If you suspect you have a sprained ankle, or have received an official diagnosis from your doctor, treating your ankle at home is essential to promoting better healing. Here at McAuliffe Chiropractic we used the PRICE method, an updated take on the time-honored “RICE” solution to treating sprains and strains.

The PRICE method should be applied at least for 24-48 hours after injury, and possibly longer depending on the severity of your injury. PRICE stands for: Protection, Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. Here’s how it works.

Protection. Protecting your injury is of the utmost importance. You need to stay off your sprained ankle and give it the proper time to heal. Use crutches or apply a sprint or brace to the injury to limit the use of your injured ankle and protect it.

Rest. Limit physical activities that may cause stress to your sprain. Just like protection, rest is essential to giving your body time to heal. Restrict any physical activities that may cause stress to the sprain, which means no running, jumping, or exercising.

Ice. When it comes to treating sprained ankles, ice is your best friend, not only for pain management but to reduce swelling. Apply ice, a cold pack, or submerge your ankle entirely in an ice bucket. The best approach to icing is to do it in 20-minute increments throughout the day.

Compression. Gently wrap your injured ankle in an elastic bandage to help decrease swelling. Remember a compression wrap will not offer extra stability, or protect the ankle, it is there for compression. You should wear the wrap when you are not icing and plan on putting it on in the morning and removing it at bedtime.

Elevation. Raise your ankle on pillows while you’re sitting or lying down so that it’s higher than your heart. Whenever you are sitting or lying down, make sure that your injured ankle is higher than your heart.

Staying on a strict PRICE protocol is the best way to treat your ankle injury and make sure you not only help treat the pain associated with this injury but help with bruising, and swelling and promote faster healing.

Vertigo is more than just temporarily feeling dizzy. Vertigo involves dealing with extended periods of dizziness, movement, or spinning sensations and that can occur in any situation—and be extremely disruptive to your daily life.

There are a few telltale signs including dizziness accompanied by a spinning sensation. In some cases, you’ll find several other symptoms including:

- Headaches or migraine-like symptoms

- Tinnitus or ringing in the ear

- Nausea and vomiting

- Sweating or hot flashes

- Swaying or the inability to balance while standing

Vertigo is most common in patients who have endured trauma to the neck or head. Many times, when an injury or trauma happens, a disturbance in the nerve pathway can occur in the spinal column and lead to this type of issue.

In other situations, vertigo may be caused by damage to or disruption of your vestibular system or your inner ear. Health issues such as ear infections, pressure changes, or movement of particles within the inner ear can also impact feelings of dizziness.

Because vertigo issues are often triggered by a neurological connection issue, many people find relief with chiropractic care.

The right chiropractic treatment plan can not only help relieve some of the symptoms associated with vertigo but actually get to the root cause of your vertigo. Make sure to ask your chiropractor about your safe and natural treatment options today.