As you would expect, the wear and tear common to all forms of osteoarthritis is something that occurs over time and is more common in older people who have subjected their joints to a lot of physical pressure and strain. Often, osteoarthritis runs in families and can be exacerbated by reversible risk factors like obesity.
While maintaining a healthy weight and making sure that you don't put any undue pressure on your joints is helpful, ankle osteoarthritis may be inevitable for some people. If this sounds like you, then you may well benefit from the use of a specialized ankle brace, designed specifically for sufferers of osteoarthritis.
What Are the Typical Symptoms and What Can I Do About Them?
With osteoarthritis the symptoms are approximately the same regardless of which joint is affected. However, with all the load bearing that the ankle has to do on a near constant basis, certain symptoms are worse than others if you have osteoarthritis in your foot or ankle.
You may suffer pain when you try to move your ankle and this may increase if you've been resting for a prolonged period of time. You might find that your ankle joint becomes inflamed and reddened when the pain is at its worst, and in such cases you'll probably benefit from the use of anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen.
That said, such pain medications only really mask the problem. While it's true that they do reduce inflammation, they don't actually solve the issue of your joints eroding from within. The best thing to slow down the deterioration of your ankle joint is to make use of a specially manufactured osteoarthritis ankle support brace.
Alongside the use of a specific ankle brace, there are some lifestyle modifications you can make to help you get the most out of therapies like braces and other orthotics. Make sure that you avoid activities that seem to make your symptoms worse, and in particular, switch to lower intensity activities like swimming and cycling. If you are heavier than you perhaps ought to be, you'll find that any degree of weight loss will do no end of good when it comes to reducing the pain inflicted upon your joints by osteoarthritis.
When it comes to choosing the right ankle foot orthosis for your individual needs, you can solicit your doctor's or physiotherapist's advice as they have surely dealt with all kinds of patients with all manner of arthritis-related complaints. To help you with your choice, we offer a wide range of different orthotic devices to suit all purposes.
From full ankle support braces to simple shoe inserts, we can provide you with exactly what you need to keep moving and enjoying life.
