I have been suffering ankle pain for 6 months now with only a 6 week respite after Christmas. The pain has kept me off my bike and even made walking uncomfortable.
The pain first started after a ride of around 120-130km. My bike shoes were reasonably new and tight at the time. I felt the pain at the front of my ankles the next day and it slowly diminished through the week. The next weekend I rode another long ride and was presented with the same pain the next day, but this time it did not go away. I stopped riding and the pain still did not go away.
The pain was not very strong but was always there. It would often make it hard to get to sleep at night. If I did ride the pain would be rather unpleasant after 10 to 20 km. I changed my Pedals from Time Impact back to look and then to Speedplay. Getting rid of the Time Impact pedals reduced the strain on my lower leg and knee but it did not remove the ankle pain.
The week before Christmas I received some orthotics for my workboots and bike shoes. They are basically a wedge that lift up the inside of my foot and makes my ankle vertical.
Over the Christmas break with the new orthotics the pain went away rather quickly and I got 6 weeks of good training in including one 7 our ride. I got myself a coach and ordered high end bike.
When I was getting fitted on a Saturday the seat on my present bike was raised around 3/4". The setup felt good and I had no ankle pain until the Friday after doing my first indoor trainer session for the year the previous day. I did to criteriums that weekend and was very pleased with my effort, however on the Monday I the ankle pain was back. Ten weeks later and I still have the pain.
The pain feels to be in the tendons at front of the ankle and across the front of the foot. To get an idea of the pain try bending your wrist back on itself and hold it there for 20 seconds. For a while the pain was also in my achilles. Wearing shoes makes the pain worse. It feels like the shoes are too tight even after I have taken them off!
I did get some respite from the pain over the easter break. I didn't wear any shoes for almost a week and I stayed off my feet as much as I could. By the second day back at work the pain had returned. I feel that crouching and kneeling when at work makes it worse.
It should also be noted that I had a significant back injury 12 months ago and I still have significant pain, although riding the bike seems to help it a lot
I have been seeing a physio and an inhouse podiatrist. I have also seen a doctor who has tested for arthritis, gout etc. I have an appointment to see a recomended sports doctor and will be doing 8 hours of driving to go and see him early next week. I'll be taking deleviry of my new bike in two weeks and thought of not being able to ride it scares me.