Ankle Fractures

Background

The most common injuries that occur in the ankle are around the 3 malleolars. This includes the medial malleolus, the lateral malleolus, and the distal posterior aspect of the tibia. These bones help prevent your ankle from rolling, the ankle can perform a number of movements that help you walk, run, jump, and perform cut moves in sports. The medial malleolus is the largest of the bones that make up this ankle compartment and is the bone on the inside of your ankle that looks like it is protruding out. The lateral malleolus is the bone on the outside part of the ankle that is also protruding out much like the medial.

Ankle Fractures

The lateral malleolus fracture is usually the most common of ankle fractures, it normally happens when someone roll their ankles, twist their ankles awkwardly or step on an uneven step causing an awkward motion of the ankle. This is the only fracture in the ankle that will not need surgery to treat because it can cause worsening effects in the future. The major sign on an ankle fracture is if the patient is unable to make it 4 steps without extreme pain, there will also be tenderness over the malleolars accompanied with swelling and possible bruising. The medial malleolus can also fracture individually but a fracture here will more than likely require surgery because there is periosteum along the bone that can enter the fracture site and prevent the malleolus from healing. Then on most occassions the ankle will experience a bi-compartmental or even a tri-compartmental malleolar fracture. The bi-compartmental malleolar fracture is when both the medial and lateral malleolus fracture, the tri-compartmental fracture is when the medial and lateral malleolus fracture as well as the distal posterior aspect of the tibia.

Post-Op

Typically the bones will take close to 6 weeks to heal so in that time it is essential that the patient is non weight bearing, so the first 2 weeks the patient will be placed in a cast unable to walk on it. After that the patient will be placed into a boot where they will be limited to walking while going through rehabilitation to strengthen the muscles around the bones. Once the 6 weeks are complete the patient will receive another x-ray to determine if the ankle has healed properly and then will be told to walk normally on the foot.