If pain persists you will most likely try several different medical professionals. Every time you hoped it would work out, but it didn’t. Every time a treatment or an approach doesn’t work out you get more worried, what’s going on? “This should be better by now”, “my neighbour had the same thing and she is fine now”, “what’s wrong with me why am I different?” You will also hear a different opinion from most people you see. As you hear more and more things that are potentially wrong with you, you can feel more fragile, more broken and even more confused. This can increase fear and anxiety.
There are two ways families can often impact pain:
A) Overprotective:
These are the enablers. An overprotective spouse or parent. The husband that takes care of his wife, he puts on her shoes, gets her purse and carries her coat. As well intentioned as this is, this enables and drives disability. The parent version of this is called the helicopter parent. The parent hovering over their child advising less activity and avoid moving or bending certain ways. A parents catastrophising in the first 72 hours after orthopaedic surgery is one of the biggest predictors of chronic pain in that child. That sentence in worth reading again.
B) Unsupportive:
At the other end of the scale, a lack of support in your immediate environment can contribute to increases in pain. The Irish Mammy who doesn’t get one hour of ‘me time’ in their week. They are working, driving people around every evening and cleaning their 24yr old son’s room. It might be easier if you broke a bone and had a cast on that people can actually see. With ongoing pain people suffer in silence.
The right support can promote recovery but neither of these family dynamics are helpful when it comes to treating people with ongoing pain.
The fear of pain is worse than the pain itself. Previous experiences of pain and fear of causing damage increases sensitivity levels. Fear, anxiety and catastrophising influences physical factors like postural and movement habits. People develop a fear which causes increased muscle tension and reduced movement. Fear avoidance means you withdraw from meaningful activities and do less and less as time goes on.
As long as the cause for your pain is unknown or poorly answered you (your body and your brain) might as well keep its defences up so your internal alarm system stays set at extra sensitive. Living in pain is not normal and being in ongoing pain can add to stress and worry. Worries about your job, relationships and finances can keep alarm system elevated and increase your pain. Understanding the relevant factors that might be contributing to your pain is a key factor in recovering.
Ankle injuries are one of the highest recurring injuries. This is often because of inadequate rehabilitation, underdosing of exercises and not enough treatment sessions.
The ligaments of the ankle can be sprained and or torn such as when landing on the inside or outside of your foot. If there is a complete tear of the ligaments, the ankle joint may become unstable. Over time, this instability can result in weakness to the bones and cartilage of the ankle joint.
Most sprained ankles occur in the lateral ligaments on the outside of the ankle. Your foot can twist unexpectedly during many different activities, such as:
Walking on an uneven surface
Falling
Participating in sports that require cutting actions or rolling and twisting of the foot such as tennis, football, and soccer
With a sprained ankle you may experience:
Without proper treatment and rehabilitation, a more severe sprain can weaken your ankle, making it more likely that you will injure it again. Repeated ankle sprains can lead to long-term problems, including chronic ankle pain, arthritis, and ongoing instability.
If the muscle is affected this is called a strain and can happen when the fibres of the muscle stretch or tear. With a muscle strain you may notice:
