Footballer’s ankle – is a pinching or impingement of the ligaments or tendons of the ankle between the bones, particularly the talus & tibia

Causes

A common cause of ankle Impingement is a bone spur on ankle bone (talus) or the shine bone (tibia). Repeated kicking actions can cause the ankle bone to hit the bottom of the shin bone which can lead to a lump of bone or bone spur developing.

This bone spur may then begin to impact on the soft tissue at the front of two ankles, causing inflammation and then swelling. The condition is most common in athletes who repeatedly bend the ankle upwards (dorsiflexion) such as footballer’s hence the problem called footballer’s ankle.

Symptoms

• Pain and tenderness in the front of ankle.
• Pain on dorsiflexion and planter flexion.
• Band of pain across anterior ankle when kicking a ball.
• Palpable bony lump on distal tibia or superior talus.

Treatment

Soft tissue technique to stretch the muscles around the ankle.

• Gentle mobilization of ankle joint
• Cortisone injection to reduce inflammation
• Arthroscopic removal of bone spur