Ankle pain can diminish your life quality significantly, especially if you become immobilized. Further, you may have to try different remedies to find the best pain management option. However, doing so without a professional’s guidance can prove challenging, mainly because you lack the medical directive to make a correct decision. Subsequently, the ankle pain is likely to persist, resulting in prolonged medical issues.
By partnering with a healthcare provider, you can find suitable pain management remedies backed by medical and scientific research. With their help, you will understand the primary cause of your pain and effective pain management practices for your recovery. By choosing an experienced healthcare service provider, you are in a better position to eliminate the pain sooner.
Understanding Ankle Pain Cases
Your ankles are crucial to your overall well-being, primarily standing and supporting yourself as you walk. Further, the structure comprises multiple complex bones and joints that enable movement.
A healthy ankle has thirty-three joints with a twenty-six-bone structure. These two components are held together by hundreds of nerves, ligaments, tendons, and different muscles for functionality. Moreover, since the ankle contains living tissue, blood vessels run through the structures to nourish the muscles and remove waste.
Overall, the complex ankle structure is prone to pain from various causes, and you will only receive an accurate diagnosis by visiting your healthcare provider. This is because different ankle areas may cause discomfort depending on their exposure to external factors. Without appropriate medical examinations, you could treat the wrong area and thus fail to curb the problem effectively.
Causes of Ankle Pain
To understand ankle pain management, you want to learn the pain cause, as you will then have the necessary guidance to handle it. Hence, your healthcare provider will request some information to serve as your case background as they try to establish the cause of your pain.
Noteworthy, ankle pain may be temporary or prolonged. Usually, the brief pain arises from newly introduced habits, environment, or items like footwear. You can distinguish the two types of ankle pain by gauging how long you take to feel relief.
If you feel better within a few days to a week, the pain is short-lived, and home pain management remedies will have resolved the issue. Most short-term ankle pains arise from soft tissue injuries. For example, hitting your ankle area accidentally while riding your bicycle may cause short-term pain capable of resolving itself within a few days.
Conversely, prolonged pain requires a thorough medical examination, where your doctor will recommend treatment options. The following are various ankle pain causes:
Nerve Damage
As mentioned, the ankle comprises different structures, including nerves that run through the spinal cord to the brain for neuroreceptors. Hence, they become exposed to injury from various causes, including direct ankle trauma, medical conditions affecting the central nervous system, and underlying terminal diseases.
Subsequently, you may notice sharp pains lasting for a few seconds, or a prolonged dull pain around your ankles, signaling the need for a medical examination. Since nerve damage may occur gradually or extended, your case may be adverse, meaning that drastic medical interventions are necessary.
For example, the damaged nerves may wither away and interfere with other body functions, resulting in pain. Therefore, your doctor will assess the situation and recommend a procedure to remove the damaged nerves.
Achilles Tendinopathy
Achilles tendinopathy affects the ankle tendons connecting to your ankle and extending to your heels. It arises when these tendons face damage from traumatic injury. Furthermore, you may receive the diagnosis if there is inflammation around the tendons due to an infection or strain.
For a proper diagnosis, your doctor will study the affected area and establish the degree of tendon damage. Obtaining the information is necessary for a correct diagnosis and treatment guidance, so you can expect to take several imaging tests like X-Rays for an accurate depiction.
Additional causes of long-term ankle pain include:
- Arthritis
- Poor blood circulation
- Tissue connectivity problems
- Poor footwear selection
While some causes are discoverable at earlier stages of your ankle pain, others may occur gradually and cause lasting effects. Thus, you want to remain alert and report any discomfort to your doctor because receiving treatment sooner will prevent you from permanent tendon, muscle, or bone damage.
Ankle Pain Management
After understanding the exact cause of your ankle pain, you can determine the type of pain management suitable to help you regain your health. Notably, working under a professional’s directives is the best option. Nevertheless, you can try some home-based remedies before consulting your doctor, especially if you strongly believe in having suffered a soft tissue injury.
Home Based Pain Management Options
Although ankle pain can sometimes point to a severe health condition, most cases are easily manageable using home-based care. However, you may still need reassurance and confirmation from your healthcare provider on whether the procedures you have applied are suitable.
Thus, a quick phone call to a professional who will provide pointers on the best homecare remedies is advisable. Upon contacting them, they may advise you to try some of the following remedies:
Regular Gentle Massages
When your ankle pain arises from a soft tissue injury or non-serious trauma, you can eradicate it through regular massages on the area. A massage helps increase blood flow near the affected area and engage your ankle muscles. This is important because it allows any built-up lactic acid from the injury to travel away from the ankle and later expelled from the body.
Depending on your flexibility, you can perform the massages on yourself or have someone else do them for you. If reaching your ankle makes you strain your body, your loved ones or a hired nurse can take over, as long as they understand the importance of performing the procedures correctly.
For example, you should not apply too much pressure on the painful area as it may cause additional injuries, nor should you twist the ankle to improve mobility. If you are unsure how to perform the massage when caring for a loved one, you can consult their doctor.
Ankle-Targeted Exercises
Exercising is also highly beneficial for patients whose ankle pain still allows them to function partially on their feet. Notably, many ankle pain causes are related to poor muscular or tendon alignment that you can correct by undertaking various exercises.
Upon consulting a medical professional, they will curate ankle exercises especially suited to your needs to help you maximize the benefits. You can also request a demonstration of these routines, as you will later apply them at home. A demonstration is essential to protect you from overstretching and causing potential injuries.
Moreover, obtaining information about how frequently you should perform the exercise routines can help you establish a manageable routine that does not strain you. Many patients report increased pain symptoms if they push themselves too hard, and in extreme cases, their injuries worsen. To avoid this, you want to focus on the doctor’s guidelines and request a review if you feel ready to try more challenging routines.
Some ankle exercises that your doctor could recommend include:
- Towel pickups
- Ankle rotations
- Alphabet writing using your ankle
- Toe spread exercises
- Wall pushes
- Range motion exercises
- Wall pushes
Resting Your Foot Regularly
Constant pressure application on your foot can cause prolonged ankle pain. Your ankle supports a significant percentage of your body weight based on anatomy. Hence, standing or walking for long with a painful ankle is more likely to cause additional harm compared to resting it.
Thus, your doctor may prescribe resting your foot for specified durations to allow your ankle to recover more naturally. You should not engage in strenuous activities like jumping, running, or high-impact sports during this period. Some patients may have to give up walking together until they receive clearance from the doctor.
Although the remedy may be restrictive, it is highly effective for short-term pain and optimizes your recovery. Therefore, you will be back on your feet soon enough if your body responds positively.
Applying Compressions to the Painful Area
Using a cloth, bandage, or ankle cast may also be an effective pain management option, depending on your condition. Usually, a healthcare professional will apply the compression and tie it up, leaving you to care for it and go in for a change when necessary.
However, short-time ankle pain cases are more manageable at home, and you can implement the required steps yourself or with a loved one’s help. For example, you may only need to tie a bandage around the ankle as additional support until you recover from the pain. Alternatively, applying pressure using a cloth at intervals after massaging your ankle can be an effective remedy you can also achieve at home.
Placing Ice on the Ankle at Intervals
Ice packages are a great way to handle ankle pain stemming from physical force. For example, if you suffer an injury while playing sports or after falling, the pain you experience may subside through the cold temperature from the ice pack. However, you want to apply the remedy at intervals to avoid exposing your skin to freezing temperatures.
Usually, placing an ice pack on the affected ankle for twenty to thirty minutes should be adequate, provided you do not suffer additional internal injuries. If the method does not resolve the pain after a few days, you can visit your healthcare provider for a thorough examination to establish any additional complications.
Avoiding Heat-Based Treatment
Although many patients use heat treatments for body pain, they may cause more harm than good as ankle pain management options. This is because the heat can affect muscles or tendons, reducing their healing rate significantly. Further, applying a heat treatment without establishing the exact cause of your ankle pain can complicate your condition because it may affect your nerves and surrounding blood vessels.
Examples of heat treatments to avoid include placing a hot cloth around the painful area, pouring hot water around it, or directing a heat source to the painful ankle as a remedy. Instead, consult your doctor to establish whether the treatment you intend to use can pose any health threats to ensure you apply the most effective method.
Medical Intervention Options for Ankle Pain
Sometimes, your home care remedies may fail to address the underlying issue, prompting you to seek medical interventions. Your doctor will recommend you to come in for a check-up if you have persistent and recurrent pains even after following the home-based remedies as directed.
Moreover, if you notice a rapid increase in pain intensity despite using the remedies, you must consult your doctor for additional examination and treatment. Patients with underlying conditions like diabetes should also strongly consider visiting the hospital, as complications of the disease often affect the limbs.
Any inflammation or color changes around your ankle could also be a sign of serious complications, and you should check into the emergency room as soon as possible. Once the doctor reviews your case, they may recommend any of the following remedies:
Ankle Surgery
If you are to undergo ankle surgery, the doctor will explain the reasoning behind the conclusion and the nature of the surgical procedure. These pre-treatment processes are essential because they help you understand your treatment course. Moreover, you will better understand your condition and how to care for yourself after the surgery.
Usually, ankle surgery is essential to remove dead nerves and fragmented bones or to remove a destroyed tendon. Moreover, the doctor may replace the removed component by adding artificial structures that serve the same function. For example, a fractured and disintegrated bone is replaceable using a small metallic disc of a similar shape.
After surgery, your doctor will provide care tips to help heal the operated area sooner. Observing the guidelines is crucial to help you regain your health, so you want to follow the directives diligently.
Prescription Medication
Some conditions are manageable through medication, provided the drugs can remedy the affected area effectively. For example, if you experience ankle pain from poor blood circulation, the medicine you receive should help reduce blockages in the blood vessels around your ankle.
Before issuing a prescription, your healthcare provider will inquire whether you have preexisting allergic reactions to a specific medication. Further, you want to disclose relevant medical history, including whether you have an ongoing prescription or an underlying medical condition.
By obtaining the information beforehand, your doctor can issue an accurate prescription that does not expose you to risks of allergic reactions or other medical side effects from mixing drugs.
Physiotherapy Procedures
Additionally, physiotherapy can be crucial to your recovery, mainly if your condition arose from a muscular tear or trauma around the ankle. With a professional physical therapist handling your case, they understand the appropriate techniques to apply during treatment.
They also know not to push you too hard, so you do not have to worry about suffering an additional injury during the physiotherapy sessions. Further, the professional handling your case will recommend the best meeting frequency for the sessions to help you obtain the best outcome from the treatment duration. Thus, you want to attend all sessions as expected to improve your chances of a faster recovery.
Amputation Procedures
Lastly, your condition may be so severe that your doctor recommends the last resort; amputation. Although amputation remains an adoption in ankle amputation, your healthcare provider will do their best to seek other remedies before turning to it. They do this to ensure you have the best chances of retaining your ankle and foot, as an amputation is a risky and life-changing medical procedure.
However, if no other options are available, you may undergo amputation surgery to avoid further complications. Mostly, the remedy is suitable where your flesh is decaying around your ankle and your foot with no chances of recovery. Since the dead flesh is a hazard to the surrounding healthy tissue, removing it through amputation will be more advantageous.
Once your doctor chooses to proceed with amputation, they will counsel you on the physical and psychological effects it may have on you. You will also need to consent to the procedure after understanding its purpose as a radical ankle pain management option.
Contact an Ankle Pain Management Expert Near Me
Doubtless, dealing with persistent ankle pain can take a toll on you, as you will persevere the discomfort for a long time. Therefore, seeking pain management remedies from a medical professional is advisable to help you recover and lead a healthy life. When looking for a healthcare provider to consult, you should ensure they are experienced and skilled in handling the problem.
At Hollywood Healthcare & Diagnostic Imaging, we focus on providing the best healthcare and MRI services to patients experiencing ankle pains and other problems in Los Angeles, California. Thanks to our years of experience in diagnostic treatment like physiotherapy and prescription medicine, you can look forward to a more straightforward ankle pain management process until you regain your health. If you or a loved one requires professional guidance in ankle pain management, contact us at 323-486-7502.
