Outside Ankle Pain

Pain in the outside of the ankle (referred to by doctors as “lateral ankle pain”) can be caused by several different injuries or conditions:

Ankle Sprain

Ankle rolled on a slope spraining ankle causing torn ligamentsAn ankle sprain is an injury to one or more ligaments in the ankle,usually on the outside of the ankle. Ligaments are bands of tissue—like rubber bands—that connect one bone to another and bind the joints together. In the ankle joint,ligaments provide stability by limiting side-to-side movement.

Peroneal Tendon Subluxation

The peroneal retinaculum is a thin band of tissue that helps hold the peroneal tendons behind the fibula at the outside of the ankle.  There are actually two distinct peroneal retinaculums; the “superior peroneal retinaculum” and the “inferior peroneal retinaculum.” The one you actually care about if you’re having popping and clicking and pain at the outside of the ankle is the superior peroneal retinaculum.  

Peroneal Tendonitis

All About Peroneal Tendon Problems  A tendon is a structure that is the body’s equivalent of a cable. But instead of steel wire, thin collagen strands bundle together and connect muscle to bone. The peroneal tendons are frequently injured in runners and triathletes. They are also commonly injured during an ankle sprain. The result is pain in the outside of the ankle or foot. 

Sural Neuritis

Neuritis is simply pain resulting from an irritated nerve. The sural nerve is one of the five nerves that crosses the ankle and then provides sensation to the foot. The sural nerve travels down the back of the leg along the Achilles tendon and crosses over to the back of the fibula (outside or "lateral" ankle bone) before it curves down along the heel and proceeds out to the little toe. The sural nerve only provides sensation to a small area along the outside of the foot and the 4th and 5th toes.


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Where Does It Hurt?

 Click in the  painful area to find out what is causing your foot pain.

Big Toe Joint Pain, Bunion

Heel Pain, Plantar Fasciitis, Planter Fashitis

Midfoot Pain, Upper Foot

Arch Pain

Ball of Foot Pain, Nueroma

Medial Ankle Pain, inside ankle

Tailors Bunion, little toe hurts

Lateral Ankle Pain

Side of foot hurts at the fifth toe base.

Achilles tendon pain, tendonitis