More than 100,000 ankle fractures occur every year in the United States. Kids and teens account for about a quarter of those fractures. You can fracture any one or all of your ankle bones, including the:
When you fracture your ankle, you may at first mistake the break for a sprain. However, ignoring a broken ankle or trying to soldier through the pain puts you at risk for complications, including deformity and permanent disability.
At Texas Heart and Vein Multispecialty Group, our board-certified podiatrist, Nathaniel Alabi, DPM, and our podiatric team diagnose and treat your broken ankle. Depending on the type of fracture, treatment at our offices in Greater Heights, Pearland Market, and throughout the Houston, Texas, area, may vary.
Do you know what type of ankle fracture you have? Here’s why it matters, and how each type is treated.
A stable fracture is a simple fracture that doesn’t displace the bone or tissue. The bones remain in their normal alignment. Hairline fractures, for instance, are usually stable fractures.
Stable fractures don’t need surgery. They heal well on their own. However, you do need to wear a cast, brace, or boot during the healing process. Casting and bracing accomplish two important things: They protect the ankle from further damage, and hold the bones in normal, healthy alignment.
A displaced fracture refers to a broken bone that is out of alignment. You may even be able to see the deformity from the way your skin bulges in the wrong way.
Displaced fractures are more complicated than stable fractures. We may need to perform surgical correction to realign your ankle bones. Surgery is most likely when you have a displaced fracture that involves three or more breaks in the bone.
We put a cast on your broken ankle after surgery to help it heal well and protect it from further damage. Broken ankles take about six weeks to heal, but your recovery period may be longer if you’ve injured nearby tendons and ligaments, too.
If your displaced, fractured bones break the skin, you have what’s called a complex or open fracture. Open fractures are a medical emergency. Get to the emergency room as soon as possible.
Open fractures are dangerous because the breaks in your skin can introduce pathogens into your bloodstream, leading to an infection. Infections can spread to other body parts or even cause a life-threatening systemic infection called sepsis.
Open and complex fractures always require surgery. In addition to cleaning the wound, your surgeon must reposition bones and might have to use pins and screws to hold them together.
An important part of your recovery from a broken ankle is a doctor-prescribed rehabilitation program. Even if you have a stable fracture, immobilizing your foot with a brace or cast leads to muscle atrophy as well as the weakening of your ligaments and tendons. You need to rebuild their strength and resilience.
Complex fractures, of course, and bones that are held together with screws and pins cause extensive damage to surrounding tissues. It’s important to follow your physical therapist’s (PT) directions so your ankle can grow strong and stable over time.
If you break your right ankle and follow your PT’s rehab program, you should be able to drive in 9-12 weeks. You should wait about 3-4 months before resuming most normal activities, including your regular workout routine. However, full recovery may take up to 2 years.
Find out what kind of ankle fracture you have so you can get the treatment and rehab program you need to restore pain-free function. Reach out to us today by phone or message to obtain treatment at the office nearest you.
