What is Ankle Arthritis?

Arthritis is a disease commonly affecting the elderly and it can affect any joint in the body. The usual symptom of arthritis is pain.

There are two types of pain associated with arthritis: acute and chronic pain. Acute pain goes away after resting and is temporary. Chronic pain is constant pain and doesn't easily go away. The pain may lessen over time but it is still there. Chronic pain is always a symptom of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Weight bearing joints are almost always affected by chronic pain. A good example is arthritis affecting the ankles causing severe heel pain. This involves joints between the shin bone and ankle bone or better known as tibiotalar joint. Ankle arthritis is common in the elderly because of the natural degeneration of the joints. At the tip of each bone is found a special tissue called cartilage bone. This bone is found inside each joint and it has a very smooth surface. As we get older, the smooth surface kind of roughens a bit and this is the cause of the arthritis pain. In worse cases, some patients have totally worn out the cartilages and the actual bones are rubbing against each other. Undoubtedly this causes extreme pain.

Ankle arthritis can also be found in the younger age group especially if the joint got injured. Frequent sprains can damage the cartilages. Being overweight can also put too much stress to the joints and the cartilages get to rub hard at each other because of the weight.