I moved to the plantar surface of the foot. The tissue felt extremely tight and somewhat crunchy around the base of the 4th and 5th metatarsal.
Two minutes later, after individual releases for flexor digitorum brevis, abductor digiti minimi, and quadratus plantae, the inflammation was gone. The cuboid and the 4th and 5th metatarsals had moved toward the dorsal surface of her foot and she reported almost no pain. The tissues on the plantar surface of the foot needed a little more work as they were still mildly hypertonic and slightly crunchy.
Five minutes later when those tissues felt more open, I asked her to get up and walk around the room. She reported no pain at all. I noticed that she was walking toward the outside of her left foot (i.e., she was oversupinating). We had a conversation about what that pattern would mean for landing her jumps and the pressure she would be putting on the bones and muscles on the outside of her foot. All in all, a very successful session.
I would love to teach you how to quickly and painlessly release the tissues in the foot. Please join us for a 12 CE SMRT: Lower Leg & Foot class in either Tucson, AZ or Sandy Springs, GA by registering at https://efullcircle.com/workshop-schedule/
