Ankle Pain

05 May Ankle Pain

It is common to have ankle pain particularly from sprained ankles which can occur with many sports activities or from injury in everyday life. A twisting of the ankle is the common cause of injury resulting in pain. The traditional treatment for an ankle sprain is rice RICE (rest, immobilization, compression and elevation). The use of a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDS) can also help decrease swelling and is used commonly with ankle injuries. Though the use of NSAIDS has recently been implicated as possibly worsening the COVID-19 infections and may want to be avoided. Immobilization or bracing of ankle sprains can also be helpful, but the best braces for support are usually at your physician’s office and not at the pharmacy and is usually a covered benefit with health insurance. Properly performed home exercise programs as well as treatment with a physical therapist can be beneficial strengthening the ankle and reduce pain. Much of these conservative treatments can be done at home and guidance through recovery can be supervised with telemedicine visits available by appoint from Hughes Orthopedics. Even with the correct initial treatment, ankle pain can persist. The reason for continued ankle pain might not be because there is more damage to the joint than a simple sprain. The ankle pain could be a result of injury to the cartilage lining of the ankle joint from acute trauma or chronic degenerative. The anatomy of the ankle joint is made up where the talus bone of the foot and the tibia bone of the leg come together to form the smooth articular cartilage surface. A cartilage lesion of the ankle’s talus bone can be the source of pain. OCD or osteochondral defect is a condition in which the bone or the cartilage is injured or disrupted to the point that the ankle joint has lost its healthy properties. This can be diagnosed with x-ray or MRI in patients whom have shown not to have pain relief from their initial ankle injury or have chronic pain.

The progression of such cartilage lesions is that the ankle will continue to degenerate into an arthritis. Interventions with injections can decrease inflammation and with platelet rich plasma (PRP) or stem cells, a healing of the joint can be achieved. The treatments are pain-free and done in the office setting, avoiding hospitals is always our goal. At Hughes Orthopedics we can intervene in the progression of this pathology of your ankle pain to stop it and begin a healing process that can last a lifetime. If you continue to have ankle discomfort longer than six weeks after an injury or you have had chronic pain that has lasted several months you should be evaluated to determine whether you have an underlying condition that may not get better without intervention. It is important to have a trained orthopedic surgeon evaluate your ankle and determine what steps are needed to be done to alleviate ankle pain. Modern interventions, PRP and stem cells, for severe musculoskeletal injuries can be the difference between continuing with chronic pain or having the pain extinguished and life returning to normal. At Hughes Orthopedics we have patients who have achieved pain relief that they thought was never possible. Telemedicine available by appointment. With suspension of all non-essential surgeries due to COVID19 at the time there are no foot or ankle surgeries considered essential.