Injury Prevention: Stop It Before It Starts – A Case Study

A couple years ago Andy came to me with severe headaches.

Andy was a runner who had fractured his ankle 8 months previously. His ankle was casted for 6 weeks and when he came out he was referred to physio.

But Andy never went.

Two weeks before I saw him, Andy thought he would get back into it, and went for a run. After his run, he had a terrible headache (9/10) from his temples back around his ear and at the base of his skull.

• All neck movements were painful.
• He was taking anti-inflammatories, painkillers and muscle relaxants with minimal impact.
• His doctor gave him a steroid injection – but no change!
• He was working around the clock on a work project – needless to say, Andy was stressed!
• Andy’s doctor referred him to me.

Based on our assessment we found dysfunction in his neck and trunk and not surprisingly his LEFT ANKLE!

Andy’s treatment focused on restoring optimal function to his left foot, thorax and upper cervical spine.

His headaches quickly eased.

Over the course of a few weeks his headaches had largely subsided but could be brought on by long periods of sitting or stress.

He returned to his running with no aggravation of his headaches, but a program of mobilisation and strengthening his ankle.

For Andy, the lesson was that his headaches may have been preventable.

After ankle sprains and fractures we start to move differently and the body compensates well to offload the injury – often at the expense of the neck or trunk.

The ankle injury heals, but the compensations remain. And with a busy life – stressful work deadlines and kids at home, Andy let his health slide.

Do you have a similar story? Avoided treatment of what you thought was a simple injury and now months later are having problems somewhere else?

If that’s the case you may benefit from a comprehensive full body assessment – mention this post and receive 50% of your initial assessment with Brendan.

#headache #physio #stress