Distal Fibula/Ankle Pain

[246t8]

I'm reaching the end of my NLP, and an old injury of my left ankle has flared up in a new way. Seven or ten years ago, I badly rolled my ankle, but since there wasn't much pain, I never had it checked. Since then, I've periodically had dull aches in the ankle that went away quickly with RICE. Never a huge issue. But there's been a sharp pain in the area recently. This roughly corresponded with my deadlift getting to 400. I've only felt the pain during a workout one time; it typically occurs a day or two after heavy lifts. I've attached images of both ankles for some additional detail. Due to some insurance hiccups, I haven't had it imaged or looked at, but should be able to after the new year. But since I've been able to walk on it for years with almost no discomfort, I'm hoping to avoid a hospital visit if possible.

Anyways, I suspect that I fractured the fibula when the original injury occurred, that the fracture never healed properly, and the increased load over time was too much for the improperly healed bone to bear. Right now, I'm planning to take a couple of weeks off from squatting and deadlifting and will then begin to rehab. Is this advisable?

left ankle injured.jpg right ankle.jpg

[Mark Rippetoe]

Obviously, the first thing is an x-ray.

[246t8]

Got it. I'll reassess once I get it looked at. Thanks, Rip.

[246t8]

Update: after taking a couple of weeks off, the pain mostly subsided, and some new observations have convinced me there isn't an issue with the bone.

When the pain reappeared the other day, I noticed that I was having some soreness in my calf too--I assumed this was just from a long day of walking around on concrete. I used a roller to loosen the calf up, and noticed that the ankle pain immediately went away. The area still feels a bit weak though. Anyway, I've been using the roller for the last few days with positive results, and it's allowed me to get back under the bar.