Case #2 – 15 Years of Chronic Pain & Swelling
The patient:
- 31 yr old female
The problems:
- Chronic pain and swelling of her ankle for 15 years.
- She shattered her ankle as a teenager, requiring reconstructive surgery with pins and screws.
- Since the surgery she has extreme swelling in the ankle, like her skin cannot stretch any further.
- Must wear wide shoes to accommodate the size of her foot.
- Constant aching rated 4-5 out of 10 on average (10 being the worst) going up to 8-9 out of 10 on bad days.
- Just keeps getting worse over the years; even a bit of activity aggravates it.
- On hot, humid days it swells out of control, and she can always predict when it will rain.
- Her orthopedic doctor says she will have to live with this the rest of her life. He suggested taking anti-inflammatories every 4-6 hours for the rest of her life.
- She is also overweight, wears orthotics that are 7-8 yrs old, has environmental allergies and is lactose intolerant.
- She rarely drinks water, and mostly drinks soda.
- Medications: birth control pills, reactine.
What we found:
- Flat arches.
- Spinal misalignments:
- T4-6 (the nerves here supply the liver, gallbladder, and stomach).
- T12-L1 (the nerves here supply the intestines, kidneys, and uterus).
- L4-5 (the nerves here supply the low back, legs, ankles and feet).
- Ankle misalignments.
- Suspected blood sugar and adrenal imbalances.
- Suspected systemic inflammation.
- BMI 42.6 (optimal is under 25). Body fat 43.0% (optimal is 20-24%). Morbid obesity.
What we recommended:
- Acupuncture with electrical stim;
- Scar tissue reduction with percussor treatment;
- Fish oil;
- High-potency multivitamin;
- Vitamin D;
- Anti-inflammatory diet;
- Referral to pedorthist for assessment of her orthotics;
- Infrared ankle wrap to wear at night.
What the patient actually did:
- This patient is doing everything except for taking the supplements and consulting the pedorthist.
The results:
- After 1 treatment:
- Significant relief of pain and swelling even though the weather was hot and humid.
- After 12 treatments:
- Ankle feels 80% improved.
- Can wear normal sized shoes now, even heels.
- Can wear hockey skates without any problems.