Looking at your MRI, and hearing about your symptoms, I think there are a few things to consider.
People with ankle ligament injuries, if left untreated, invariably complain of either persistent/ chronic pain, or instability. And if it’s pain, it can be due to the torn ligaments, or sometimes other pathology within the ankle joint.
If u read your MRI, you will notice it says subarticular sclerosis - that is a sign of possible arthritis. And one of the complications of an untreated ligament tear in the ankle is early post-traumatic arthritis, which can cause symptoms like what you’re experiencing. A lot of times there is chronic inflammation within the ankle joint that is causing pain as well. You may want to consider a repeat MRI if the symptoms are persistent.
Nonetheless, if non-surgical treatment is what you’re considering, it would really only be just medication and physiotherapy.
Wearing a good ankle brace may also provide some relief. If the symptoms get better with the above treatment, then we can watch the ankle. However, if symptoms persist and get worse, and in view of your activity level etc, there may be a role for surgical treatment as well. Hope this answers your question,
Kind regards
Dr Sean Ng
