Pain in the ankle may be a result of an injury to the hip, ankle, knee or referred pain from the spine. If you have pain in your ankle with walking you may change your gait or how you perform an activity in order to avoid the pain. Changing the mechanics of your gait or how you perform an activity will then transfer the load to your knee or hip putting stress on those structures. This also causes you to learn bad motor habits which can be challenging to overcome since you may not be aware of them. It is important to fix the cause of the pain and not just chase the symptoms.

If you have a pinched nerve in your back or compression of your sciatic nerve you may experience pain down your leg to your foot. People who are experiencing symptoms from compression of their sciatic nerve will experience pain or numbness in their foot or ankle as well as decreased strength and balance as a result. It is important to address these impairments before the nerve damage becomes too severe and becomes not as reversible. Trigger points may mimic signs of sciatic nerve impingement so seeing a physical therapist can help distinguish the root cause of your symptoms and help you recover faster than googling. Refer to lumbar section for more information.

Plantar Fascia is a thick fibrous tissue that connects from your heel to your toes. It can become inflamed by improper footwear that lack proper arch support, poor foot mechanics, a combination of improper footwear and activity. Often times is able to be overcome with management of the inflammation, a change in footwear and strengthening of the intrinsic muscles of the foot.

Symptoms may include, but are not limited to:

• Sharp pain near the heel

• Usually the worst with the first few steps in the morning

• May get worse based off of activity, but will hurt the most after activity, not during.

• Pain may also be noticed in the front of the foot at the big toe