Ankle Instability

Ankle instability is a common cause of falls and chronic foot and ankle pain. It can often be caused by the after effects of injury e.g. an ankle sprain or occurs with certain biomechanical foot types and joint hypermobility (double-jointedness).  Unfortunately, studies have shown that almost half of all people who suffer a sprain will have long term complications.  This could include a susceptibility to further sprains and chronic ankle pain.  Ideally, all patients who suffer a significant ankle sprain should undergo gait analysis to ensure that “normal function” has returned.   If gait analysis demonstrates obvious continued deficiencies (this may occur even if the patient feels like they have recovered fully) then timely and informed treatment can avoid the long term negative impact of this common injury.