ANKLE PAIN

Ankle Pain

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What is ankle pain?

Ankle pain usually develops following injury to the bones, cartilage, ligaments or surrounding tendons of the ankle. So it is important to get a proper diagnosis from your podiatrist. Symptoms may include:

• Pain

• Swelling

• Stiffness

• Instability

• Weakness

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Most common causes of ankle pain?

• Ankle sprain (for example rolling your ankle)

• Fracture

• Tibialis posterior tendon dysfunction (this can lead to adult acquired flatfoot deformity)

• Tendinopathy (previously called tendonitis) the Achilles tendon at the back of your ankle is commonly affected

• Impingement(pinch/compression) this can be bony (e.g. due to a spur or accessory bone), soft tissue or nerve (e.g. sinus tarsi or tarsal tunnel syndrome)

•  Accessory bone at the back of the ankle (Os trigonum)

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Chronic conditions like osteoarthritis and gout can also cause ankle pain.

 

Aside from injury, ankle pain may also be caused by wear and tear, which usually results from one or a combination of:

• A previous injury that hasn’t been rehabilitated properly

• Inappropriate training load (e.g. overtraining)

• Wearing inappropriate footwear

• Inefficient foot function, walking or running technique

• Muscle imbalance (e.g. tight or weak calf muscles)

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Treatment for ankle pain

Treatment for your ankle pain depends largely on your symptoms and the injury that’s causing it. So it’s important you get a proper diagnosis from your podiatrist, physiotherapist or doctor. This will ensure your treatment plan is specific to your injury. The aim being to eliminate your pain as quickly as possible and prevent it from returning.