Ankle Pain
Do you feel ankle pain every time you go for a walk? Does the ankle pain feel worse with your first morning step? Perhaps you suffer from a history of broken ankles or ankle sprains. Do you suffer from ankle arthritis? Did you ever need to get your ankles fused or get surgery? Ankle pain is not an abnormal condition. Unfortunately, a lot of people are not given a lot of options for ankle pain, but here are several options that might help you out:
1. Cortisone Injections
Ankle pain can get better sometimes through ankle injections – at least temporarily. The overall goal would be to alleviate any inflammation that may cause the ankle pain and make the symptoms better to allow you to return to daily activities. However, this should merely be done a limited amount of spaced out times in order to restrict any steroid side effects within the joint.
2. Custom Ankle Braces
If orthotics are not enough to alleviate your ankle pain, or if you really have problems in your ankle bones (such as arthritis), custom ankle braces could help you return to daily activities without anymore ankle pain. These custom ankle braces are specifically made for the ankle to eliminate any ankle pain that might cause discomfort. As a matter of fact, the ankle pain will usually be totally resolved as the custom ankle braces are put to use. Even though this does not fix the problem entirely, it could eliminate any symptoms and allow for regular functioning at the same time.
3. Orthotics
Orthotics is also known as custom shoe inserts and, even though they do not treat ankles, they can usually alleviate any retrograde pressure that may cause ankle pain. The overall goal would be to modify your way of walking to create more neutral patterns and let the ankle and foot function more properly. This usually resolves any ankle pain, too.
Out of all of these options, which one would be ideal for you? Every ankle differs from the next and the ankle pain causes have to be understood before determining the courses of action. Sometimes, the ideal solution would be surgery; however, it is completely possible to alleviate or significantly improve the ankle pain with any of the treatments mentioned above, or even combinations of them. Here are several tips you need to take into consideration:
1. Get a proper diagnosis on what causes your ankle pain either through x-rays, MRI scans or CT scans. A basic diagnosis without further explanation would not be enough.
2. Get specialists to recommend your ankle treatments and ask about each treatment’s advantages and disadvantages.
3. Know that any kind of treatment will only be worth it if it comes with consistency. If you have custom ankles braces, for example, but never use them, your ankle pain will not get better.
Life is far too short to allow ankle pain to stop you from living and taking part in everything you want to do. Keep in mind that ankle pain isn’t always normal and can be treated at any time.