After a fall, sprain or serious injury, your ankle may be severely damaged. In some cases your ankle is even broken. This can be extremely painful and you will not be able to walk immediately after the accident. Read below about the symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and recovery of a broken ankle.

A broken ankle

An ankle can break in several places. The ankle can break on the inside and outside. An internal fracture is a fracture of the lower part of the tibia. An external fracture is a fracture of the lower part of the fibula. It is not uncommon for both the fibula and the tibia to be broken. The most common is a fracture of the fibula. This can be caused by a violent kick on the ankle, a fall or a sprain of the ankle.

Symptoms

There are several symptoms that can indicate a broken ankle. Below is a list of these symptoms.

• A few minutes after the accident, the ankle is still very painful and completely unbearable.
• There is a pressing, intense pain around the ankle.
• The ankle swelled considerably immediately after the accident.
• The ankle is usually very blue, which indicates a bruise.

Diagnosis

The symptoms of a broken ankle are very obvious, but a severe ankle sprain is still possible. The main clue that the ankle is broken is the fact that the patient cannot walk on it in any way after a few minutes. If a patient can walk on it carefully, a serious bruise is more likely. An x-ray is always taken as a check. They then know what is wrong with the ankle and where the ankle is broken.

Therapy

The treatment for a broken ankle depends on the severity of the situation. If an ankle is broken in multiple places, there is a greater chance that you will have to operate. It is possible that the ‘ankle fork’ is no longer straight. There is no rush in this operation. Usually you first have to put on a cast so that the swelling decreases, after which the operation can be performed more easily. It may also be that you have to be put in a cast immediately and do not have to undergo surgery. Such plaster treatment takes about 4 to 6 weeks.

Recovery

After the plaster treatment, the ankle is seriously weakened. After all, you use the ankle regularly in daily life. The ankle must therefore be brought back to strength. In most cases, the fracture is completely repaired after the plaster treatment, but is still very weak. The patient usually receives physiotherapy. One has to learn to walk again. It may take 3 to 6 months for the ankle to regain full strength. In the case of a serious fracture that requires surgical intervention, it may take even longer. In rare cases, the ankle is so badly affected that it is permanently weakened.