ANKLE JOINT PAIN

Ankle joint pain can be very simple, and it can be very complex. Because it's a highly complex joint. Well, not one joint! There are 7 ankle bones. The

1. talus,

2. calcaneus,

3. navicular,

4. medial cuneiform

5. middle cuneiform

6. lateral cuneiform and

7. the cuboid

They articulate with each other, with two leg bones: the tibia and the fibula; and the bones of the forefoot. In total there are 29 joints in each foot, and what's more the feet have to work in harmony with each other.

It's complex! And feet can hurt, believe you me. It's no coincidence that the Japanese would choose the feet when they wanted to know all your secrets!

The Ankle Mortice joint.

The Talo-Calcaneus (or, subtalar) Joint

This joint too may be subluxated in the ordinary ankle sprain. If it's not reduced after injury, it causes ankle and foot pain in the future. I treat the consequences of an unreduced subtalar joint every day - people with miserable foot pain, that changes they way they walk causing problems up the kinetic chain - in the knee, the hip, the sacroiliac joint, and yes probably all the way to the atlas in the neck (C1).

The Cuboid bone

Notice how the cuboid on your reading left (actually the right foot) in this CT scan has been severely subluxated. This lady hasn't been able to put her heel on the ground for 11 years. And she's only 36 years old.

Whilst any one of the tarsal bones can be injured, I find in practice that the cuboid bone is often the key to many ankle injuries. Perhaps because it articulates with the

• calaneus

• talus

• navicular

• Medial cuneiform

• 4th metatarsal

• 5th metatarsal

ie. with six other bones. It's often affected for example if you kick a chair or cupboard with the little or 4th toe. That drives the metatarsals forcibly up against the cuboid.

Just like any other joint, if a fixated joint is not reduced, it will lead inexorably to Immobilisation Arthritis. Within these so-called synovial joints there is fluid sloshing about carrying vital nutrients to the hyaline cartilage that lines the bones. You can see the arthritis very clearly in the CT above in the talo-navicular joint. That's what happens to fixated joints that are not reduced. IMMOBILISATION ARTHRITIS ...

This is not intended to be an exhaustive treatise on ankle joint pain. Any one of the ankle joints can be injured in skiing, football, skating, just an ordinary slip and fall on the street. Each needs to be carefully examined and evaluated to prevent the onset of chronic arthritis in the ankle. Often the services of other health professionals will be needed. Severe fractures can occur ...

But, once the surgeon has finished his/her work, and the bones have healed, get your ankle to your chiropractor, otherwise severe immobilisation arthritis is likely. Pain.

TREATMENT

ANKLE JOINT PAIN CaseFile

IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS