Can chronic ankle instability cause me to fall a lot?

How Our Treasure Valley Foot Doctors Help You Stay Upright After Being Diagnosed With Chronic Ankle Instability

Chronic ankle instability can make walking from one side of the room to another painful. However, for some patients, this common condition presents more potent risks—including the possibility of traumatic collapses, hard falls, and serious injuries. You don’t have to take chances with your health. Rocky Mountain Foot & Ankle has spent decades helping our Caldwell and Meridian patients overcome chronic ankle instability. Learn more about how our podiatrists treat this painful condition while keeping the risk of complications to a minimum.

Overview of Chronic Ankle Instability

This is a common condition that makes it difficult for the outer side of the ankle to bear weight. If an ankle is unstable, it can “give way” when you’re walking, running, or playing sports. Have you noticed these symptoms?

A feeling of instability or “wobbliness”.

Repeated turning or collapse of the ankle, whether while moving or when standing still.

Discomfort, swelling, or more intense pain around the affected ankle.

Sometimes these issues are only noticeable while exercising, so it’s often too easy for us to ignore or attribute them to other conditions.

What Causes Ankle Instability?

The ankle joint consists of three major bones, three sets of ligaments, and multiple muscles that control flexion and extension movements, so there are many moving parts to be affected. Most instability cases relate to sprains that never received proper treatment or that developed complications during healing. Up to 20 percent of all ankle sprains ultimately lead to some form of chronic instability.

This condition can also be caused by:

Overuse injuries

Flat feet

Other types of traumatic foot and ankle injuries

How Instability Potentially Leads to Other Issues

While we all understand that being off balance increases the likelihood of slipping, tripping, and falling, many of our patients are surprised to learn that ankle instability doesn’t usually go away on its own—and, if left untreated, progressively causes other problems.

For example, as ankle muscles, ligaments, and cartilage continue to weaken, this affects balance even more. An ankle fracture might heal but can also lead to post-traumatic arthritis. Strains and sprains due to instability may result in chronic pain not only in your ankle, but also in other parts of your body, such as knees, hips, and back. Plus, not being able to trust your footing affects your mobility and activity level physically and mentally.

How Our Trusted Foot Doctors Treat Chronic Ankle Instability and Improve Your Health

You don’t have to let this common condition drive down your quality of life. Rocky Mountain Foot & Ankle’s experienced team of Caldwell and Meridian podiatrists has spent years helping our Idaho neighbors reclaim their physical independence after injury. We’ll do a complete examination of your feet and ankles, and depending on the circumstances and severity of your condition, here are some solutions we’ll recommend.

Bracing or Taping

If the diagnosis indicates your ankle sprain or general instability can be treated without surgery, we’ll either brace the affected area or use kinesio or athletic tape to provide better support. Both of these methods help stabilize the ankle joint, muscles, and ligaments without significantly restricting your mobility.

Custom Orthotics

Ankle sprains and similar injuries can cause the ligaments that support your feet—and your body weight—to tear and repeatedly fail. Changing your footwear or wearing a prescription orthotic device relieves some of the pressure on your injured ankle and facilitates faster healing.

Physical Therapy

People who sprain an ankle once have a higher risk of suffering the same injury—with the same ankle—again. However, our experienced team of Treasure Valley podiatrists will help integrate therapeutic exercises into your daily routine or workout regimen, providing advice on how to target weak muscles, and letting you reinforce your ankles in a way that works well with your lifestyle.

Surgery

We always prioritize less-invasive procedures like the ones listed above, and will only recommend treatment that affords you the greatest chance of getting back on your feet safely. Surgery is a last resort for chronic ankle instability but is sometimes the best option for patients whose injuries cause excessive pain or place them at high risk for traumatic falls.

Before pursuing a certain surgical procedure, the knowledgeable foot doctors and surgeons at Rocky Mountain Foot & Ankle examine your injury and use imaging tests to obtain a detailed overview of your injured ankle joint. Most interventions are structured to either repair damaged ligaments or rebuild compromised support systems. We take the time to help you understand your condition and treatment options, so you feel confident in your care and eventual recovery.