Foot Injury & Care

The Foot & Ankle

Three bones make up the ankle joint:

Tibia ("shin bone")
Fibula (small bone on the outside of your ankle)
Talus (a foot bone)

"I broke my ankle." A broken ankle is also known as an ankle "fracture." This means that one or more of the bones that make up the ankle joint are separated into pieces. There may be ligaments damaged as well.

Simply put, the more bones that are broken, the more unstable the ankle becomes.

A fractured ankle can range from a simple break in one bone, which may not stop you from walking, to several fractures, which forces your ankle out of place and may require that you not put weight on it for three months.

Common Injuries

Broken ankles affect all ages. Ankle fractures occur in 184 per 100,000 persons per year. During the past 30 to 40 years, doctors have noted an increase in the number and severity of broken ankles, due in part to an active, older population of "baby boomers."

Seek treatment if you experience the following:

Immediate and severe pain
Swelling
Bruising
Tender to touch
Cannot put any weight on the injured foot
Deformity ("out of place"), particularly if the ankle joint is dislocated as well

Content on this page was taken from: http://orthoinfo.aaos.org.

Further Resources

Bunions

Posterior Tibial Tendon Dysfunction

Arthritis of the Foot and Ankle

Sprained Ankle

Stiff Big Toe

Ankle Fractures

Lisfranc (Midfoot) Injury

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