Ankle Arthritis
Ankle arthritis is an inflammation of the joints in the ankle. The ankle joints are affected and the cartilage. When patients have arthritis, they have worn out the joint between anklebone and shinbone, also called tibiotalar joint. This arthritis can be very painful and frustrating to a person having this condition.
Most common cause of arthritis in the ankle:
- Injury or Accident – This type of arthritis may develop due to accident or injury. In people, who have history of injury such as ankle fracture the cartilage maybe damaged that leads to arthritis.
- Body weight – Overweight person are prone to develop ankle arthritis. The weight of the body may put too much stress on the ankle causing the cartilage to swell and eventually worn out.
- Genetics – This type of condition may occur in families, if you have a family history of arthritis. Arthritis also can be passed from your offspring too.
Pain of course is the number one symptoms of arthritis. Here are other symptoms for your information:
- Stiffness of the ankle
- Swelling around the joint
- Bone swells causing a lumpy appearing joint
- Deformity of the joint
- Instability and irritability
Ankle arthritis can be diagnosed with an examination and x-ray done by a professional doctor. Once patients are diagnosed with arthritis, no operative treatments can be followed. Most patients can find relief thought activity modification and changes in footwear.
nTreatment for arthritis includes the following:
- Footwear changes – Is the simplest form of remedy on arthritis in the ankle.
- Activity modification – Is simply a change in lifestyle. Avoid eating foods that would aggravate the symptoms of arthritis. In addition, do low impact exercise such as swimming, walking and low impact jogging.
- Braces – A brace can help to hold the ankle joint in position.
If this alternative treatment doesn’t work, the last option you will do is to undergo surgical operation. This means replacing the worn out cartilage or replacing an artificial joints. This can be very effective especially for severe type of arthritis. Ankle arthritis can be prevented if diagnosed in an early stage.