Your ankle, the joint where your foot and leg meet, is an intricate network of bones, ligaments, tendons and muscles. Strong enough to bear your body weight, your ankle can be prone to injury and pain.

You may feel ankle pain on the inside or outside of your ankle or along the Achilles tendon, which connects the muscles in your lower leg to your heel bone. Because ankle pain can sometimes indicate a serious problem, severe ankle pain should be evaluated by your doctor, especially if it follows an injury. Although mild ankle pain often responds well to home treatments, it can take time to resolve. See your doctor when any ankle pain doesn't improve within a few weeks.

Causes

Injury to any of the bones, ligaments or tendons in the ankle can cause ankle pain. Most ankle pain, however, is the result of a sprain, which occurs when your ankle rolls over your foot, causing an ankle ligament to stretch or even tear. Though sprains are often sports related, they can occur when you walk on an uneven surface or simply take a misstep.

Common causes of ankle pain include:

1) Achilles tendonitis
2) Achilles tendon rupture
3) Avulsion fracture
4) Broken ankle/broken foot
5) Gout
6) Osteoarthritis
7) Pseudogout
8) Rheumatoid arthritis
9) Septic arthritis
10) Sprained ankle
11) Sprains and strains
12) Stress fractures

Adopted from mayoclinic.com