Your ankle joint consists of three bones: the tibia, fibula, and talus. The tibia and fibula are lower leg bones, and the talus bone sits in your ankle, connecting your leg to your foot. Ligaments connect and hold all these bones together and provide your ankle with much-needed stability.
An ankle sprain happens when you overextend and damage the ligaments in your ankle. But an ankle fracture, or broken ankle, occurs when you break one or more of the bones in your ankle. Ankle fractures can happen from repetitive use or one damaging incident such as a fall, sudden or unexpected over-rotation, or a car accident.
The severity of your ankle fracture and how it’s treated usually depend on how many bones in your ankle you’ve broken and the nature of the breaks. In some cases, surgery will be necessary to repair the ankle and lower your risk of complications, such as arthritis later in life.
Because ankle fractures can range in severity and how they’re treated, our team of podiatrists — Matthew Hinderland, DPM, Jordan Cameron, DPM, Trevor Whiting, DPM, Joseph Fleck, DPM — at the Foot and Ankle Institute of Colorado in Colorado Springs, Colorado, explain the different levels of ankle fractures and how they’re treated in this month’s blog.
You can break your ankle in many different places. These are the most common areas:
In any of these cases, as long as no pieces of the bone fully break off and your ankle stays in correct alignment, it’s referred to as a nondisplaced ankle fracture. Nondisplaced ankle fractures usually respond well to conservative, nonsurgical treatments.
Treatment for a nondisplaced ankle fracture typically involves wearing a splint, boot, or cast to immobilize your ankle while it heals. If your fracture is fairly mild, you should be able to put some weight on it, but in more moderate-to-severe cases of nondisplaced fractures, you may need to use crutches until the bone has healed.
A displaced ankle fracture can occur in any of the above-mentioned areas of the ankle bone. However, when the fracture is displaced, it means that a piece of the bone has broken off, shifting your ankle out of alignment. Most of the time, displaced ankle fractures must be treated surgically.
This is because misaligned ankles can heal improperly and leave you at risk for developing arthritis later in life. It’s much better to surgically treat a fractured ankle now than it is to treat debilitating arthritis in the future.
During ankle repair surgery, we use screws and plates to piece the bone back together and put it back into proper alignment. You’ll still need to wear a cast or boot for about six weeks while your ankle heals.
If you suspect that you’ve broken your ankle, don’t wait to seek treatment. Prompt care for fractured ankles reduces your risk of complications. Schedule an appointment for expert podiatric care by calling our office or booking online today.
