What is wrong with my ankle?

April 4, 2007 8:40 PM

What's wrong with my ankle?

Every six months or so, my ankle will "pop out of joint". I don't know anything about ankles or joints or dislocations, so I'm not exactly sure what is really happening.

I'll just be walking or standing, and I'll feel a pop in my left ankle. All of a sudden any pressure causes a sharp pain to go up my leg. I'm still able to point and flex my foot downward, but any attempt to angle my foot backwards causes terrible pain. Usually the pain will last anywhere from an hour to about two days; until suddenly everything "pops" back into place. There's no healing process, it just starts working normally again. I exercise pretty regularly and this usually does not aggrevate my problem. It usually happens when I'm casually walking or standing around.

I've tried massaging my ankle or moving it around but cannot find a trick for popping it back into place.

Any ideas about what's causing this? I'd rather not spend the money on a doctor, but it is starting to interfer with my life.

posted by Telf to health & fitness (7 comments total)

Get thee to a doctor. If you can't afford a doctor now, you really can't afford to let this get worse.
posted by krisjohn at 9:11 PM on April 4, 2007

Ask your doctor, he/she would know best.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 2:12 AM on April 5, 2007

How strong are your ankles? Go to a foot doctor, not a regular doctor. And do more standing meditation.
posted by ewkpates at 3:21 AM on April 5, 2007

Yeah, go to a podiatrist if you can. I have no idea what would cause that, and I've had all sorts of foot/ankle related problems.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 6:39 AM on April 5, 2007

Dang. Doctor it is. So what kind of doctors do ankles? The consensus seems to be podiatrists? I thought they were just feet.
posted by Telf at 9:32 AM on April 5, 2007

Orthopedist or podiatrist or physiatrist or sports medicine doc.
posted by gramcracker at 9:48 AM on April 5, 2007

(Or your internist!)
posted by gramcracker at 9:49 AM on April 5, 2007