I've gradually developed some really annoying ankle pain in the past few weeks, likely related to skating. It's located on the outer part of my left leg, above the ankle bone, where the top of the boot is. It is very achy and hurts more when pressure is applied, but there is no redness, swelling, or even bruising. It feels like I should have a large bruise there, but there's nothing, other than old scars from when my boot tongue dug into my skin. Icing the area does help some. I am a CCW skater and currently working on waltz jumps, toe-loop, and salchow. I have not added any new elements for the past two months.

Any idea what could be causing this? Would Bunga pads help? If so, which ones?

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I'm not a doctor and don't really know much about anything medical, but wondered whether you've considered tendonitis? I've had it in my hand and wrist and that feels like a bruise or sprain (lots of pain) is helped by ice and rest, but otherwise can't really be bandaged up to improve things as it's below the surface.
I have heard of other skaters having tendonitis around the achilles and I would think that it's possible to get it in other tendons around the ankle joint.
You probably ought to do visit the doctor if you're really worried about it and get a diagnosis as at least then you know what you're dealing with.
Hope it gets better soon.

For starters, you should definitely be wearing gel ankle sleeves (Bunga, Silipos or other comparable brand). In addition, if the pain is right where the top of the boot is, I would use one of the Bunga gel disks under the top of the ankle sleeve right there.

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I agree with fsk8r that this does sound a bit like tendonitis, but don't rely on my lack of medical knowledge. If the pain is bothering you very frequently, perhaps get yourself checked out by a doctor, ideally someone who works with athletes (dancers, skaters, etc.) and who would understand the types of movements you're doing. Maybe keep a little journal of what you work on each day and your pain level so that you're able to maybe identify a cause, movement, or pressure that is adding to your pain...

And, definitely invest in Bunga pads! While the Bunga pad alone won't likely do much for your pain since they're more for lace-bit, the Bunga gel discs that doubletoe mentioned should alleviate some of the pain if, for instance, the pain is caused by your boot...which leads me to wonder: Are you maybe lacing your skates too tightly and the pressure from trying to bend in them is hurting what seems to be a tendon? Just a thought...

How old are your boots--and are they on the verge of breaking down?

I used to get that kind of pain, although it was kind of behind the ankle bone, as opposed to above it. (Sort of between the ankle tendon and the heel tendon.) I discovered it was caused by my ankles trying to do the job that the boot should have been doing--my boots had gotten very soft. When I got myself a new pair of boots, the pain went away.

In the meantime, what I did was to 'butterfly tie' my laces to provide some extra support, and I sometimes wore an elastic ankle brace inside my boot---but I'm not sure how much that actually helped, and I should have just gotten new boots sooner, but I didn't know that was the cause of the problem.

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I had what sounds to be a very similar type pain once, and it was diagnosed as a mild stress fracture and tendonitis. It also could just be irritation from your boot. If the above suggestions don't relieve or at least improve your symptoms quickly, I would advise a visit to an orthopedist/sports medicine doc. In the meantime ice and anti-inflammatories if you can take them should be helpful. Just some thoughts. I think I was kicked off the ice for about 2 weeks and no jumping for a couple more weeks. No crutches or cast or anything like that.

thanks for all the advice guys. It seems as if it might be a boot problem. I do tend to tie by skates too tight. And it for sure isn't a boot breakdown issue. I actually question whether my boots are too stiff. Numberous people have told me that my boots are very stiff for being Jackson Competitors. I'm betting that it may be a slight case of tendonitis, thankfully it only hurts when wearing my skates, and doesn't hurt when I run three times a week.

I will invest in some bunga gel pads to hepfully dcrease the amount of boot irritation.

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