CONDITION: Ankle Pain

DESCRIPTION:

How does ankle pain develop? Ankle pain is most often due to an ankle sprain, which is an injury that causes a stretch or tear of one or more ligaments in the ankle joint. Ankle ligaments are probably the most sprained ligament in the body. Close to 26,000 people sprain their ankles every day. Although most ankle sprains occur on the outside part of the ankle, they can occur on the inside as well. An ankle twist is the most common sports injury to lead to ankle pain. In addition to ankle sprains and other injuries, ankle pain may also be caused by arthritis, gout, pseudogout and infection.

Pain from ankle sprains: The most common type of ankle sprain is an inversion injury, turning the ankle inward, injuring or tearing the ligaments on the lateral side of the ankle, usually the anterior talofibular and the tibiofibular ligaments. The inside of the ankle is held together by a group of ligaments called the deltoid ligament. This ligament is injured from turning the foot outward, as can happen when falling down stairs or mis-stepping. Once an ankle is sprained, the injury may take a few weeks to many months to fully heal. The injured ankle often remains a little weaker and less stable than the uninjured one.

What are the symptoms of ankle pain? Symptoms of pain from a sprained ankle include mild aching to sudden pain, swelling, discoloration, inflammation, inability to move the ankle properly and pain even when no weight is put on the ankle. In mild cases, there may be a propensity for the ankle to continually turn inward.

Click here to read Prolotherapy research by Dr. Ross Hauser and his team on Prolotherapy injections for ankle pain and degeneration.