Ankle pain is often associated with ankle sprains due to how common they are. However, ankle fractures are also contenders for the most common cause of ankle pain.
Your tibia, fibula, and talus bones meet together to make up your ankle joint, and ligaments hold the bones together and provide flexibility and support. Your ankle provides a lot of mobility for your whole body and is easily injured. A sprain involves the ligaments, and a fracture involves the bones.
Ankle fractures can be caused by minor or major injuries, and the severity and type of fracture determine the course of treatment.
At Foot and Ankle Institute of Colorado in Colorado Springs, Colorado, our team, led by podiatrists Matthew Hinderland, DPM, Jordan Cameron, DPM, and Trevor Whiting, DPM, has the expertise needed to effectively diagnose and treat fractured ankles.
In this month’s blog, we discuss the types of ankle fractures and how we treat each kind.
Ankle fractures are divided into three categories: nondisplaced, displaced, and open. Each category describes the position of your ankle bones, and categorizing the fracture provides our team with the information necessary to treat it effectively.
If you have a nondisplaced ankle fracture, it means that although one or more of your ankle bones are fractured, none of them are out of place or alignment. Conservative treatments are enough to address nondisplaced fractures.
If your fracture is classified as displaced, it means that several bone fragments have broken off, and the joint may even be dislocated. Displaced fractures often require more aggressive treatments, including surgical ones.
An open fracture means that broken pieces of bone have pierced through your skin. Open fractures are medical emergencies that require surgical intervention.
If you have an open fracture, you should always seek care from your nearest emergency room.
However, if you have a fractured ankle that hasn’t caused breaks in the skin, seek treatment quickly from our Foot and Ankle Institute of Colorado team. We can perform imaging tests to determine the type, location, and severity of your fracture and make a treatment plan from that information.
Here are some of the treatment options we may recommend, depending on the type of fracture it is:
As stated above, nondisplaced ankle fractures respond well to conservative treatments, so you shouldn’t need to undergo surgery to repair them. Your nondisplaced fracture treatment plan may include:
If your nondisplaced ankle fracture is more severe, you may need to use crutches while the fracture heals.
Displaced fractures always need quick and efficient treatment. If a displaced ankle fracture goes untreated, it may not heal properly and put you at risk for developing arthritis later in life. Almost every displaced fracture requires surgery to repair the dislodged bone pieces and realign your ankle joint.
The surgical method our team uses depends on the severity and location of the fracture. Our team talks you through each option in detail to determine what’s going to work best for your recovery and long-term ankle joint health.
Your recovery from displaced fracture surgery also includes many of the above-listed treatments for nondisplaced fractures, such as immobilizing your ankle and doing physical therapy to restore full strength, flexibility, and mobility.
Don’t wait to seek treatment for your fractured ankle. Schedule an appointment by calling our office or using our online booking feature today.
