Painful Ankles from Running?

Question

I recently started to go running 2 or 3 times weekly, but i have not be able to go since saturday because my ankles are really painful, it hurts just to walk, they feel really weak at the joint. Can you tell me how i can recover from this quickly and how to prevent it from happening again?

Thank you

Answer 1

There can be many causes of your painful ankles:

1. You are running with the wrong shoe.
2. The cushioning of the shoe.
3. Painful ankles: Arthritis of which you were not aware.
4. The start of Primary/Secondary Syphilis. (past sufferer) serious
5. Hepatitis B (past sufferer) serious
6. Just not being fit, body settling in.
7. Could actually be that you not bending your knees properly during running. Wrong technique.

My advise to you is:
1. Go see your GP and he should refer you to an orthopedic specialist.
2. Use ibuprofen to ease the pain
3. Do not run on a treatmill.

Answer 2

Hi emmie

I'm a personal trainer and it could be a few things:

1) If you have just started running then your muscles will take two weeks to get used to the excersise (something called 'neural patterning'). When you run your feet go through two types of movement - dorsi flexion (where the toe is pointing up from the ground) and plantar flexion (where it is pointed AT the ground). These movements excersise the main muscles of the leg - the tibialis (front of the lower leg), gastronemius and soleus (calves) but it also excersises the smaller synergist (helper) muscles. When you excersise your energy system produces free radicals which leave the cells and create something called DOMS (delayed onset of muscle soreness) and these lead to short term aches and pains. If the pain stays for longer than 3 - 4 days then it's something else - possibly like the below:

2) if the pain is there for a few weeks etc then it could be to do with your ankle joint and could be due to the fact you're probably running on a hard surface like roads - this creates hard impact traumas and there's no easy way to reverse this... but try running on a softer surface like grass, tread mills etc

good luck!

Answer 3

I don't know your age, weight and general condition, or whether you have previous experience of running. Do you run on a treadmill or outside on hard surfaces. How far do you run? You also sound as though you are in a hurry to recover, and want assurance that it will never return. My gut reaction is that you are not an experienced runner, or you wouldn't be looking for instant solutions. Why are you in a hurry. Try, in the first instance to do less running but, at the same time, do exercises that are specifically designed to strengthen your ankles and also your calves. There are pieces of gym equipment designed for this purpose. However, you don't say whether you are a member of a gym.

You could be someone who hasn't exercised for sometime and expects to resume without any ill affects. Stiffness and pain is normal in such circumstances. Your running style may need looking at. What type of footwear are you using? If you run with most of your weight on the balls of your feet, that will increase the pressure on your ankles. If you are not a member of a gym, get a piece of wood or similar, place your toes on it, and then raise your heels up so that the soles of your feet are parallel with the floor. If you do this repetitively, it will increase ankle strength. You could also put a weight on your shoulder to increase resistance. It may be, of course, that what you have experienced is normal stiffness following a lot of exercise when your body is not used to it, and you may have to work your way through it, after a period of recovery. That seems so obvious though. We need more information about you.

Answer 4

The most important thing when running is to get the correct shoes. Everyone runs a different way and choosing the wrong shoe can cause injury - as you have seen.

Until your ankles have recovered, don't run. And in the meantime, get some decent running shoes. There is lots of help on the Internet. Have a look at this website.

Answer 5

If you are going to stick at it, it is worth spending 60-70 quid on a good pair of running shoes, which will help absorb impact. Also do some flexing and rotaing ankle exercises daily, and before and after you run in conjunction with your warm-up routine. Warming up is vital. Swimming will also help build strength and stability without too much strain on the joint. You may have simply overdone it. Try doing your same route walking for a couple of weeks, and build up speed and distance.

Answer 6

Obviously, you're aware that choice of footwear is a major factor. Now, do you run on concrete or cross-country? The harder the ground the more shock impact your joints are going to receive. Try running on soft ground. Technique is also a factor - do you lift your feet and "stomp"? Try to keep your feet just off the ground without bringing your knees up and glide, almost as if you're ice-skating, this keeps shock impact down. You might not be used to it yet since you've only started running in the past couple of weeks so give your body time to adjust.

Answer 7

If you are new to running as with any exercise/sport. I'd suggest going to the doctor first make sure everything is good to go. Once that is done. You need to learn a good stretching program. (tons of them online for runners). Then you need to have the right equipment. Buying the correct shoe for your foot will be much easier if you get good help. A specialty running shoe show would be a great place to start. There are three basic types of running shoes. Cushioned = for people with high arches, Stability = for people with normal arches, Motion Control = low arches or flat feet. There are subdivisions in each of these groups. Depending on if you pronate, supinate or remain stable. A physical therapist or sports med Dr would be the best to help you with these. If you are a do-it-yourselfer I'd recommend going to one of the following websites.

Answer 8

running is a really high impact sport and it has been proven to do some damage, it sounds like you should either give it up or reduce the amount you do and encourporate a lower impact exercise instead. soak your feet in warm water regularly and get some ibuleve gell and if you can take some ibuprofen for a few days. the gel and tablet will reduce any inflamation in the muscles and joints and relieve the pain. hop this helps and you get back to 100% soon.

Answer 9

I've felt like this before, and from my own experience i can say, that's probably because you have just started and you were not used to it. what you should do is continue your running, not forcing any more than you can support, and eventually you'll get used to run and won't feel the pains any more.

in my case when i had this problem it took about 1 month for the pains to go away.

now, if you see it may be a more serious problem always go to the doctor.

Answer 10

Id rest the ankles for a week or two then when you decide to run again make sure your trainers support your ankles well or wear support socks and when you arrive home apply a cool compression to ankles to reduce any swelling you have you probably slightly sprained them