Ankle injury

Triathlon Forum
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Last November I ran a marathon and roughly a week later I had an ankle problem. The best way to describe it is that is was similar to a slight sprain. However, there was (and has never been) any swelling, discoloration or other characteristics that match a sprain injury.

At the starting line for the race I felt like my laces were to tight (across the top of my foot) and I loosened them up (maybe not enough?). It was never an issue duing the marathon and the problem started a 7-10 days after.

Here it is January and with the exception of a brief 2-3wks where it didn’t bother me I’m still having problems. Most commonly it occurs when running on hills (flat runs are okay), or recently during x-c skiing (where the ankle flexes over the top of my foot).

I’ve been to two different doctors without a sound diagonsis. Scheduled to get an MRI this week.

Interestingly, the ankle seems to stiffen up overnight while sleeping and first thing in the morning for the first fifteen minutes until it “loosens up.” From that point on it’s better, but some days are better than others. The pain seems to come from the top of the foot and from the inside (center) of where the tibia and ankle bone meet. From there it seems to travel to the back sides of the ankle. It almost feels like it needs to “crack” (like cracking your knuckles) and on a couple occasions when it does the ankle feels better.

I’m holding back on my runs and sticking to the trainer and the pool (using the floaty between the legs) Until I get a clear understanding of the cause I’m going to continue training.

Has anyone experienced something similar to this or does anyone have a suggestion of what this might be that I could then discuss with my doctor?

Appreciate the insight…

Dietrying

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I’ve treated a number of ankles as described over the years. The ankle joint is interesting is that it is a ligamentous joint with the first bone of the foot called the talus articulating with the tibia. This joint has no direct muscle attachment to it but is held only by ligaments. The muscles that flex the ankle joint attach to other bones in the foot more proximal than the talus.

There is a theory that the talus can sometimes displace itself very minutley and move erratically which would be stiff as you describe it. There is a chiropractic adjustment in which the talus is tractioned and then given a dynamic thrust. It makes the same sort of “popping” sound that you hear with a regular chiropractic “adjustment” manipulation in the spine. I’ve used this numerous times and it most often seems to work very well in restoring pain free motion to the joint. But I’d probably also recommend also getting an x-ray of the ankle joint just to rule out any possible pathologies.

I didn’t learn this technique at chiro college very well but was taught by an old time chiropractor when I was first starting out. You might have to shop around a bit to find a chiro in your area who is good at adjusting ankle joints.It might work for you, so it’s worth a shot.

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Continued…

Results from an MRI have come back. Osteochondritis dessicans, or edema of the talus.

Has anyone had a similar situation?