Ankle Pain

Is this your symptom?

• Pain in the ankle
• If pain is caused by an injury, see Foot and Ankle Injury care guide

Causes of Ankle Pain

• Muscle Overuse(strained muscles). Ankle pain is often from hard muscle work or sports. Examples are too much walking, running or jumping. This type of pain can last from hours up to 7 days.
• Sprained Ankles are from over-stretching the ligaments around the ankle joint. Mild sprains can happen from just walking on uneven ground or doing normal activities. Mild sprains often feel better with rest within a few days. Severe sprains can take many weeks to heal.
• Viral Illness. Mild muscle and joint pain can happen with many viral illnesses, such as the flu.
• Reactive Arthritis. If you have an infection somewhere else in your body (such as bladder or bowel), you may also get inflammation in your joints. The knees and ankles are often affected. Treating the infection will help the joint pain settle down.
• Septic Arthritis (serious). This is a bacterial infection of a joint space. Main symptoms are fever and severe pain when you move the joint. You may not be able to move the joint at all. This needs care right away.
• Tendinitis is inflammation of tendons where they attach to the bone, caused by overuse. An example is Achilles tendinitis which causes pain at the back of the heel. It hurts when the limb is moved or used. Often needs a long period of rest from the activity that caused it. Physical therapy (PT) and/or a steroid shot may be needed to reduce the pain.
• Bursitis. Many joints are covered by fluid-filled sacs called bursae. They help the joint move smoothly. Bursae can get inflamed or infected, causing pain and swelling. The area may look red and feel warm to touch. See your doctor right away if you have these symptoms.
• Flat Feet is the term used when the arch of your foot is flattened. You might have inherited this or it could be from injury or overuse. It is often painless, but could cause ankle pain.
• Joint Inflammation. Examples are rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and gout. Some, like gout, may affect just one joint. Others affect multiple joints at the same time. Osteoarthritis is due to wear and tear on the joints and can cause pain, stiffness and loss of movement. Rheumatoid arthritis usually affects the same joint on both sides of the body. Early treatment may help prevent long-term damage to the joints involved.
• Trapped Nerves. The nerves in the lower leg can become trapped or squeezed where they pass through narrow spaces as they leave the spine. Sciatica is from pressure on a nerve in the back. It causes tingling, weakness or pain in the leg which may go into the hip (and down to the toes). If symptoms do not go away with rest or treatment, surgery may be needed to release the nerve.

Pain Scale

• Mild: you feel some pain, but it does not keep you from any normal activities. Work, activities and sleep are not changed.
• Moderate: the pain keeps you from doing some normal activities. It may wake you up from sleep.
• Severe: the pain is very bad. It keeps you from doing all normal activities.