Symptoms of ankle fracture

Symptoms of ankle fracture in clinical practice are often mistakenly diagnosed as signs of dislocation or sprain of the ankles. Most often the ankle is injured - part of the ankle joint, the ankle is in turn divided into the lateral zone (the lower epiphysis of the tibia) and the medial malleolus (the lower epiphysis of the tibia). Fracture of the ankle in the clinic is much more common than all other fractures of the lower limbs. The percentage of injuries in the ankle area is more than 20% of the total number of fractures of the musculoskeletal system. The most traumatized part of the ankle is the ligament, their stretch is 50% of the total number of ankle joint damage.

The second largest number of occupy the injuries of the outer part of the ankle, then - metatarsal bone, complete the list of injuries of both ankles. The ankle is injured in a direct way and as a result of a dislocation or subluxation. Direct injury is a powerful blow, a wound. Indirect injury is a consequence of damage to the talus, most often as a result of dislocation. Often ankle injury is combined with ligament ruptures, and sometimes with fragmentation, detachment injuries in the ligament attachment area. Symptoms of ankle fracture directly depend on the species, the mechanism of the fracture and the degree of its severity.

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What are the symptoms of an ankle fracture?

• Explicit swelling, rapidly spreading; 
• The region of the joint is strongly deformed; 
• Acute pain; 
• Difficulty in walking, sometimes complete immobility.

As a rule, the result of a dislocation is a characteristic severe pain in the ankle zone. If this is really only a stretch and a dislocation, the movement of the patient is difficult, but possible. If this is not a dislocation, the symptoms of an ankle fracture are as follows: the victim can not stand on the injured leg, leaning on it is very painful. Sometimes, even with strong pain, the patient continues to walk, the longer and longer the motor activity continues, the greater the swelling becomes. Edema spreads from the joint area to the entire foot, which can look atypical - outwardly deflected (with pronation fracture).

Pronational fracture of the ankle - this is the injury as a result of a strong, excessive turn (pronation) of the foot. The deltoid lateral ligament is stretched and torn, sometimes there is a detachment from the inside of the ankle. Fracture is usually horizontal, puffiness spreads on both sides of the injury. If the victim continues to walk, the talus bone loses stability and begins to shift into the area between the tibia. The bone block, compensating for the ligament rupture, leads to the following rupture - the distal intercellular ligament, which can also come off the bone along with its fragment. The talus passes further and provokes a fracture of the ankle joint. That is why it is so important to pay attention to the symptoms of an ankle fracture in time, so as not to provoke additional injuries. In addition, prolonged puffiness can lead to lymphostasis of soft tissues, which in itself is a separate therapeutic problem.

Supinational traumas are provoked by active pressure on the ankle, when the foot is in the supination position (turned inwards). The lateral ligament overstrains, tears and breaks from the bone. Rupture of the ligament is often accompanied by severe traumatic injury. The talus bone penetrates inside, moving along the oblique and can also provoke a fracture or fracture.

Symptoms of an ankle fracture require careful examination and confirmation by an X-ray examination. For the prevention of fractures and injuries of the ankle joint, it is recommended to perform a special set of exercises to increase the elasticity of the ligaments.