What is it?
Ankle fracture, also called as broken ankle, means that one or more of the bones that make up the ankle joint are broken. It can be 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 a few months.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms include:
- Severe pain and tenderness.
- Bruising and swelling.
- Difficulty moving your foot or putting weight on it.
- The ankle being an odd shape (dislocated).
- A snap or grinding noise at the time of the injury.
- Bleeding (if the bone has damaged the skin) – sometimes the bone may poke through the skin.
What to expect?
You may try the following things while arranging or waiting for medical help:
- If you have a bleeding wound, then stop it by applying pressure to the wound with a clean pad or dressing.
- Apply an ice pack (such as a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a tea towel) to the ankle. Never put ice directly on the skin, but wrap it in a cloth.
If you are diagnosed with a fracture of the ankle you can consider discussing the following subjects with your doctor after the initial treatment:
- When can you start exercises to get the strength back in the muscles and ligaments of the ankle?
- Do you need to take calcium and vitamin D supplements for bone strength?
- Do you need additional investigations to determine the strength of your bones?