HELP have pain in ankles when walking HELP

[kieran w]

so in January of 2012 I suffered a injury to my leg breaking it just below the knee in the growth plate.
once I was able to walk on it again my muscles got stronger and I was able to walk further than ever before but I have started to get very bad pains in both ankles when out on long walks.

I would like to know if any of you have the same problem and if anyone has any suggestions of what may be causing it and what will stop the pain

thanks kieran

 

[copper_head]

I'd go see your gp for some proper advice but I've found walking with hiking poles helps my dodgy ankle no end. Decent lightweight boots too.

 

[kieran w]

I'd go see your gp for some proper advice but I've found walking with hiking poles helps my dodgy ankle no end. Decent lightweight boots too.

have already been to doctors and they had no answer

 

[david1]

walk less :-( hurt my arm a few years ago it still not pain free as I get older it seems to take longer to heal. am not looking forward to getting to 50 that seems real old LOL

 

[Macaroon]

Fifty seems like fifteen from where I'm stood

 

[david1]

hey its coming real fast

 

[The Cumbrian]

Kieran,

How old are you, did you do much walking before you broke your leg, and if you did, have you changed your footwear?

Cheers, Michael.

 

[Blaidd]

See if you can get a referral from the Dr to the Physiotherapists, I had problems in my ankles following Achilles tendon rupture and they helped a lot. Physios know more than Drs about stuff like that cos they're specialists.

 

[xylaria]

A growth plate fracture can cause osteochronditis disectans (sp????). If your knee just fractured through doing something normal and you were between 16 and 24 years old when it happened you should pester your gp to see a specialist. Most doctors know very little about OCD.

Meanwhile use walking poles, keep your footware as light as possible, keep your wieght down and eat homemade chicken stock.

 

[Oakleaf]

Could be down to many reasons. Which isnt helpful I know!

If there was no pain before, then my completely lay-man guess ( and it is just a guess ) is that your gait has changed slightly and that reveals after extended walking.

Without opening the debate on alternate medicines etc, you may want to seek a good local Osteopath. We're hugely fortunate to have a really good husband and wife team nearby in Elgin. Whilst it costs for a consultation, I believe it is a good investment - but important to choose carefully. They may or may not be able to 'fix' things, but will at the very least likely identify the cause of the issue.

Good luck - I'm sure you have every chance of getting sorted out.

 

[cbr6fs]

As said i'd get yourself to a doctor, if your current GP can't find a solution then move GP's.
It's all well and good us forum users offering help and suggestions, but if there is a problem by ignoring it (or not getting it correctly diagnosed) you could well be causing irreparable damage and making later years mobility more trouble.

Another potential problem is body weight, if your over weight then it's putting a LOT more stress on both your ankles and knees when walking.
Which is not helpful as many of us walk to lose weight in the first place.

Also look at your kit as Michael said, have you changed your footwear?

I know for me i have problems with my knees, using lighter footwear as xylaria suggested helps tremendously.


All that is by the by though you NEED to get a proper diagnosis by a professional, if your GP is not willing to refer you have a look for a local Chiropractor or Physiotherapist.
If you make changes or march on through the pain you could be causing yourself more harm than good.

 

[Dogoak]

have already been to doctors and they had no answer

Not good enough Kieran, as others have said go see the GP. Insist that you are referred to an orthopedic consultant, if the GP won't do anything, go elsewhere. You need to get to the bottom of this a.s.a.p. as you don't know what the long term affects are, pain itself can really affect people let alone what further damage may occuring to your ankles. Perhaps lay off the walking a bit untill you get it sorted eh?

 

[rancid badger]

"Go and see a GP" or "consult an osteopath"

Seriously?

Forget that and find a local sports injury specialist- http://www.csp.org.uk/

Don't waste time with the NHS to get this diagnosed.

GP's are clueless clowns when it comes to musculoskeletal problems and will normally immediately (or in some cases depending on just how stupid they are,eventually) pass you on to an NHS physio department somewhere.

Sadly, this is also a waste of time because they simply are not allowed to take the required time to properly assess your injury, nor do they have any idea or interest in who you are, you are simply another "client" or number on their list for the day.

Once you're diagnosed, if the private physio suggests seeing a consultant or perhaps other specialist investigations like scans etc, get a letter from the physio to your GP to that effect. The GP will almost certainly follow whatever the physio advises, if they don't, then demand to see someone else and make it clear that you are not satisfied.

The chances are that your walking geometry has altered due to your injury, it happened to me, both times I had broken ankles and it wasn't till I was fortunate enough to come across a local private physio, who could take the time to properly assess me and the aftermath of my injuries, (as well as offer well thought out advice and treatment plans) that I finally got somewhere near to being sorted out. I ended up with a series of strength building exercises and a pair of orthotic insoles, which helped me no end.

Okay so you'll be paying around £45 for a consultation but you'll get straight forward advice on whats wrong and how best to sort it out. Much better than being messed around by overpaid GP's and indifferent NHS physio departments.

If you can't afford to get a private diagnosis, the chances are that you'll end up just having to live with the pain, till you either stop doing whatever it is that causes the discomfort or you ignore it and keep going till it goes away due to you re-training your legs, or dose yourself with gut rotting anti-inflamatories

Of course, you'll end up walking funny and developing knee, hip and back issues over time, as well as ending up with knackered guts but the NHS is there to fob you off with third rate treatment for those issues too, as and when they manifest themselves ( as opposed to doing a proper job in the first place and avoiding the issues developing in future?)

good luck but even if you're hard up, invest some money in finding out exactly whats wrong as quickly as possible, then take whichever route suits you after that.

Best wishes

Steve

 

[ArkAngel]

Could be a number of factors and I can only echo what other people have said.

Simple answer at the moment is if it's hurting it's doing so for a reason so don't push it, you'll only make things worse.
If the pain happens within a long distance then for the moment just stick to shorter walks. Don't stop doing anything as that could cause even problems.
It does sound like something has changed with the way you walk and the change can be so gentle you may not notice. My knees were killing me at the beginning of the year and it turned out it was a problem with my calf muscles pulling things out of alignment. Some physio, stretching exercises and weight loss (I've lost about 2 stone from the beginning of the year) and I've been virtually pain free and much more freely moving

 

[peaks]

Osteopathy isn't usually available on the NHS - might be worth considering having a consultation with a registered Osteopath as they can offer advice and treatment for a whole range of conditions, undertaking procedures that Physios can't (and vice-versa). Peoples experience of osteopathy and other non main-stream therapies varies, but I've found osteopathy is extremely effective.

It might also be worth trying to locate a Podiatric specialist (not a bog standard chiropodist) - they are experts in foot & ankle problems. http://www.iocp.org.uk/News.php

Rancid Badger is right in that you will need to go privately as the NHS isn't resourced to deal effectively with this kind of problem

 

[British Red]

Insist that you are referred to an orthopedic consultant, if the GP won't do anything, go elsewhere.

This!

I have had serious medical conditions misdiagnosed by a GP - as have my wife and daughter. Even if you have to pay, do it. GPs are the lowest of the tree of medical professionals when it comes to diagnosis - go and see a proper consultant - they often catch what GPs have missed.

 

[kieran w]

Kieran,

How old are you, did you do much walking before you broke your leg, and if you did, have you changed your footwear?

Cheers, Michael.

im 16 I didn't do much walking before I had my injury but I did play rugby every weekend and training 2 days a week as you have all said to go back to the doctors. I have got an appointment with the doctor I had when I had my operation to see if they can sort it out.

 

[British Red]

Remember "we don't know whats wrong" is not a diagnosis. If it still hurts say so - politely and firmly - and insist they keep looking or try another specialism. Don't be fobbed off (they will try if you are tricky to diagnose).

 

[xylaria]

This!

I have had serious medical conditions misdiagnosed by a GP - as have my wife and daughter. Even if you have to pay, do it. GPs are the lowest of the tree of medical professionals when it comes to diagnosis - go and see a proper consultant - they often catch what GPs have missed.

Same here. My daughter got a heart condition diagnosed as asthma, lung infection and mental illness. All three misdiagnoses came with persciptions. The "you are mental" resulted in me being very agressive with the doctor.

The saga of my femurs and the slipped growth plates goes on and on. Basically OP you need the blood flow to your bones ends checke probably. You certainly need the joint alignment check. You are 16, a paediatric specialist in orthopedics should know what they are looking at. If end up seeing an adult orthopedic they don't know what they are looking at. I know this from bitter experiance. Go in with an assertive adult and really pester the gp. It might be nothing but lousy footware, but you really need to see an expert.

 

[bambodoggy]

Shin splints? Other forms of inflammation maybe? I know when I was younger the first 4 or 5 miles of any tab made my ankles hurt like hell but seemed to get better after that.....don't do a lot of tabbing now so couldn't say if it would still hurt lol.

As others have said, best to get it checked out properly and very likely a gait change issue but it could be just an inflammation

Let us know how you get on.

Cheers,

Bam.