Ankle fracture
Content:
- Ankle fracture symptoms
- Causes of ankle fracture
- Types of ankle fractures
- Diagnostics
- Ankle fracture treatment
- Consequences of ankle fractures
- Prevention
Today, ankle fracture is the most common type of injury (more than 60% of all fractures of the lower extremities), with which victims seek help from medical institutions.
Both women and men can seriously injure the lower limb. The most susceptible to fractures are the elderly, who eventually develop problems with bone strength and coordination of movements.
Ankle fracture symptoms
With a fractured ankle, the victim has characteristic symptoms:
- Intense pain in the area of damage, sharply increasing even with a slight movement of the injured leg;
- Severe swelling;
- Subcutaneous hemorrhage;
- Impaired mobility of the injured lower limb;
- Positive reaction to testing the "symptom of irradiation";
- Joint deformity;
- Discoloration of the skin (purple or bluish tint);
- Depending on the type of fracture, the victim may have crepitus (characteristic crunch) or pathological mobility in the injured leg.
Causes of ankle fracture
The main cause of ankle fracture is injuries from a fall, impact, bruise, etc.
A person can suffer:
- While playing sports;
- When moving on ice in winter;
- During a fight;
- When twisting the foot;
- In case of an unsuccessful descent from a staircase or a high podium, etc.
Types of ankle fractures
Modern medicine classifies ankle fractures as follows:
- Combined fracture. The patient can get such damage with any mechanical impact on the ankle area.
- Pronation-abduction fracture. The patient sustains such an injury when the foot is unnaturally rotated. This injury can be accompanied by rupture of the ligaments and the formation of subluxation.
- Rotational fracture. You can get such an injury when the foot is forcibly turned outward.
- Supination-adduction fracture. A person can get such damage with excessive inversion of the foot inward.
- An isolated flexion or extension fracture. Such injuries can be obtained with any mechanical impact on the ankle area, as well as with excessive flexion of the foot.
Diagnostics
After receiving an injury to the lower limb, the victim must be taken to a medical facility, where he will receive emergency care. After admission to the hospital, the traumatologist will conduct an examination, palpate the damaged area and send the patient for a hardware examination. Radiography will help to confirm the preliminary diagnosis made during the examination of the patient by a specialist. By examining the resulting image of the ankle injury site (made in several projections), the doctor will be able to determine the type of fracture, the degree of displacement of bone fragments, etc. If such an examination cannot give a complete picture of the disease, the patient is referred for a computed tomography of the joint, or magnetic resonance imaging muscle tissue.
Before admission to the hospital, the victim must be provided with complete rest, if possible, fix the position of the leg with hand-held items and take him to the nearest medical facility as soon as possible.
Ankle leg fracture treatment
After a comprehensive diagnosis and confirmation of the diagnosis - an ankle fracture, the traumatologist must prescribe a course of therapy for the patient. In the case when the fracture did not displace the bone fragments, the doctor applies a plaster cast to the damaged site.
If the X-ray shows a displaced fracture, the trauma surgeon begins to treat the patient. With such damage, a one-step closed reduction is usually performed. Such surgical intervention does not require the introduction of the victim into deep anesthesia, it is quite enough to do local anesthesia. After surgical treatment of an ankle fracture, patients are prescribed analgesics, anti-inflammatory drugs, decongestants, etc.
After the operation, the patient is placed on the damaged area with a special boot made of plaster, which fixes the ankle in the hypercorrection position. The specialist directs the patient to a control X-ray to ensure the correct position of the bone and joint through the X-ray. To relieve the pain syndrome that accompanies this type of injury, specialists constantly administer pain relievers. For the earliest possible fusion of bone tissue, patients are advised to visit the physiotherapy room.
In order for the ankle bone to heal in the correct position, the patient must wear a cast for 4-12 weeks:
- with a single fracture - 4 weeks;
- with a fracture in two places - 8 weeks;
- with multiple fractures - 12 weeks.
After removing the plaster, the patient needs to undergo a rehabilitation course, which is aimed at developing the joint and restoring the mobility of the lower limb. To do this, experts recommend visiting a massage therapist's office and performing a set of therapeutic exercises. In order not to harm the injured ankle, physical activity should be increased gradually.
On the subject: 12 popular ways for home treatment
Consequences of a fractured ankle leg
Some patients who have been treated for ankle fractures may face unpleasant consequences:
- Painful sensations that appear with any physical exertion on the injured lower limb;
- When the weather changes - aching pain in the ankle;
- Recurrent swelling of the legs;
- Lameness;
- Gait change;
- Arthrosis, against the background of which joint deformation occurs, etc.
With the development of such complications, the patient should go to a medical institution and undergo a course of physiotherapy.
Prevention
In order to prevent ankle fractures, it is recommended to do the following:
- Avoid injuries, both at home and during sports;
- Carefully move along the streets in winter;
- Eat foods high in calcium.
Author of the article: Kaplan Alexander Sergeevich | Orthopedist
Education: diploma in the specialty "General Medicine" received in 2009 at the Medical Academy. I. M. Sechenov. In 2012 completed postgraduate studies in Traumatology and Orthopedics at the City Clinical Hospital named after Botkin at the Department of Traumatology, Orthopedics and Disaster Surgery.
