Understanding and Treating Ankle Pain

One of the most common orthopedic injuries is to the ankle. Sprains strains and breaks can all really slow you down. For some people rehab goes smoothly and everything returns to normal but for others pain, stiffness and discomfort persists long after the initial injury. This is not normal and can lead to early onset osteoarthritis which will limit your ability to do even the most basic tasks pain free. 

After an ankle injury, seeing a doctor and following a treatment plan is critical for getting the best results. Because let’s face it, we’ve all walked off an injury, but that doesn’t mean it’s gone. Ankle injuries that don’t receive adequate rest and treatment often produce adherent scar tissue that can cause discomfort and stiffness in the ankle joint. Not only that, but inflamed scar tissue (aka synovitis) causes permanent damage to the joint and can be the main cause of pain and dysfunction. 

At this point there’s no amount of physical therapy that will clear the diseased tissue from your ankle joint. One innovative and effective way to treat the issue of an ankle problem that turns chronic is having an ankle arthroscopy performed. An ankle arthroscopy or ankle “scope” is a minimally invasive procedure in which a tiny camera is put into the ankle joint through a very small incision and another instrument is used to clean out any debris and diseased tissue that is causing pain and discomfort. The procedure helps to open up the joint, improve range of motion, and alleviates tightness and stiffness as well. The best part of the procedure is that there is usually no downtime besides walking in a boot for 1 - 2 weeks. Ankle scopes are considered to be quite technical and challenging and so not many doctors offer this option to their patients. The podiatrists at AIRE Podiatry have gone through extra training to be able to provide this revolutionary treatment to their patients. If chronic ankle pain is plaguing you, make an appointment today and see if this procedure can help you.