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Injury to the ankle joint, especially with torn ligaments or broken bones, can lead to quite severe pain, limited mobility and temporary disability.
Causes of dislocation of the ankle
The ankle joint, along with the knees, supports the entire weight of the body during movement. Therefore, the weakening of the ligamentous apparatus, a decrease in muscle tone, especially with inactivity and overweight, creates conditions for various injuries, including injuries. Inaccurate, abrupt movements, incorrect foot placement with overload of one part of the joint, threatens to dislocate the ankle. The most common causes of such joint injuries are:
- walking on wet floors, ice or sliding surfaces, leading to falls and damage to the joint;
- wearing uncomfortable shoes, including high-heeled shoes, platforms, flip-flops;
- movement on uneven surfaces, stones, when there is a high risk of twisting the leg;
- sports, outdoor games with running, jumping;
- professional competitions;
- pathologies of the skeleton with damage to the joints, ligaments and bones, muscles, leading to “looseness” of the joints and instability of the gait;
- lesions of the nervous system, in which coordination and stability when walking suffer, a person incorrectly puts his foot on the floor.
Injury to the joint occurs when the foot turns sharply inward or outward during movement. Then the external or lateral ligaments are overloaded, the bones of the joint are displaced relative to each other. In parallel with a dislocation, sprains or ruptures of the ligaments, as well as bone fractures, are possible.
Symptoms of a sprained ankle
Joint damage has fairly typical manifestations with which people seek medical help. The main symptoms of a sprained ankle are:
- severe, sharp pain that occurs immediately after an injury – it intensifies when you try to move your foot;
- increasing swelling of the tissues at the site of injury, especially pronounced in the lower leg, the place of transition to the foot – due to swelling and pain, it is almost impossible to step on the foot and walk;
- when blood vessels rupture, a hematoma may form, the skin becomes bluish.
With ankle subluxation, the symptoms are not as pronounced as with dislocation and torn ligaments. Pain and discomfort are especially pronounced when walking, at rest they can weaken. The joint is edematous, deformed, foot movements are limited, the skin has a normal color.
Ankle dislocation treatment
If, after an injury (fall, twisting of the leg), pain and swelling occur, a crack or crunch is heard, you should immediately contact the emergency room. It is necessary to determine the severity of joint damage and exclude bone fractures, which will be important for the treatment of ankle dislocation. Self-medication with this type of damage threatens with subsequent instability of the ligaments and repetitive injuries with the slightest damage and the development of osteoarthritis of the joint (a chronic inflammatory lesion with the destruction of cartilage and bones).
Diagnostics
If you suspect a dislocation of the ankle, you need to contact the trampoint or make an appointment with a traumatologist. The first stage is to clarify the circumstances of the injury and examine the doctor, during which he finds out where the most severe pain is localized, how limited the movement of the foot is, what additional complaints the patient has. The traumatologist evaluates the amount of edema, the presence of bruises or hematomas, and the position of the foot.
An x-ray of the affected joint is required to rule out bone fractures. In order not to miss possible damage, x-rays are taken in two projections, this makes it possible to assess the condition of the tibia and fibula, the outer and inner ankle.
Modern treatments
It is important not to try to correct a dislocated ankle on your own, such actions can only increase the severity of the injury. After making a diagnosis, the doctor performs anesthesia to reduce the dislocation and apply a fixing bandage. If a bone fracture, joint deformity or displacement of the bones is confirmed, after restoring the correct structure of the joint, the doctor fixes the foot in the correct position with a plaster cast.
If this is a dislocation of the ankle without a fracture, the doctor will apply a U-shaped plaster splint (from the toes, along the bottom of the foot, capturing the heel and upper third of the leg) for a period of 12-14 days. If the injury is more serious, the entire foot and lower leg are cast for up to 3-5 weeks.
To reduce pain and inflammation for the first 3-4 days, it is recommended to take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (in tablets or capsules). They reduce soreness and swelling, discomfort in the affected area.
After removing the bandage, physiotherapy exercises and limb massage are prescribed, a gradual increase in the load on the foot to help restore the functions of damaged joint tissues, ligaments, and improve blood circulation. When walking, the first time you can not overload the joint, it is possible to walk with a badik. Additionally, a course of physiotherapy may be recommended, especially in old age, when the healing process is slower.
It is important to choose comfortable and non-slip shoes so that in the first weeks after the bandage is removed or the cast is removed, re-injury can be prevented, which can seriously damage the tissues of the joint.
Prevention of dislocation of the ankle
There are a number of tips that can help prevent serious injuries to the legs, including the ankle joint. To prevent dislocation of the ankle before any sports activities, a warm-up is necessary, a series of warm-up exercises that increase blood flow to the joints, improve the elasticity of the ligaments.
It is important to carefully move on a wet floor or slippery surfaces, holding on to objects, handrails. It is necessary to choose the most comfortable shoes without a heel or with a stable thick heel no higher than 3-4 cm and a hard back.
You need to give up walking on rough terrain, where gravel or stones are poured, do not engage in treadmills covered with pebbles or steep mountain paths.
If we are talking about the prevention of re-injury, at first it is important to use special fixing orthoses for compounds, elastic bandages. The doctor will show you how to properly bandage damaged joints.
Popular questions and answers
The questions that are most often asked by people with ankle sprains, we addressed orthopedist-traumatologist Maxim Kolinsky.
2. Give the limb an elevated position, enough at an angle of 15-30 ° – any pillows that you have at home will do for this.
3. Apply cold to the site of maximum pain and swelling. It can be a piece of meat from the freezer, a bag of frozen berries, etc. First, it must be wrapped with a cloth. For the prevention of tissue frostbite, the exposure time is not more than 10 minutes, then a 10-15 minute break, and so repeat 3 times.
4. Apply an 8-shaped fixing bandage, it is possible from a regular bandage, but better from an elastic bandage. The main thing is not to overdo it: the bandage should not increase pain, cause numbness or cold fingers.
With this type of damage, it is enough to wear a fixing 10-shaped bandage made of elastic bandage for 14-8 days or, for convenience, an elastic bandage, it is recommended to remove the bandage at night. Locally used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory ointments and gels (Dolobene, Artrosilen, Indovazin).
Also in the complex of restorative measures, you can use a modern and well-established method – kinesio taping. Depending on the application technique, it can be used both in the acute period in order to reduce swelling, and in a later period to accelerate the recovery of ligaments and stabilize the ankle joint.
Pain and swelling usually go away within the first 10 to 14 days. But the full recovery of the ligaments occurs no earlier than 4-6 weeks. Therefore, during this time it is recommended to avoid excessive physical activity (run, jump, dance, etc.), and ideally undergo a course of physical rehabilitation in order to restore the biomechanics of movement not only of the foot, but of the whole body.