post severe ankle sprain

by alicia
(australia)

i severely sprained my ankle in 2012, then again in 2014. but when i sprained it the 2nd time in 2014 it lead to a ganglion cyst forming on the top of my foot due to rolling my ankle severely. Doctor said the cyst would go away on its own. Its now 2017 and it is still there. my ankle is over pronated and very weak and unstable. i cannot play sport or run for a long period of time as my ankle starts to hurt and i always roll my ankle. yesturday i rolled my ankle pretty bad and it hurts alot but there is no swelling, it feels as though something has been pulled or stretched. my ankle and its surrounding is a little tender to touch. i can still walk however there is some pain and i feel discomfort trying to move the ankle joint or stretch it.

RESPONSE

Hi Alicia,

Let me start off by saying that every time you do damage to your lateral ankle ligaments you essentially further weaken them.
Injured ligaments, when they heal are never as strong as the original ligament simply because they heal with scar tissue which is never as strong as healthy tissue.
Making matters worse, the more times you injure the same ligaments, the weaker they become, and the more susceptible they are to further injury. That may explain why you are now having difficulty running. You have always been pronated, its just that from the repeated trauma to the ankle, it now hurts to run.
All is not lost.
I would suggest you see a sports medicine doctor in your area. Either through taping, strapping, bracing the ankle, or perhaps through the use of an orthotic you may be able to stabilize the ankle by reducing your pronation and decreasing the strain on the ankle ligaments.
If these simple treatments do not work you may require an MRI to get a better "picture" of the ankle ligaments and the ankle joint itself. There may also be damage to the peroneal muscles which originate in the leg and travel down the outside of the ankle.
You may also have to consider alternate forms of exercise if after various attempts to stabilize your ankle, you are still unable to run.
As far as the advice you were given that your ganglion cyst would eventually disappear, although not impossible, is highly unlikely.
If a ganglion cyst is not painful and does not interrupt your activities or ability to wear certain shoes then it need not be treated.
If, however, it is painful then it should be treated. This would include aspiration where the fluid is drained from the cyst. Additionally, a little cortisone would be injected to further diminish the swelling. The only drawback to this is that there is a high recurrence rate.
Sometimes the ganglion cyst is surgically removed, but once again there is a recurrence rate.
That is why ganglion cysts are usually left alone unless they hurt.

Marc Mitnick DPM
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