Swollen and throbbing ankles

Question
Hi. I'm currently participating in long-distance running for my high school's track team, and two days after my last practice I developed a pain in both my ankles. It hurts to walk or otherwise put weight on my ankles, and sometimes they throb even as I sit down. They're swollen, and it hurts if I apply pressure to the interior of my ankles. It's spring break and it's important that I run to stay in shape for a meet coming up as soon as school starts up again, but this issue is preventing me from serious exercise. It doesn't seem directly caused by running, since the pain seemed to develop separately, but I think it's related somehow.

Thanks - Dexter

Answer
Do you normally experience pain all the time in that area when you run or exercise, how long have you been running track for the school? it sounds like it could be a direct relation to running, but your gait or foot strike might be what needs to be analyzed more thoroughly. I think if you head to a running store and ask to have your feet analyzed, they'll be able to see what kind of foot strike you have, and whether that could be a direct relation to the pain, as well as the shoes you are wearing, they may not the be the right kind you should have.

Have you done something like this already? A lot of questions here that kind of need to be addressed offline with a professional, I would head to a running store that offers gait and footstrike analysis, you'll better understand what could be the issue.