Your ankles are one of your body’s key weight-bearing joints, responsible for providing stability and movement while standing or walking.
As a hinged joint, your ankle is susceptible to injury during virtually any type of activity, including sports and exercise and even while simply walking or climbing stairs.
An ankle sprain, which occurs when your ankle is forcefully twisted or bent, can cause your ligaments to painfully stretch or tear, and this is a leading cause of ankle pain in the United States.
Ankle sprains, however, are not the only reason why your ankle may be hurting. Other potential causes of ankle pain include:
| Damage to your tendons or cartilage | Infection in your ankle joint | Osteoarthritis, gout or rheumatoid arthritis |
| Blockage to blood vessels in your leg | Heel pain or injuries | Nerve injuries, including sciatica |
| Bone spurs | Fracture or stress fractures |
Send Your Ankle Pain Packing
Healing ankle pain that occurs from a sprain is different from the pain from arthritis or cartilage damage. Assuming you have a sprain, you’ll typically want to use the RICE approach, as follows (if you have a severe sprain, you should seek medical attention):[i]
- Rest: Keep your weight off of your ankle until it no longer hurts to stand on your foot (use crutches if necessary to get around).
- Ice: Apply ice packs for about three days following injury to help bring down swelling and reduce bruising and pain.
- Compression: Try wrapping your ankle in a compression bandage for one or two days up to a week to avoid swelling and bruising.
- Elevation: Raise your ankle above the level of your heart for two to three hours a day. This will also help with swelling and bruising.
Ankle pain due to wear-and-tear to your joint and cartilage, on the other hand, may be relieved using the following strategies:
7. Exercise
Exercise, even at high intensity, has been found to improve function among people with rheumatoid arthritis (a common cause of joint and ankle pain).[ii] It also helped to restore lean body mass, and this weight loss will also help take pressure off of your joints, potentially leading to even greater improvements in your ankle pain.
6. Ankle Exercises
In addition to full-body exercise, simple ankle exercises can help you to strengthen your muscles, protect your ligaments and avoid injury. Try ankle circles, heel and toe raises or even writing the alphabet in the air using your foot.
5. DL-Phenylalanine
Phenylalaine is an essential amino acid that acts as a precursor to tyrosine and neurotransmitters like dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine. Phenylalanine may help to increase endorphins and opioid compounds in your central nervous system for enhanced mood and chronic pain relief. DL-phenylalanine works in part by blocking the enzymes that break down your body’s natural pain-killing chemicals.
4. Heat from Far-Infrared Rays (FIR)
An FIR heating pad can help your joints and muscles to relax, thereby relieving pain. The thermal effect of deep FIR heat on your tissues causes blood vessels in capillaries to dilate, which improves blood circulation and promotes pain-relief healing.
3. Glucosamine Sulfate Potassium
Glucosamine is found naturally throughout your body, but especially in your cartilage. In your joints, it acts as a building block and helps provide structure to your cartilage while maintaining healthy joint function and mobility. Research shows glucosamine sulfate is a safe and effective treatment for joint pain due to osteoarthritis.[iii]
2. Hydrolyzed Collagen Type II
By strengthening cartilage and replenishing the synovial fluid that helps lubricate your joints, hydrolyzed collagen improves joint comfort and mobility. Hydrolyzed collagen is important, in particular, because it contains glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) such as hyaluronic acid (HA) and chondroitin sulfate, which help promote joint cushioning and lubrication. Hydrolyzed Collagen Type II may even help to rebuild cartilage.
Super Joint Support is a blend of all-natural ingredients designed to nourish, support and possibly even regenerate your joints, thanks to the hydrolyzed collagen type II and other joint supernutrients that it contains.
With chondroitin sulfate, hyaluronic acid, glucosamine sulfate potassium, DL-phenylalanine and more, packaged in a formula that contains 72 ionic trace minerals to ensure rapid absorption and assimilation into your body, this is a groundbreaking natural way to reduce and even eliminate joint pain while rebuilding and regenerating your cartilage.
