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Ankle Swelling

04/14/2010

Question:

I have swelling in both of my ankles on the inside, outside, and the achiles tendon. My range of motion in my ankle is limited I think mostly because of the swelling. I feel pain in the tendons all around my ankle but mostly in the achiles. In the mornings I can`t walk for at least an hour and after an hour or two I can walk but it`s still painful. Most of the pain walking is sensitivity in my heals. I find myself walking on the balls of my feet. While off my feet if I touch the muscles and tendons around my ankles they are tender swollen and very inflamed. The inside of my ankle where the tendons are are very stiff and rigid. If I try to walk in the morning as soon as I wake up i experience excruciating burning sensations all around my ankles that last for 5-10 minutes.

I have been experiencing this for about 7 days now and am worried. I have looked into plantar fasciitis and achiles tendonitis and experiencing some of these symptoms but my ankles are more swollen and the pain is more pronounced than in those descriptions.

I am a server at a restaurant and have recently increased my hours so I am on my feet quite a bit. I started noticing heel pain a month ago but it wasn`t too painful until this past week. I must add that I am flat footed and was wearing old shoes up until the swelling in my ankles occured. I have since bought new shoes with cushioned inserts.

Currently I am using IB profin and icing. I try to stay off my feet as much as possible but I still must work. I have no health insurance and no sick pay. I`m just wondering what i might be experiencing and the best plan of attack for my situation.

Thank you.

Answer:

Thank you for visiting NetWellness. On this site, NetWellness experts try to answer general questions about health. Only a health professional performing a thorough clinical exam is able to evaluate your symptoms. However, NetWellness may have some general information available that you can access through our search feature. Feel free to write back if you still have questions or need an explanation.

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