The ankle is a part of the fibula of the ankle joint and acts as its stabilizer. This part of the bone is located on the side of the leg just above the foot. It is due to the ankle that the entire body weight is transferred to the foot.
The ankle is a rather vulnerable spot on the leg, which is often the cause of injuries. Damage in this area is fraught with the occurrence of pain, accompanied by the development of a pathological process.
In addition, articular diseases requiring serious complex treatment can provoke these manifestations.
Ankle hurts - causes
Many people who have similar problems have a question: why does the ankle hurt and what are the reasons for this?
For example, with careless walking or injuries, the foot may twist, resulting in excessive load on the ligaments. As a rule, this leads to their stretching and the occurrence of pain in the ankle.
Severe pain can be caused by muscle breaks and fractures, especially with sharp and unforeseen rotational movements. Under such circumstances, the main symptomatology is accompanied by edema of the lower limb in the injured area, which greatly complicates the movement when walking. The skin surrounding the lesion may change color.
As another reason, as a result of which there is a noticeable pain in the ankle, tendonitis, which is an active inflammatory process that occurs at the site of connection of the tendons and bone, can occur. The disease is characterized by a partial rupture of the tendons, suggesting a gradual healing. And it is, as a rule, rather painful.
The occurrence of tendonitis is due to two reasons:
• excessive load on the feet (most often athletes and people leading an active lifestyle are affected);
• the presence of age-related changes occurring in people who have crossed the forty-year mark.
Sometimes infections can lead to the development of the disease, changes in the autoimmune plan, metabolic disturbances, trauma and stretching of the Achilles tendon.
Excessive loads caused by long walking and long standing in one place can provoke the development of brucite. In this situation, the occurrence of pain is inevitable.
Of particular danger is an ankle fracture. Such manifestations are most often inherent in basketball players, soccer players and categories of people involved in other active sports. Pain in the ankle tends to continue for a fairly long period of time, since it is not easy to identify the root cause. For example, after a serious injury, a fracture can only be determined after two months.
Ankle pain can be caused by improperly selected shoes. Therefore, it is recommended to purchase shoes easier in full accordance with the size of the legs and, preferably, with the presence of arch support.
Ankle pain - what to do: first aid for injury
When the ankle hurts, the most common cause is an ankle dislocation.
In this case, you need to know what measures to take in case of domestic injuries and how to provide first aid.
In medicine, there are three degrees of dislocation:
• injuries affecting the muscle fibers of the ligaments;
• partial tears and damage to the ligaments themselves;
• ligament rupture.
It is possible to establish the degree of damage using x-rays. Therefore, in the event of severe pain, it is by no means recommended to postpone a visit to a traumatologist and self-medicate.
Regardless of whether there is a dislocation or sprain in the case, the need is first aid, which involves the following actions:
• the damaged limb is placed on a pillow or roller, thereby ensuring a rest state;
• the foot is fixed with an elastic bandage;
• apply cold to the affected area.
You can relieve severe pain with an anesthetic. Next, you should call an ambulance or try to deliver the injured person to the emergency room. The doctor will be able to determine what treatment should be prescribed, and this depends on the severity of the injury and the developing consequences after the injury.
If it is a stretch, then most likely it will cost an overlay of an elastic bandage, which is recommended to be worn for two weeks in a row.
When the ankle hurts due to tearing of the ligaments, a removable plaster cast is applied. In parallel, physiotherapeutic procedures and exercise therapy can be prescribed. The rehabilitation period is about a month, and the full course of treatment usually takes about two months.
Local anesthetics are prescribed in the form of creams and ointments and are used to reduce pain. It is advisable to continue physical therapy after the main treatment for some time. This will make it possible to strengthen the weakened ligaments of the ankle joint.
Ankle hurts - what to do if there was no injury
If the ankle hurts and there was no injury, then most likely there are joint diseases caused by the development of internal degenerative changes.
In this case, we are talking about diseases such as:
• arthrosis;
• arthritis;
• tender;
• crusts.
• and so on.
For such manifestations, the sharp nature of the pain is characteristic, which tends to intensify, accompanied by inflammation. Moreover, patients have significantly limited mobility. A logical question arises: what to do in such cases? Firstly, you should contact the specialists:
• rheumatologist;
• traumatologist.
In these cases, self-medication is not recommended, as the outcome of the disease directly depends on the correctness of the diagnosis, medical prescriptions and recommendations.
After the withdrawal of severe symptoms, the root cause should be treated - an ailment, as a result of which the ankle constantly hurts.
Ankle hurts: in which cases a doctor is needed
Such a serious symptom in which the ankle on the leg hurts should never be ignored, even if the manifestations have no apparent reason. This refers to injuries, bruises and various kinds of mechanical stress.
If the pain is not strong and is random, then it goes away by itself.
In all other cases, it is recommended to immediately seek medical advice and advice from a specialist.
The fact is that periodic pain in the ankle does not occur from scratch. As a rule, they are caused by the development of internal pathological processes, the presence of concomitant joint diseases and tend to intensify in the absence of proper treatment.
A complex of physiotherapy exercises designed to strengthen the ligaments
The composition of therapeutic measures to eliminate pain in the ankle includes a set of physiotherapy exercises. Exercise therapy is aimed at consolidating the result, strengthening the ligaments and muscles of the ankle joint and stimulating blood circulation. For most people, the implementation of the proposed exercises is not difficult. So, exercise therapy includes the following exercises:
• starting position: sit on the floor, straightening the legs at the knees;
• grab the feet with a scarf or towel, holding on to its edges;
• pull the scarf and bend the foot a little, holding it in this position for at least 15 seconds. Repeat exercise 5 times in a row.
Such simple gymnastics will prevent the development of consequences and reduce the likelihood of subsequent injuries.
Another point that is recommended to pay attention to is shoes. Oddly enough, the development of pathologies and injuries of the ankle is due precisely to improperly selected shoes or the inability to wear them. First of all, the legs should feel comfortable. Patients are recommended orthopedic shoes, the selection of which should be carried out especially carefully, since otherwise there is a possibility of tucking the leg.
People with flat feet should use arch support or shock absorbing insoles.
In order to achieve the desired result, it is imperative to give the feet rest, for this it is recommended to place the foot on a special pillow or cushion, providing it with full daily rest for 2-3 hours. The fact is that the cause of pain in the ankle can be both an excessive load on the legs while walking, and prolonged standing in one place. That is why this nuance plays an important role.
