The first ankle sprain disrupts the proprioceptive system — the network of sensors in the ligaments, tendons, and joint capsule that tells your nervous system where your foot is in space. When those sensors are damaged and the rehabilitation doesn't specifically retrain them, the ankle never fully regains the stability it had. The next sprain becomes more likely. And the one after that.
Why ankle sprains keep coming back
Standard ankle sprain treatment: RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation), maybe some PT for strength, return to activity when the swelling goes down. That protocol addresses the acute injury. It doesn't address the proprioceptive deficit that remains after the ligaments heal. The ankle heals structurally but the nervous system's map of that joint remains inaccurate. The result is subtle but consequential: the foot lands slightly off, the ankle loads unevenly, and the cumulative asymmetry creates the conditions for the next sprain.
Applied Kinesiology identifies which muscles around the ankle have been inhibited by the sprain — particularly the peroneals, which are the primary dynamic stabilizers against inversion. When they're offline, the lateral ankle has no active protection. Finding them, activating them, and retraining the pattern that replaced them is the work.
Ankle instability doesn't stay local. When the ankle can't stabilize, the knee compensates. Then the hip. The asymmetry travels up the chain and eventually shows up as a knee complaint or hip pain that seems unrelated to the original ankle injury. If you've had recurring ankle sprains, the foot and ankle mechanics need to be assessed even when the presenting complaint is elsewhere.
Conditions we treat
Chronic ankle instability
Repeated sprains, giving way on uneven ground, or a persistent sense that the ankle isn't reliable. Peroneal inhibition and proprioceptive retraining.
Lateral ankle sprains
Acute or subacute inversion sprains — including ones that "should have healed by now" but haven't.
Achilles tendinopathy
Chronic Achilles pain is often driven by calf hypertonicity and altered load patterns from poor ankle mechanics upstream. Shockwave Therapy (ESWT) is highly effective for chronic insertional Achilles tendinopathy.
Plantar fasciitis
Foot mechanics and ankle dorsiflexion restriction are almost always implicated. We treat the full kinetic chain, not just the plantar fascia itself.
Peroneal tendinopathy
Lateral ankle pain that isn't quite a sprain — the peroneals under chronic overload from a stability deficit.
Post-surgical ankle
Surgery changes mechanics. The compensations the system built around the surgical site need to be identified and addressed for full function to return.
How we treat ankle and foot problems
Active Release Techniques® releases the calf, Achilles, and plantar fascia restrictions that are compressing the joint and altering mechanics. Chiropractic adjustment restores talocrural and subtalar joint mobility — the ankle joints that most commonly lose range after sprains and surgery. Custom flexible orthotics are available when foot mechanics need ongoing support; these are movement-oriented, not the rigid inserts that immobilize the foot and create new compensations upstream.
For chronic Achilles tendinopathy and plantar fasciitis that haven't responded to conventional treatment, Shockwave Therapy (ESWT) is first-line. The evidence base is strong, and Dr. Cohen has used it extensively — including with endurance athletes and Olympians whose ankle and foot presentations couldn't afford extended downtime.