The top three causes of ankle pain after running

Ankle Pain Running

Running can have many advantages for people. It can help them improve their overall fitness, and it’s especially helpful for boosting cardiovascular health. However, running can also lead to issues such as ankle pain. 

Ankle pain is often the result of the repetitive motions that runners do. Ankle injuries aren’t the most common ones runners develop, but they are in the top six because they make up about 17% of all running injuries. Physical therapists can help runners learn the causes of ankle pain after running. In addition, they can help you treat these ankle injuries effectively. 

These are the top three causes of ankle pain after running

Of the many injuries that can cause ankle pain after running, there are three that head the list: 

  1. Ankle sprains and strains — A sprain occurs when one of your ankle ligaments is overstretched or torn. Strains involve overstretching or tearing in muscles or tendons in or near the ankle. Such injuries often happen when you land poorly and roll your ankle when you’re running. 
  1. Stress fractures — These injuries can occur in any bone in the ankle or lower leg. Stress fractures occur when your muscles aren’t able to completely absorb the impact of running. 
  1. Tendinitis — Tendons attach muscles to bones, and there are several of them in your ankle. Probably the best known ankle tendon is the Achilles tendon. Tendinitis occurs when a tendon becomes inflamed, which is often caused by repetitive movements like running. 

What can physical therapists do to treat your ankle pain?

Identifying the cause of your ankle pain is just the first way physical therapists can help with your running injuries. They can also build you a personalized program to treat your symptoms and the underlying issue that’s causing them. A few of the treatment techniques your plan could include are: 

  • Aquatic therapy that can strengthen legs and ankle while reducing stress on healing injuries. 
  • Astym®  or manual therapy to break down scar tissue that forms as your injury heals. 
  • Dry needling that can address knots in ankle soft tissue and reduce your pain. 

Find treatment for your running injuries at Excel Sports & Physical Therapy

Are you feeling pain in your ankle or other joints after running? Our team at Excel PT can help you figure out why you’re feeling post-run pain. In fact, our free screenings are designed specifically for this purpose. Our specialists can also construct an individualized therapy plan intended to reduce your pain and prevent future injuries. 

Want to treat your pain from home? No problem! You can use our at-home care and virtual therapy services to meet this desire. 

Contact our team today for more information about how we can help with your ankle injuries or to schedule an initial appointment.