Wednesday evening my 16-year-old client Amanda came limping into the gym. She rolled her ankle that morning during a field hockey game. The coach told her to rest it and put ice on it immediately.

In the afternoon, Amanda went to see a chiropractor who did some ultrasound and electronic muscle stimulation on her ankle. He mentioned that it could take 4-6 weeks for it to return back to normal.

I took a different approach, an “active” one, by using two traction-based exercises – one horizontal and one vertical as shown below. These were followed by short cycles of forward and backward running.

The result: pain was gone, swelling went down, mobility increased significantly, and Amanda was walking normally. In fact, she threw away the tensor bandage that she had on when she came in and walked a couple of blocks home as if nothing happened.

I gave her some simple exercises to do at home, and when I sent her an email the following day to see how she was doing, this was her response:

“My ankle is so much better today! I woke up and could put all my weight on it and walk with no pain. It’s still a little bit sore to move around in circles but it’s much less painful and more of a dull pain. I did what you suggested yesterday and I think it helped a lot. Thanks! I’ll see you Friday.”

Amanda came in on Friday for her next workout and, you guessed it, no problem! She actually trained her lower body that day continuing where she left off previously, just business as normal. Obviously, she started light and worked her way up, but there was absolutely no pain and no restriction of movement. See for yourself!

Bottom line: METH takes effect very quickly… Do it next time you experience a low-grade sprain and you’ll be back on your feet in no time!