Ankle popping can be caused from several issues. Commonly, a portion of the anterior tibiofibular ligament can be injured in an ankle sprain and hypertrophy (or become thickened). This will cause the ligament to rub on the talar dome and sometimes cause the ankle to pop especially when the ankle is circumducted (or placed through a circular motion).
Another common causes of popping around the ankle is peroneal subluxation syndrome. This occurs if the extensor retinaculum is not holding the peroneal tendons in place. Patients are also prone to this when the groove that the peroneal tendons are supposed to glide in on the fibula is congenitally more convex than concave.
When these issues are painful and limiting patients activity, they can be helped either minimally invasively by arthroscopic debridement or by deepening the groove in the fibula and repairing the extensor retinaculum. If you are having popping in your ankles, call our foot and ankle surgeon today at 719-488-4664, so we can help you!
