Ello!! I'm looking for some people's opinion on what I should do here. Recently, I've been noticing an increase in pain on my inner ankle bone on my right leg when I skate, despite always wearing a circular bunga pad on it every time I skate. I looked at my ankle the other day and noticed a white spot. I inspected it, moved it around a bit, and concluded it's most likely a cyst. I'm guessing this because my coach has showed me the ones she has, and this looks exactly like them. It's small, but the location of where it is makes it very difficult not to think about and limp a little bit on the ice. I've been fighting through it, but, what I want to know, is if I should go to the doctor to have something done to it. (i.e. draining, removing, etc.)

Any advice? I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to endure the pain.

I know it's normal to get bumps on your feet - my daughter has to wear a larger size shoe than she needs because of them BUT pain is not normal. I'd have it checked out.

j

Is it a ganglion cyst? I just had one of those on my foot the size of a large grape. (You can read up on them at Wikipedia or WebMD.)

I went to my dermatologist, who lanced it (and expressed out the synovial fluid - that was an "ewwww" moment) and injected it with cortisone. It has a 50% chance of recurring. He advised me if I wanted to have it removed I would need to go to an orthopedic surgeon as the cyst was attached to a tendon. Even if you have it removed, there is a fair chance of recurrence. There is no concensus as to the cause, but it is thought that damage to the joints between small bones (in your foot, or your hand) cause the synovial fluid to leak out, which is encapsulated, forming a cyst.

The pain level of lancing wasn't bad (about like stepping on a pin) and once he slapped a bandage on it I didn't notice a thing.

Hope this helps - oh, and I was warned the longer you leave it, the more likely the fluid in the cyst will harden, which makes it harder to lance it. But I was also told if the cyst isn't bothering you, you can leave it untreated.