Ankles support our weight allowing us to move about effortlessly. Also, they have several nerve endings on them, so you can imagine the kind of agony that you can go through if they start aching.
If you experience severe aches on your ankles, see below for possible causes and how to treat them.
Arthritis
Arthritis is an ailment that distresses the joints, meaning that ankles are not left out. This ailment is a result of the wear and tear of the cartilage that cushions the joints. Unhealthy eating habits and autoimmune issues cause other types of arthritis. Consequently, any movement causes the ball and socket joints to rub against each other, causing excruciating pain.
Some of the symptoms of arthritis include:
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The strain on the joints
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Redness
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Swelling
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Reduced movement range, and
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Stiffness.
Depending on the harshness of the tear, your doctor will administer medicine, encourage physical therapy, or even recommend surgery to replace the worn-out cartilage with an artificial one.
You may also have to adopt healthier eating habits to reduce your weight, which causes more damage to an already impaired cartilage.
Sprains
Anyone who does physical activity is familiar with this injury. A sprain occurs when the ankle joint moves inwards, something that is caused by sudden movement. As a result of this, ligaments, blood vessels, tendons, and even cartilages are damaged in the process.
Aside from engaging in sports activities, walking in rocky places or even wearing heeled, or uncomfortable shoes can lead to a sprain.
The symptoms of this injury are tenderness to the affected area, swelling, bruising, stiffness, or the inability to walk due to pain.
Treating a sprain requires you to do several things to help alleviate the pain quickly.
For example:
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Wrap a bandage around the affected area, but do not exert too much pressure
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Keeping your foot elevated to reduce the swelling
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Taking pain killers to get rid of the pain
Tendonitis
This is yet another disease that affects the ankle. Sadly, it can expand its leverage to the calf making the pain more severe and unbearable. This is because the tendons link the muscles to the bone.
In most cases, tendonitis occurs due to sudden uncalculated movements during sporting events. You may experience symptoms such as redness on the joint, pain, lose joint, swelling, discoloration, and stiffness.
If you suspect you have this condition, take inflammatory medicines, reduce physical activity, apply cold compressions, and use other ankle support items to ease the pain.
Fractures and dislocations
These are more severe joint injuries that occur during light and rigorous sporting events. In simple terms, a fracture is a bone that is broken, while a dislocated bone is where the bone shifts from its original location.
When your ankle fractures, you may experience some sort of grinding sensation while walking, pain, redness around the joint, or even a bone poking out of the skin. If you have these symptoms, visit a specialist immediately.
Most people are not able to move their feet after a dislocation. The dislocated joint comes with pain, swelling, or even numbness around the area. See a medic once you experience one or more of these symptoms.
