Last week’s blog was about the possible causes of ankle pain and how best to diagnose it.
This week, we will discuss ankle pain treatment. Ankle pain can be treated with various modalities: medication, fracture repair and physical therapy are the most commonly-used tools.
Medications for treating ankle pain include:
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), which can be particularly useful if the underlying condition is arthritis of all forms.
- Steroid injections into the affected joint is also utilized for arthritic ankles.
- Pain medications like aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen sodium can be used, with supervision.
- Oral steroid medication
- Specific arthritis medications
Fracture repair typically means one of the following:
- Splinting and/or bracing a broken ankle.
- Surgical repair, including the insertion of a metal screw and/or metal plate to fortify a joint that cannot heal on its own. Sometimes ankle fusion is also recommended, although this limits mobility forever, but can be quite effective in lessening chronic pain.
- Ankle arthroscopy is a less invasive surgery, where a narrow instrument can be utilized to remove small segments of cartilage or bone chips or even to tie or repair a torn ligament.
Physical Therapy to Combat Ankle Pain is really important. Your ankles bear the weight of your body and their appropriate, relatively pain-free functioning is the key to lifetime mobility.
Typical physical therapy regimens will work to
- Strengthen the ankle joint,
- Strengthen the muscles that support the functioning of the ankle
- Increase the range of motion
- Increase flexibility
- Decrease pain
Ankle pain can be debilitating. A proper diagnosis of the cause and a multifaceted approach to easing pain including medication, surgical options (as a last resort) and physical therapy can be a very effective combination.
