Joe A Shaw PA-C - 1/31/2008

Question
Hello,
I am a 21 years old dancer and I've never had my ankles twisted, sprained or any other injuries. Though, around 5 months ago I started having pain in my legs and my ankles started to swell and itch so bad. I didn't care as I thought that I simply might work out too much,so I ignored it. But it's been about a couple of months, since I've noticed that my ankle bones and the area around is getting bigger. I don't have any pain but the feet look really dishaped and I am afraid that it might go worse. Should I be concerned and what shall I do if so? Could you advise me, please?. Thank you.

Answer
Shahirah,
That does sound a little odd. If you were in your 60's and a smoker overweight, weak heart etc..I would expect to see CHF (congestive heart failure) which gives you these findings because the heart is weak and can't circulate the blood as good as it once could. In someone your age I would first get a CBC (complete blood work) done. Have you noticed any bruising?...have you been tired more than usual?
If blood work is okay, I would have your heart evaluated..ECG, possibly a echocardiogram etc..to see if heart is pumping sufficeintly.Other things could be some type of arthritis or a connective tissue disease but these would be way down the list unless you had a strong family history and other supporting physical signs and symptoms.
Sometimes the swelling and tightness of the skin can cause the itching symptoms, but you do need to get checked out. I would start with family provider or internal medicine Dr.