Bone Spur Ankle
The top ankle joint is composed of three bones:
- the shinbone (tibia)
- the other bone of the lower leg (fibula)
- the anklebone (talus)
The leg bones form a scooped pocket around the top of the anklebone. This lets the foot
bend up and down.
Right below the ankle joint is another joint (subtalar), where the anklebone connects
to the heel bone (calcaneus). This joint enables the foot to rock from side to side. Three
sets of fibrous tissues connect the bones and provide stability to both joints. The knobby
bumps you can feel on either side of your ankle are the very ends of the lower leg bones.
The bump on the outside of the ankle (lateral malleolus) is part of the fibula; the
smaller bump on the inside of the ankle (medial malleolus) is part of the shinbone.
Most bone spurs on Ankle are caused by osteoarthritis. This disease affects cartilage,
the tissue that cushions and protects the ends of bones in a joint. With osteoarthritis,
the cartilage starts to wear away over time. In extreme cases, the cartilage can
completely wear away, leaving nothing to protect the bones in a joint, causing
bone-on-bone contact. Bones may also bulge, or stick out at the end of a joint, called a
bone spur.
Bone spurs can also be caused by an injury to a ankle joint. In the process of trying
to heal the injury to the bone cause by the trauma to the ankle joint the body sometimes
over compensates and in the process causes calcium build up which forms into a bone spur. |
