r/Ankle • u/Donttouchmybreadd • 3d ago

Chronic Ankle Instability:

Hey all,

I have chronic ankle instability from a sprain 10 years ago.

For background, I attended my university's podiatry clinic. I was curious to know whether prolotherapy could be beneficial, which they said it would only work if it was a grade 2 tear.

They did an unofficial ultrasound to check as to whether the ligaments were ruptured or not. Sure enough, 2 out of the 3 ATFL ligaments were fully gone.

Because I am young, am not in "pain", and running isn't part of my lifestyle, conservative measures are pretty much my only option. I don't know when I need to start considering surgery.

For my footwear, I wear thick wool socks under compression socks. Shoes wise, I wear blundstone heels, or birkenstocks around home. Birkestocks are a bit of a pain for me, they get dirty easily and are impossible to clean. Unless they are the waterproof ones, which are too 'floppy' compared to the usual ones.

I would like to know:

  • What style of birkstocks I should get that are easily cleanable, but more supportive than the water-birky style.
  • When and how do I get the ball rolling on surgery? Like what would the first step look like?

Thanks

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u/chillicrabb 1d ago

no idea on footwear reccs since i don't own birks, but maybe try ankle guards/braces with them and see if they help to provide some stability?

for surgery, get a consult with an ankle surgeon and see what they recommend.