Ankle cracking when walking - Do I need surgery ?

Ala

Barefooters
Sep 11, 2018
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Hello everyone,

Some time ago (around 4 months ago), I made the mistake of full-out running in my VFFs for a long duration without proper form, and for way too long. Here is some background about my body:

Years ago I got prescribed orthotics and did chiropractic adjustments for scoliosis (not super severe, but enough for noticeable pain). Scoliosis pain goes away, but I still wore orthotics. My hips are also not aligned and the right side of my body is much more tight than the left (notice during yoga and when I meditate for very long periods of time ~1hr)

Next two days I have crazy sore calves, and then, while walking for long distances, I start to notice that my left ankle starts "cracking" or "snapping" when I walk, and then really bad pain ensues, and I have trouble walking.

The next two months, I have peroneal tendonitis, and what I'm positive is also subluxation. I've seen the doctor only to be prescribed pain-killers and being told to rest. Radiologist Ultrasounds my foot weeks later and sees no problems, pain had resolved at this point, but cracking still occurs.

Today I don't have pain, but I do notic ethe following when I walk around 2 -3k in barefoot shooes:

Left ankle makes snapping/cracking noise (no pain)
Knee tiredness/soreness and left knee hurts more and even does the same sort of snapping as ankle
Area beneath my second and third metatarsal feels slightly more swollen when I'm standing

Has anyone had issues with peroneal subluxation? I am scared of surgery and not sure what it will do in the future for me in case I want to run marathons or ultras. Is it possible to do exercises/yoga to strengthen those muscles without needing surgery? Should I go back to my orthotics and transition really slowly?

I'm seeing a barefoot friendly doctor this week to iron this out, but any other opinions are welcome.

Ala
 
Ala,

I would not recommend surgery for any symptoms you're having. There's no guarantee it will fix anything and it may not solve the problem. Surgery should be last resort. You need to see someone in physical medicine such as a chiro or PT. Exercises should help for sure. I've treated just a few scoliosis patients and have relieved a lot of their pain with exercises. Look for someone who has some DNS training. Dynamic Neuromuscular rehabilitation. It works well.

You could still have the scoliosis and that could be causing ankle pain and tightness. Proximal stability before distal mobility. What does that mean? If your lumbar spine is unprotected then your brain will tighten up joints to keep it safe. Either your tendons are snapping over bone or your joints are opening up causing the cracking sound. I wouldn't be too concerned about the sound and if there is pain then that is a signal you need to change. Change what? I'm not sure. For that you would need a full evaluation and in person is the best.

Good luck and stay away from surgeons. When all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail.
 
Ala,

I would not recommend surgery for any symptoms you're having. There's no guarantee it will fix anything and it may not solve the problem. Surgery should be last resort. You need to see someone in physical medicine such as a chiro or PT. Exercises should help for sure. I've treated just a few scoliosis patients and have relieved a lot of their pain with exercises. Look for someone who has some DNS training. Dynamic Neuromuscular rehabilitation. It works well.

You could still have the scoliosis and that could be causing ankle pain and tightness. Proximal stability before distal mobility. What does that mean? If your lumbar spine is unprotected then your brain will tighten up joints to keep it safe. Either your tendons are snapping over bone or your joints are opening up causing the cracking sound. I wouldn't be too concerned about the sound and if there is pain then that is a signal you need to change. Change what? I'm not sure. For that you would need a full evaluation and in person is the best.

Good luck and stay away from surgeons. When all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail.

Migangelo,

Thanks for taking the time reply. I'm hoping that I can restore my back to as near-normal as possible. After doing yoga for quite some time I notice that the tight bands of muscle on the right side of my back are beginning to loosen, and I'm hoping that with time my back will be back to normal.

I will be seeing a specialist PT tomorrow in the hopes that they will provide me with some guidance.

I will stay away from surgery as much as possible.

Thanks again,
Ala
 
Ala,

With my scoliosis, with most of my patients, I focus on strengthening the weak side. No stretching. The tight side will relax once the weak side starts doing its job.
 
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Thank you, Dr. Mike.
 
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