Ankle Pain when running (but not when playing football/soccer)

[craigbroadman]

Hi Everyone

I am new to the forum....

Basically I am getting alot of pain on the outer side of my ankle when road running. I am only running a couple of miles in total but the pain is quite severe and hurts even more if I stop to stretch off my calf.

I play football once or twice a week and don't experience any pain at all in my ankles....

I have also bought new running shoes that I believe are the correct shape for my feet (high arch/neutral).

Anyone have any ideas what this pain could be caused by?

[Heidi]

Hi
As you are only getting the pain on continuous long runs I would suggest it is an overuse problem of possibly the peroneal muscles which run down the outside of the lower leg and below the ankle bone on the outside.
Did this pain coincide with buying new running shoes or was it already happening before?
If it started before, then I would suggest trying to strengthen these muscles, as maybe they are not strong enough to deal with the constant use of road running. You can strengthen them with resistance band as shown here:
http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/strengthening/resistance_bands/eversion.php
Also try to stretch all of the lower leg muscles, in particular the calf muscles as tight calf muscles can affect ankle function and cause other muscles to overwork.
If you think tightness could be a particular problem then some sports massage can definately help too.