r/Ankle

About a year ago, I had ATFL repair done on both my ankles simultaneously. I am pretty much back to normal life now, but still face pain sometimes. I recently joined a gym, and was wondering, what exercises are best to strengthen my ankle?

My surgeon might recommend it but not sure if it's right for me. Not sure if I should just stick with PT. Would be nice to hear from others who got it and successfully healed.

update: one of my best friends is in his ortho surgical residency and said “girl loosen it” and walked me through how to do it safely. INSTANT RELIEF! thanks for being a sounding board!

had an ankle arthroscopy last Monday (so 5+ days of recovery so far) and I think my nerve block wore off somewhere between 24-30 hrs. the pain wasn’t a super big issue after (I did have to stop taking the pain medications bc my stomach simply couldn’t handle them) but within the last day or so i’ve been getting these nerve sensations that are driving me INSANE. my heel feels like it’s burning, certain movements feels the same way you do when you hit your elbow. I’ve read that nerve sensations are normal because of the pressure from the splint, blood flow regulation, etc. but oh my god I am losing my mind. I still have two weeks left of this splint too!!! did anyone else experience this and find certain things helpful? trying to wiggle my toes or bend my knee, keeping my ankle elevated 95% of the time too.

hey! about an hour ago i rolled my ankle pretty hard and hit it on some concrete flooring. there was no pop or tearing sounds, just a bit of pain from impact. i’m able to walk on it fine as well as roll and bend it, but it’s just a pretty sore on my heel and on the side where it hit. so far there’s no bruising or swelling, but i’m keeping it wrapped and elevated with ice. should i go to urgent care or just wait and see if the mild pain goes away?

TLDR: For chronic, mild ankle pain where nothing else seems to work, is arthroscopic surgery worth it?

Background: I've been dealing with mild ankle pain for about 25 years. Mild pain is almost always present and is elevated by running and tight shoes, among other things. It's not terrible, but it is limiting and can cause a temporary limp if I push it. When shoes wear out, it's sometimes a months-long process to find shoes that don't make my ankle to ache. MRI shows basically nothing. I've just finished 3 months of PT that helped other things, but not this specific pain. A cortisone shot in my subtalar joint hurt like hell and did nothing. A cortisone shot in my ankle joint actually provided relief, but only for a short while, with the greatest effect in the first few hours and any relief lasting about 1.5 weeks. My Podiatrist has offered arthroscopic debridement surgery as a final option to remove scar tissue and whatever else is causing it. We don't expect it to be somewhat minimal due to the clear MRI.

Concern: My concern here is recovery, particularly driving. I have two careers, one of which requires a daily drive. The other is as an Army Reservist and requires me to be at a reasonable fitness level. I also have a family and 3 kids in elementary school, so I can't just do what I want. I'd get time to recover on the Army side of things, but the driving restrictions might make this a no-go. Other situations regarding this surgery I've found on Reddit seem to be from folks with more severe conditions that would take additional recovery time anyway and their recovery stories make it seem like this wouldn't be worth it for me as, while I have pain, it's not super limiting, just very annoying.

If you've gone through this surgery with a somewhat minimal condition like mine, how was your recovery? How long did it take you to drive? Did you end up better in the long run? Would you do it again?

I had surgery on 8/10 and woke up this morning by in excruciating pain. I’ve been taking Tylenol and oxy as prescribed but the pain is so unbearable this morning. Can anyone provide me some hope that it gets better from here. I know this will take time to heal and nothing happens overnight but I’m just hoping that this is close to the peak of the pain and it will start to get better from here.

I will likely need to have ankle surgery (ligament and cartilage repair). I'm trying to find a really top doc. Portland area preferred but I would travel as far as Seattle.

Any recommendations?

Long story short, I have played football(soccer) all my life and recently have had major pain in my left ankle after a sprain/roll. Air Force put me in physical therapy for a few months before one of the therapists made a referral for an MRI.

These are my results.

1. Full-thickness tear of the anterior talofibular ligament
2. Partial-thickness tear of the fibular attachment of the calcaneofibular ligament
3. Partial-thickness tear of the deep component of the medial collateral ligament complex
4. Tendinosis and partial-thickness tear of the posterior tibial tendon
5. Longitudinal split tear of the peroneus brevis tendon with peroneal tenosynovitis
6. Mild Achilles tendinosis

After using ChatGPT and Google, I can tell this is bad, with so many tendons and ligaments with full or partial tears. My question is, would I need surgery? I want to return to playing football.

I feel that my ankle is very unstable and hurts after being on it for some time. Running causes pain, and I always feel that a wrong step will make my ankle roll. Every roll is excruciating and causes extreme pain to the point that I feel as if my ankle fully popped out of its socket.

All info is appreciated. I have a follow-up with my physical therapist, but I want some info sooner rather than later.

I cannot believe how painful this is. These are my MRI findings. I was given Naproxen. You? I am non weight bearing, in a boot, and on crutches. Pain is insane!

IMPRESSION: 

1. Minimally depressed subchondral fracture of the plantar talar head.
2. Nondisplaced fracture of the anterior process of the calcaneus.
3. Other multifocal ossific contusions. No talar dome osteochondral lesion.
4. High-grade tear/rupture of the anterior talofibular and calcaneofibular ligaments.
5. Tear with possible osseous avulsion of the talar attachment of the dorsal talonavicular joint capsule.
6. Minimal ankle/subtalar joint effusion.
7. Minimal chronic central band proximal plantar fasciopathy.
8. Moderate periarticular subcutaneous edema.

hi everyone, i sprained my ankle 3 weeks ago and got an x-ray and nothing was broken. however, last monday i accidentally kicked my suitcase when half awake and felt a sharp pain - im still unable to bear weight a week later and sometimes it even hurts when i put on my medical boot. should i get another x-ray ? (im reluctant to bc im currently uninsured).

Hi! Currently scheduled for surgery to repair loose, chronically scarred/thickened ligaments (ATFL/CFL) and chondromalacia in my tibiotalar joint (w no OCD lesion) in a few months after failing conservative treatment and being in daily pain. I've had hand surgery before, but nothing involving lower extremities / my ankle so I'm a bit nervous about recovery :,)

This being said, I was wondering if anyone has any post-op recovery recs or must-have items that they found beneficial? I'm trying to do research and order any items that might be useful or that might take a bit to come in. Also, any tips or insight on the recovery process would be super helpful ~ I've been trying to read about people's experiences online and have found it incredibly informative!