Persistent ankle pain following injury or fracture to the ankle is not unusual, despite physio and conservative management.
When one of your athletes texts you scientific abstracts based on their recent injuries you either dismiss (at your peril I would suggest) or embrace the information. As a result we figured that we could blog on some form of easily-digestible information based on the irritation of the synovium (the smooth lubricated joint lining which helps the ankle joint move freely preventing bony surfaces rubbing against each other).
When this synovium is inflamed then it is termed 'synovitis', and is often a complication of an injury recently sustained, such as a fracture or ligament/soft tissue trauma. Some more detailed information is contained in the document highlighted:
Damage to the ankle joint (intra-articular) itself includes injury to the joint surface of the ankle, anterior ankle impingement and posterior ankle impingement.
Injuries to structures around the ankle (extra-articular) include peroneal tendon tears, peroneal tendon dislocation and occult fractures.
The patient will often localize the pain to the front (anterior), back (posterior), inner side (medial) or outer side (lateral) of the ankle. The pain may be associated with ankle swelling, often anteriorly in spite of ankle sprains affecting commonly the lateral ligaments. There is associated fascial compromise, and a thickening of the soft tissue.
If you have had an injury that is not responding to rest then do see a Physio-at SPACE we'll diagnose and treat what we find, and if the ankle synovitis remains then we can refer directly to our Orthopaedic Surgeon (Gordon Mackay) for a consultation and possible arthroscopic keyhole surgery.
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| Diagram shows characteristics if anterior ankle impingement including synovitis in the anterior recess (asterisked) |
When one of your athletes texts you scientific abstracts based on their recent injuries you either dismiss (at your peril I would suggest) or embrace the information. As a result we figured that we could blog on some form of easily-digestible information based on the irritation of the synovium (the smooth lubricated joint lining which helps the ankle joint move freely preventing bony surfaces rubbing against each other).
When this synovium is inflamed then it is termed 'synovitis', and is often a complication of an injury recently sustained, such as a fracture or ligament/soft tissue trauma. Some more detailed information is contained in the document highlighted:
Damage to the ankle joint (intra-articular) itself includes injury to the joint surface of the ankle, anterior ankle impingement and posterior ankle impingement.
Injuries to structures around the ankle (extra-articular) include peroneal tendon tears, peroneal tendon dislocation and occult fractures.
The patient will often localize the pain to the front (anterior), back (posterior), inner side (medial) or outer side (lateral) of the ankle. The pain may be associated with ankle swelling, often anteriorly in spite of ankle sprains affecting commonly the lateral ligaments. There is associated fascial compromise, and a thickening of the soft tissue.
| Arthroscope of Ankle Synovitis |
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