An old sprain or injury? No, it’s chronic ankle instability!

Ankle instability refers to damage to the medial and lateral stable structures of the ankle joint, which leads to ankle osteoarthritis and dysfunction caused by frequent inversion and eversion injuries of the ankle joint.

Any ligament or tendon can be injured, but the most common injury is to the lateral supporting structure of the ankle joint, the lateral collateral ligament. Statistics show that 96.7% of injuries are caused by foot inversion leading to injuries to the lateral stable structure of the ankle, and 3.3% are caused by foot eversion violence leading to injuries to the medial triangular ligament and other stable structures of the ankle.

Chronic ankle instability is divided into three categories: mechanical instability, functional instability and pseudo-instability.

01 Mechanical instability

Mechanical instability refers to the relaxation of the ligaments and tissues around the joints, which causes the limit of movement to exceed the limit of activity. It mainly refers to structural problems, such as lateral collateral ligament injury, tibiofibular syndesmotic injury, and joint laxity.

02 Functional instability

Functional instability refers to the inability of the patient to control the various movements and forces of the joints. Patients with functional ankle instability have pain, swelling, poor joint control and other problems in the injured ankle joint. They may also be sprained repeatedly. The patient dares not bear weight on the affected lower limb, and the ability to participate in daily activities and the quality of life will be limited and affected. Such as proprioceptive dysfunction, Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT), polio, etc.

03 Pseudo-instability

Pseudoinstability may occur in cases of talar osteochondral lesions, calcaneal-talar bridges, subtalar joint injuries, and peroneal tendon dislocations .

Clinical manifestations

Four subjective symptoms

1. Fear of spraining your ankle when walking on uneven roads

2. Fear of walking at night

3. It is easy to sprain your ankle during strenuous exercise

4. Sprain your ankle more than twice within one year

Two objective symptoms

1. Lateral ankle swelling and pain after activities

2. Obvious tenderness on the lateral side of the fibula

Sports rehabilitation

Action 1: Standing Calf Raise

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, lift your heels and stand on tiptoes, keeping your body upright and not shaking, hold for 15 to 30 seconds, 10 times per set.

Action 2: Dorsiflexion resistance training

Sit in a long position, wrap the middle section of the elastic band around the forefoot, fix the other end to the table leg, and then do ankle dorsiflexion. 10 times per set.

Action 3: Plantar flexion and dorsiflexion training

Stand with one foot as support and the other foot doing plantar flexion and dorsiflexion exercises. Hold each movement for 20 seconds, 3 times per set, 3 sets per day.

Biomechanical correction

Biomechanical orthosis is one of the methods to prevent and treat ankle instability. It can effectively limit the excessive activity of the ankle and subtalar joints, and stimulate the motion receptors. Some studies have confirmed that biomechanical orthosis can effectively improve proprioception, neuromuscular function, kinematic indicators and balance ability, and reduce the incidence of re-sprain.

THE END

With the improvement of living standards, people are paying more and more attention to foot and ankle diseases. In order to provide the most accurate diagnosis and the best treatment plan, our team's gait analysis laboratory is equipped with the most advanced lower limb biomechanical analysis equipment.

①Mirror pressure test equipment: Mirror pressure test uses the principle of mirror reflection to intuitively observe the plantar pressure, arch type and biomechanical line of the lower limbs.

② Plantar scanning test equipment: Through 3D technology and white light mode projection, a 3D CAD model of the foot can be obtained through reverse engineering processing, which can accurately evaluate the abnormal conditions of the patient's lower limbs and obtain various foot data, such as foot shape, arch index, degree of inversion and valgus, etc.

③ Portable gait analysis equipment: Patients wear insoles equipped with sensors to perform a one-minute walking test, which can not only obtain the spatiotemporal and phase parameters of their walking process , but also obtain dynamic parameters , providing an objective and quantitative scientific basis, reducing the demand for space and manpower, and making gait assessment more efficient.

Through these advanced equipment, our team is able to provide each patient with the most accurate diagnosis and the most appropriate treatment plan, helping them recover their health and improve their quality of life as soon as possible.

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If you have any problems with your feet and ankles, you are welcome to come and consult us. Let us move towards a healthy path together!!!