Football ankle

　　Football ankle is more common in athletes or sports enthusiasts. Due to repeated and strong dorsiflexion activities of the foot, the distal tibia directly collides with the talus, leading to long-term stimulation, soft tissue scar hyperplasia, and osteophyte formation.

　　Most patients have clinical symptoms of osteoarthritis. Some may experience pain after ankle sprains, which may persist and worsen with activity and improve with rest. The symptoms of football ankle mainly include ankle swelling and pain, and the anterior osteophytes can affect the dorsiflexion activity of the ankle joint, leading to limited dorsiflexion and pain.

　　It can concurrently occur with loose bodies in the ankle joint.

　　Pain and limited activity during ankle movement are the main symptoms of the disease. In the early stage, pain occurs during activity, and later pain occurs even when at rest. The pain is mostly located in the front of the ankle, and pain is produced when kicking the ball with the correct foot, due to the impact and compression of the osteophytes at the back of the ankle and soft tissues. During sprinting and jumping, pain is produced due to the impact of the anterior lip of the tibia and the neck of the talus. With the increase of osteophytes, the thickening of the synovial sac, and the formation of loose bodies, the limitation of joint movement becomes more obvious, until the range of joint movement is significantly reduced. Sometimes, one can also feel the sound of joint friction, mainly due to the friction of rough joint surfaces and thickened synovial or loose bodies. The main signs are mild joint swelling, tenderness, sensation of friction, and friction sound, and the joint space becomes smaller. Occasionally, loose bodies can be palpated.

　　Strengthening the muscle training around the ankle joint, using elastic bandages or adhesive plasters to wrap the ankle after injury or during competition to prevent excessive flexion and extension and inversion and eversion of the ankle joint, and to avoid repeated sprains, which is an effective measure for preventing football ankle.

　　X-ray is the main means of diagnosis of football ankle, showing that there are bone spurs and osteophytes on the neck of the tibia and talus, posterior projection of the talus increases and elongates, the two ankles become pointed, and sometimes there are shadows of loose bodies, and the joint space of the ankle joint becomes narrow, etc.

　　Due to the long course of the disease, deep and large ulceration surface, long-term restriction of fish and meat foods, leading to malnutrition of the body and decreased resistance, high-protein, high-vitamin, and easily digestible foods should be given, such as eggs, milk, fresh vegetables, fruits, and foods rich in collagen such as thick chicken soup, and spicy and刺激性 foods should be avoided, and smoking and drinking should be quit.

　　1. Conservative Treatment:Including external application of various ankle guards, ointments, ultrashort wave therapy, fumigation therapy, vinegar therapy or iontophoresis, joint or trigger point infiltration.

　　2. Surgical Treatment:For those with excessive osteophytes or loose bodies within the joint space or reduced joint space, and those with recurrent locking of the ankle joint, surgical treatment can be considered. According to the location of the lesion, an anterior and medial, anterior and lateral, or posterior incision of the ankle joint can be made to excise the residual bed of the osteophyte and use electrocautery to prevent the regeneration of osteophytes. Generally, there are varying numbers of loose bodies within the joint, which should be carefully removed and the joint cavity should be washed repeatedly with normal saline. The general effect after surgery is good, and training can be resumed after about 3 months.