Ankle Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that causes the cartilage in the joints to deteriorate over time. When the cartilage in the joints deteriorates, the bones start to rub together. This results in pain and inflammation. Over time, the bones in a joint may ultimately erode, causing misalignment and causing pain.
Osteoarthritis can affect people of any age and can affect any articulation, including your ankles, but it is most common in people over the age of 65. People with a family history of osteoarthritis are also at risk of developing this condition in their ankles or elsewhere. Osteoarthritis can affect either one or multiple joints, but since it is not a systemic disease like rheumatoid arthritis, it is more commonly found in one or two joints.
In most cases, it affects the hands, fingers, knees, hips, neck, and lower back. It also often affects the shoulders and ankles, especially if you have endured a severe injury in your ankles and have risk factors such as morbid obesity.