The reason for chronic, severe ankle arthritis pain

In a healthy ankle joint, cartilage cushions and protects the bones that make up the ankle and absorbs the shock of daily wear. Cartilage can break down due to age, wear, disease or injury. The body cannot reverse cartilage loss. When the cartilage loss becomes severe, the bones in the joint grind against each other. This bone-on-bone contact causes pain and limits activity. Your physician may refer to this as “end-stage ankle arthritis pain.”

Symptoms of end-stage ankle arthritis

If you have end-stage ankle arthritis, you may experience chronic:

• Tenderness or pain
• Reduced ability to move, walk, or bear weight
• Stiffness in the ankle joint
• Swelling in the ankle joint

Underlying causes of end-stage ankle arthritis

The most common causes of end-stage ankle arthritis are:

• Post-traumatic arthritis is the most common form of osteoarthritis (OA) that is caused by a previous injury or other form of trauma to a joint, such as the ankle joint.  An injury to the ankle which leads to post-traumatic arthritis can also be known as “end-stage arthritis”.
• Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disorder. It’s also called “degenerative arthritis.” OA is the result of aging and joint wear. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), 30 million Americans have OA.
• Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is less common. It occurs when the body’s own immune system attacks the joint’s soft tissue. This produces inflammation, swelling, and pain.

In the case of post-traumatic arthritis, an ankle injury causes trauma to the ankle joint. The trauma could be a single damaging event such as an accident. Or it could be a series of smaller, repeated injuries such as the strains and sprains endured over years of running. The injuries damage the cartilage and/or the bone, changing the mechanics of the ankle joint and making it wear out more quickly. The time between the original trauma and the onset of post-traumatic arthritis may span months or years. For example, an ankle sprain during childhood or adolescence that you thought was healed may develop into post-traumatic arthritis years later.