You have indicated that you have a front of ankle pain

Below are some specific descriptions of symptoms related to a running front of ankle injury or front of ankle pain.

Decide which description most closely matches the front of ankle problem you are experiencing then click on
the button next to it. You will be presented with a likely diagnosis for your front of ankle injury and advice as to
what to do.

You can diagnose other running injuries here.

  • Step 1
  • Step 2
  • Step 3 - current step
  • Step 4

Click on the description that most closely matches your symptoms:

Symptom 1

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  • Deep aching pain in the ankle, especially with movement.
  • The ankle may be swollen.
  • Stiffness in the ankle, particularly in the morning, which decreases as you start to move around and warm up.
  • You may have pain at night.
  • A crunching or grinding sound as you bend your ankle whilst standing.
  • Symptoms develop slowly over time.
  • The ankle does not show a full range of movement (i.e it is stiff), either with bending or straightening, and may be painful at the end of range of the movements.
  • You may have noticed that you are starting to limp, and favour the other leg.
  • The affected ankle may be larger than the other (regardless of any swelling).
  • It tends to occur in more mature runners.

Symptom 2

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  • Pain over the front of the ankle where the main tendon is that sticks out when you bend your foot up.
  • Pain when you bend your foot and toes up.
  • Swelling and redness in the area of pain.
  • Pressing into the tendon may elicit a creaking when you bend your foot up and down.

Symptom 3

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  • Pain and swelling on the topside of the foot, which is normally worse during running.
  • Pain when you forcibly point your toes and assist the movement further with your hand.
  • Pain when you try to resist against your toes being pushed into a pointed position.
  • Hill running can be particularly bad.
  • Extensor tendinitis can be caused by badly fitting shoes or shoes that are laced too tight causing pressure on the top of the foot, and a change in training methods or running terrain, particularly hill running.

Symptom 4

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  • A generalised pain in the ankle whilst running. Often there is no pain when not running.
  • Pain often comes on in the middle of a run, and goes when you stop.
  • You may also have some pain in the hip, low back, and knee at the same time.
  • Rest helps, but pain comes back when you start to run again.
  • Stretching may help but does not take the problem away.
  • Your symptoms do not fit into any of the other symptom patterns in this section.
  • Biomechanical ankle pain can be caused by worn out shoes, poor foot mechanics, a leg length difference, weak hip muscles, poor running style, or unstable and weak stomach muscles.

Symptom 5

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  • Pain at the front and slightly to the outside of ankle.
  • The ankle may feel weak, like it can’t be trusted to hold steady during routine activities.
  • Pain, and sometimes popping when you force your ankle upward (ie the opposite action to pointing your toes).
  • A feeling of pain and stiffness or ‘blocking’ when you force your ankle upward.
  • Anterior ankle impingement can be caused by repeated ankle sprains or one big ankle sprain (suspect this if the pain from your ankle sprain hasn’t gone after a few weeks).
  • Common in runners who also do sports which require repeatedly bending the ankle upward, such as football or dancing.

Symptom 6

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  • Pain and tenderness in front of  and below the outside ankle bone.
  • Pain running on a curve, for example pain in the right foot whilst running around a left hand bend on a running track.
  • Pain when you roll onto the outer edge of your foot.
  • Suspect this syndrome if your ankle sprain still has not healed after a few weeks.
  • Sinus Tarsi syndrome can be caused by a trauma (eg rolling out on your ankle) or simply overtraining, particularly if your foot is not working correctly in the first place.

Symptom 7

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  • Pain on the outside/front of the ankle when you roll onto the outer edge of your foot.
  • Pain when you resist the above movement against resistance.
  • A tender spot just in front of, and below your outer ankle bone.
  • An inability to bear much weight (acute), or an ability to bear only a certain amount of weight (sub-acute).
  • Swelling around the front and the outside of the ankle.
  • A sprained ankle is usually caused by rolling out on your ankle suddenly.