Ankle Arthritis

Arthritis of the ankle is a painful condition that sometimes occurs years after an injury. While ankle fractures and ankle sprains can heal pretty well, ankle arthritis does not. It can become a crippling disease. Different types of arthritis may affect the ankle. Two of the most common forms are osteoarthritis and post-traumatic arthritis. Both types of arthritis affect the ankle in similar ways.

Osteoarthritis of the Ankle

Osteoarthritis is a common form of ankle arthritis. It is considered a type of degenerative disease, or wear-and-tear arthritis. Whether it appears years after an ankle injury, or whether it appears without any history of injury, osteoarthritis behaves more or less the same way.

Over the past several years, there has been increasing evidence that osteoarthritis is genetic, meaning that it runs in families. Osteoarthritis may prove to be related to genetic differences in the chemical makeup of articular cartilage. Read more about osteoarthritis.

Post-traumatic Ankle Arthritis

Ankle injuries frequently lead to arthritis. This is due to the wear and tear that occurs over the years after the injury. This type of arthritis is classified as post-traumatic arthritis. Trauma means injury, and the term post-traumatic is used to describe a condition that develops after an injury.

Injury to the ankle, such as a bad sprain or fracture, can cause damage to the articular cartilage that lines the surface of the bones in the ankle joint. The cartilage can be bruised when too much pressure is exerted on it. This damages the articular cartilage, although if you look at the surface it may not appear to be any different. The injury to the cartilage doesn't always show up immediately.

Sometimes the cartilage surface is damaged even more severely, and pieces of the cartilage are ripped from the bone. These pieces do not heal back and usually must be removed from the joint surgically. If not, they may float around in the joint, causing the ankle to catch and be painful. These fragments of cartilage may also do more damage to the joint surface.

Once this cartilage is ripped away, it does not normally grow back. Unlike bone, holes in the surface are not simply replaced by the cartilage tissue around the hole. Instead the defects are filled with scar tissue. The scar tissue that forms is not nearly as good a material for covering joint surfaces as the cartilage it replaces. It just can't support weight and isn't smooth like true articular cartilage.

Over many years, this imbalance in the joint mechanics can lead to arthritis. Since articular cartilage cannot heal itself very well, the damage adds up. Finally, the ankle is no longer able to compensate for the increasing damage, and it begins to hurt. The damage occurs well before the pain begins.

In summary, ankle arthritis may come from differences in how each of us is put together, based on our genes, a condition best described as osteoarthritis. Arthritis may also develop years after an injury that leads to slow damage of the ankle joint surfaces, a condition best described as post-traumatic arthritis.