Ankle Pain
ANKLE PAIN
Ankle anatomy -a brief summary:
The ankle joint involves 3 bones, namely the bones of the shin (the tibia and fibula) and the talus bone of the foot – see the diagram below for a visual representation! The ankle joint in the body is formally known as the talocrural joint.
Beneath the talocrural joint is a further serries of joints which are verry important for ankle function. These joints can be tricky to wrap your heads around - primarily they involve the heel bone and the talus bone; and are heavily involved in moving the sole of the foot towards the middle or away from the body.
What movements does the ankle joint do?
The ankle is in motion when we move our foot up and down; this is known as ‘Dorsiflexion’ (bringing the foot up) and ‘Plantarflexion’ (pushing the toes down).
When we move the sole of the foot towards the middle or push our foot to the side this in formally known as ‘Inversion’ and ‘Eversion’ of the foot respectively; and this involves both the ankle joint and the joint beneath where the heel bone and the talus bone are joined.
How does the ankle joint move?
The ankle joint moves through the action of different muscles, the same as every other joint in the body; without muscles producing force the body wouldn’t move! The calf muscle at the back of the leg produces ankle plantarflexion; a big muscle known as tibialis anterior produces dorsiflexion and a combination of a lot of other smaller muscle in the shin and foot produce ankle inversion and eversion.
What are some common conditions of ankle pain?
- Achilles tendon injury
- Muscle strains
- Ligament injury such as an ankle sprain
- Ankle impingement
- Arthritic change in the ankle joint
- Fracture of the ankle usually if some kind of trauma has occurred
(We have completed some BLOGs already for a lot of the above conditions; please check them out! )
What can a Physiotherapist do for my ankle pain?
Physiotherapists are experts in human movement and will work with you to establish the cause of the ankle pain and find ways to get you back to doing whatever it is you want to do!
Your Physiotherapist will perform a comprehensive assessment of the ankle range of motion; strength; balance and also likely complete a series of functional assessment to assess how the ankle tolerates different requirements of mobility.
That sounds great…but how?
Depending on the nature of the injury, the stage of injury healing and your goals your Physiotherapist will work with you to implement a robust and personalised exercise program targeting areas that were notable during the physical assessment.
If pain is an issue your Physiotherapist will also provide hands on manual therapy to help alleviate pain and get you feeling at a level where you can start your rehabilitation program.
Will I need any x-rays or surgeries?
Once we have assessed your ankle pain if we feel you require any medical imaging or consultation with a surgeon we can refer you from our clinical rooms. Don’t waste your time and money on imaging if you don’t need to!
As a general rule of thumb IF the ankle pain is new following some kind of traumatic event and you are unable to take weight through the ankle because of nasty pain you will likely need an x-ray first to make sure the bones are okay! We can guide you in this process.
Don’t let pain stop you from doing what you want to do; make an appointment today to have your ankle assessed, plan out your goals with your Physio and let’s get you back to doing whatever it is that you want to do!