Broken Ankle

Personal Injury and broken ankles

The ankle can be subject to a relatively large amount of force due to the loads that are placed upon it. The force can be as high as eight times your bodyweight during certain activities. This makes broken ankles fairly commonplace in the area of personal injury.

The ankle joint is a connection of three bones. The actual ankle bone is known as the talus. The upper part of the talus fits inside a socket joint that is at the lower end of the tibia and fibula. The lower end of the talus sits on the heel bone. The talus operates as a hinge which allows the foot to move up and down.

A broken ankle typically requires a plaster cast in order to ensure that the bone heals in the correct alignment. If the broken ankle is more serious, surgery may initially be required.

Broken ankle break types

There are several types of broken ankle, which are a direct result of the type of impact and the amount of forces the impact involves.

The most common type of broken ankle is a simple fracture. This is where the bone fully breaks but does not pierce the skin. While there is less visual evidence, the symptoms of this personal injury are easily identifiable. There will be large amounts of worsening pain, severe swelling, bruising, and a lack of ability to bear weight.

An impacted fracture is a personal injury that is most commonly caused by falling from a great height. This is where the end of one bone is forced into another.

A spiral fracture is a break that is around the bone. Sporting injuries are the most common cause of this type of personal injury, because of the twisting motion that some sports require.

A comminuted fracture is a personal injury where a bone is broken into fragments. It is also known as a compression fracture. This type of injury most commonly occurs when large forces are involved with the impact. It is the most common type of personal injury fracture in road traffic accidents because of the large forces.

Serious Law have a great deal of experience in both the treatment and personal injury compensation of broken ankles. If you would like to investigate the possibility of a personal injury claim, or to ensure you are receiving the correct level of rehabilitation to ensure your personal injury recovers appropriately, then visit our > Contact Us page for more information.

Broken ankle repair

The recovery time for broken bones completely depends on the type of break, its severity, and other factors such as your age. As a basic guideline, a non-complex simple fracture will take around 8 week to repair. After these 8 weeks it will still be relatively week however, and should be cared for until it has fully recovered its strength.

Regardless of these variables there are four clear stages that are undergone during the healing process. A haematoma is initially created by the blood vessels in the bone. A cartilage callus then forms along the haematoma (nature’s splint). A bony callus then eventually replaces the cartilage. For the final stage, a bony callus then forms a permanent patch on the fracture.

Broken ankle next steps

If you would like to investigate whether you may have a personal injury compensation claim from a broken ankle, then please call 0800 035 15 65 or visit our > Contact Us page for further information.