Q: I had a minor ankle sprain 10 months back. But I didn't take proper rehabilitation measures to treat it because I thought it was very minor. But the pain in the ankle and lower leg started occurring again whenever I wore high heeled shoes. Sometimes it becomes very painful to stand for more than 1/2 an hour. The problem never occurs with flat or sport-shoes. I can jog, play or run at good speed with those shoes. I went to an orthopaedician again and he asked for CT scan reports. The report was absolutely fine and doctor told me to do some exercises. I did these exercises but somewhat irregularly. How long will it take to recover? What other treatment measures can I take up for this? Am I having chronic lateral ankle pain?

A:Sometimes an innocent ankle sprain may mask other additional injuries to the ankle. These could be a tiny fracture of the cartilage of top of the talus bone sitting in your ankle joint. There could also be inflammation of the fat in front of the ankle joint and entrapment of nerves (Sinus tarsi syndrome). These need to be considered also as a cause of chronic pain. Ultimately you will have to see a competent specialist to diagnose and treat the painful ankle.