Why Do I Keep Reinjuring the Same Joint?
Imagine this: You are out for a jog, enjoying the breeze, and then—snap—your foot rolls. You have sprained your ankle for the third time in the last two years. Or maybe you are back on the basketball court after your ACL tear from a year ago, and bam—you feel the same sensation. The fear sets in: “Am I doomed to reinjure myself over and over again?”
Joint instability after an injury is not just frustrating—it can be a chronic issue that does not seem to improve despite therapy or exercise. You might be wondering why you keep reinjuring the same joint, whether it is an ankle sprain, an ACL tear, or even a shoulder dislocation. The truth is, the body does not just heal after an injury—it goes through a complex process of healing, and sometimes, that process leaves the joint less stable than it was before. This can make you more vulnerable to future injuries in the same area.
In this post, we will explore the science behind joint instability, why it leads to reinjuries, and how chiropractic neurology can play a key role in rehabilitation. Let’s break it down so you can finally stop the cycle and regain the stability you need.
The Hidden Causes: Soft Tissue Damage, Ligament Laxity, and Proprioceptive Deficits
Soft Tissue Damage and Ligament Laxity
When you sustain an injury—whether it is an ankle sprain, an ACL tear, or a shoulder dislocation—your body sustains damage to soft tissues such as ligaments, tendons, and muscles. Ligaments are responsible for stabilizing joints, and when they are overstretched or torn, they can become lax. This means the joint loses its ability to stabilize properly, setting the stage for reinjury.
For example, in an ACL tear, the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is often torn during high-impact sports, particularly in activities that require sudden stops, pivots, or jumps. The loss of ligament integrity leads to instability in the knee, making it prone to further damage during similar movements (Beynnon et al., 2005). Even after surgery and rehab, if the surrounding soft tissues are weak or imbalanced, the knee can still feel unstable, increasing the risk of reinjury.
Ankle sprains follow a similar pattern. A sprain damages the ligaments that stabilize the ankle joint, and once these ligaments are stretched or torn, they lose their ability to protect the joint. Without proper rehabilitation, the ankle may feel “weak” or “wobbly,” and this can cause you to twist it again with just a simple misstep (Hertel, 2002).
Proprioceptive Deficits: The Brain’s Missing Signals
When soft tissues such as ligaments and tendons are injured, they also damage the proprioceptors—specialized sensory receptors embedded in those tissues. Proprioceptors send signals to the brain that tell it the position of your body and joints in space. After an injury, your brain’s understanding of where your joint is in space becomes skewed, leading to a proprioceptive deficit.
This means that your brain does not receive the right signals to properly coordinate movement, and this impairment makes you more prone to reinjury. For example, after an ankle sprain, you might find it difficult to balance or properly align your joint during physical activity. Your brain and nervous system may not react quickly enough, leading to another sprain or strain when the body fails to stabilize the joint properly (Schmidt et al., 2014).
Somatotopic Maps: How Your Body’s “Map” Gets Distorted
In the brain, there is a mental “map” of your body called the somatotopic map. This map helps the brain understand where each body part is and how to move it efficiently. After an injury, the somatotopic map can become distorted. The areas of the brain responsible for controlling the injured joint can lose their spatial accuracy, leading to less coordinated movement and difficulty in stabilizing the joint.
Research suggests that the brain undergoes a form of “remapping” after injury, but this remapping is often imperfect (Pleger et al., 2003). As a result, your brain may “forget” how to move the injured joint in a smooth, coordinated fashion, increasing the risk of further injury.
Why You Are Still Struggling
Let’s consider Sarah, a recreational runner who sprained her ankle during a trail race last year. She rested, iced it, and followed a basic rehab routine, but soon after, the same ankle rolled again. The second injury was worse than the first, and after rehab, she was back out on the trails—only to roll the same ankle again a few months later.
Sarah’s issue was not just that her ligaments were weak or that her ankle was not strong enough. Her proprioceptive system had become impaired, and her brain’s somatotopic map of her injured ankle had lost its precision. Her proprioceptors—those sensors that tell her brain where her foot was in space—were no longer as effective as before. As a result, Sarah was constantly misjudging her foot placement, leading to repeated sprains.
Sarah’s story is all too common: injury leads to instability, and instability leads to more injuries. But what if there were a way to break the cycle?
Chiropractic Neurology for Proper Rehabilitation
To heal from an injury and avoid reinjuring yourself, you need to do more than just rest and strengthen your muscles. The key lies in a multifaceted rehabilitation approach that addresses the root causes of joint instability. Chiropractic neurology can be particularly effective in this regard by combining strategies for restoring normal joint function, correcting proprioceptive deficits, and retraining the brain’s motor control.
1. Strengthening Exercises
Strengthening the muscles surrounding the injured joint is vital. These muscles act as dynamic stabilizers, helping to protect the joint during movement. For an ACL injury, for example, strengthening the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes is essential for restoring stability to the knee.
For ankle sprains, exercises like calf raises, resistance band exercises, and toe-tapping can help rebuild muscle strength and reduce the risk of further sprains (Kibler et al., 2009). These exercises should be progressively challenging, focusing not just on strength but also on functional movement patterns.
2. Balance and Stability Training
Proprioception is key to joint stability, and one of the best ways to retrain proprioceptors is through balance exercises. Using tools like balance boards, wobble cushions, or even simple single-leg stances can help improve your body’s ability to sense joint position and adapt to changes in terrain. For example, after an ankle sprain, practicing balance exercises on unstable surfaces can help restore proper proprioception and reduce the likelihood of future sprains.
3. Myofascial Work and Soft Tissue Mobilization
Myofascial work, such as foam rolling, massage, or active release therapy (ART), can be beneficial for addressing muscle tightness that develops after an injury. Tight muscles can alter joint mechanics and add stress to injured tissues. Chiropractic care, which often includes soft tissue mobilization techniques, can release muscle tension and improve overall flexibility and range of motion.
4. Vestibular Rehabilitation
In some cases, joint instability is related to disruptions in the vestibular system, which controls balance and spatial orientation. Vestibular rehabilitation exercises—designed to retrain the brain and nervous system to better process balance signals—can be an important component of rehab. These exercises can help retrain your body’s balance mechanisms, improving stability and reducing the risk of falls or reinjury (Peterka, 2002).
5. Somatotopic Remapping
Chiropractic neurology focuses on restoring the brain’s ability to properly map out and control movements. Somatotopic remapping techniques can include specific exercises and therapies that retrain the brain to regain accurate representation of the injured body part. This could include practices like targeted neuromuscular re-education, which helps your brain relearn efficient movement patterns and restores motor control over the injured joint.
6. Laser Targeting and Movement Retraining
A newer addition to rehabilitation protocols is laser targeting, which involves using advanced technologies like infrared laser therapy to stimulate the tissue and improve the healing process. This can enhance circulation and tissue repair while also retraining the nervous system to improve motor function and joint control. Additionally, movement retraining involves incorporating complex movement patterns that simulate real-life situations to ensure proper coordination and stability.
Healing for Good
Injuries do not have to be a life sentence of recurring pain and instability. With the right combination of therapies, including chiropractic neurology, you can rehabilitate your joint, restore proprioception, and prevent reinjury. The goal is not just to heal—it is to retrain your brain and body to function at their best, so you can move confidently and without fear of another injury.
If you’ve been struggling with joint instability, consider seeing a chiropractor who specializes in neurology. They can help assess your movement patterns, retrain your brain’s motor control, and get you back to doing what you love, without fear of reinjury.
If you or someone you love is suffering from tension headaches and you would like to learn how chiropractic neurology can help, contact the team at Georgia Chiropractic Neurology Center today. We look forward to hearing from you.
Written by Sophie Hose, DC, MS, DACNB, CCSP
Peer-Reviewed Sources:
- Beynnon, B. D., et al. (2005). “Anterior cruciate ligament injury, surgery, and rehabilitation.” Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 35(10), 602-616.
- Hertel, J. (2002). “Functional anatomy of the ankle and its role in athletic injury and rehabilitation.” Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 32(9), 405-420.
- Kibler, W. B., et al. (2009). “The role of the hip in the athletic shoulder.” Journal of Sports Rehabilitation, 18(3), 218-226.
- Pleger, B., et al. (2003). “Motor cortex remapping in human subjects after focal hand dystonia.” Neurology, 60(4), 611-618.
- Peterka, R. J. (2002). “Sensorimotor integration in human postural control.” Journal of Neurophysiology, 88(3), 1097-1118.
- Schmidt, R. A., et al. (2014). “Motor Learning and Performance: From Principles to Application.” Human Kinetics.