Ankle pain when walking

AnklePain while Walking

Theankle is a joint that connects the leg to the foot. There are manytough tendons, ligaments and muscles that surround it. If thesetissues become damaged in any way, walking can become painful, sincemost of the muscles and tendons are used while the ankle is beingused. These tissues can be damaged by an ankle sprain or twist, whichhappens when the ankle is forced to move much further than iscomfortable and the muscles are stretched out, either straining themor even causing tearing. Other causes of ankle pain are when thecartilage or blood vessels inside the joint are damaged, impeding thecorrect functioning of the ankle joint. The pain may also radiatethrough the leg to the knee or hip.

Causesof Ankle Pain

Varioustypes of arthritis (an inflammation of the joints) can affect theankles. Rheumatoid arthritis is the most widely known type,characterised by inflammation lasting a long period of time. It is anautoimmune disease, which means that the body mistakes normal tissuesfor foreign bodies and will try to destroy them.

Septicarthritis occurs when harmful bacteria is transferred into the jointvia the blood stream. The bacteria then infects the joint, causinginflammation, swelling, slight fever and acute pain. Harmful bacteriacan be introduced to the body in various ways, including when theankle is operated on and an infection creeps in.

Themajor condition of the skin called psoriasis can contribute toarthritis of the joints. Psoriasis is characterised by red, itchypatches of skin on various parts of the body and the arthritis thatresults from this condition usually only affects minor joints such asthose in the fingertips and toes.

Osteoarthritisoccurs when the cartilage that exists between the joints is damaged orworn down, causing the joint to stiffen up and become painful whenused. As this condition worsens, the cartilage may disappear entirelyand cause the bones to scrape against each other, causing massivepain and degradation of the muscles and tendons around the joint.

Whenthe body has trouble metabolising uric acid or when it produces toomuch uric acid, a foot along with its toes can become inflamed. Thishappens due to the excess acid being left in the bloodstream and thejoints as crystals. Intense swelling may also result from this.

Treatment

Anklepain treatment is usually taken care of at home by resting the joint,applying cold compresses to relieve swelling and pain and by takingnon-prescription medication. Severely painful conditions or the anklepain lasting a significant length of time might be causes for adoctor consultation.