Ankle Arthritis Can Affect Any Of The 30 Foot Joints
Greetings .. Gloria is away this week, and will resume posting on February 4, 2008. In the meantime, please enjoy this article about Ankle Arthritis. // HART
There are different types of arthritis but the most common, osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease that gradually reduces the cartilage in joints. With the cartilage the bones in the joint rake together and causes pain in addition to the prospect of bone damage. While arthritis can affect many joints, ankle arthritis is one of the most painful and the ankle and foot consist of 28 bones and about 30 joints, any one of which can lead to trouble walking due to the pain.
While arthritis can affect any of the joints, the most common is where the end of the shin bone rests on the top of the ankle bone. When a person is suffering ankle arthritis, their entire weight is placed on this bone and if the cartilage is worn thin or has been removed through disease, walking will be painful, if not impossible. Ankle arthritis can also affect the heel bone, the middle bone or arch as well as the first joints of the toes. With the body’s weight distributed on these joints, there is bound to be pain regardless of which joint is affected.
I would like the patients to understand their condition better in order to help them discern what is best for their life with arthritis in conjunction to what their doctors are telling them! .. 
