My foot and ankle pain just started four days ago and after the second night it happened, it got MUCH better during the day. But yesterday it barely improved at all during the day. I was able to discard the crutches by late in the day, but I was moving very slowly. Now the pain is pretty much constant. I definitely need crutches this morning. I'me researching other maladies and have already discarded gout as a possibility because it's not really joint pain in my foot — it's the soft tissue below my inside ankle bone radiating down into my foot.