Ankle fractures

At a glance

  • Twisting your foot badly can result in a broken ankle.
  • If bones are fractured, the ligaments and cartilage may be injured too.
  • The foot becomes swollen and painful, and can no longer support your weight.
  • At first, you should put your foot up and cool the swollen area.
  • The treatment involves keeping the foot still and doing physical therapy. Surgery is often not needed.
  • Ankle fractures usually heal well. But it can take months for the ankle to recover enough for you to move and use your foot normally.
  • If the joint remains unstable, you’re more likely to twist your ankle again.

Introduction

Photo of a young couple on a hike

When people twist their ankle they might sprain it. This means that the muscles and soft tissue around the ankle joint are injured. But sometimes the ankle joint is fractured (broken) as well. This is a more serious injury that may affect one or more bones in your ankle. If the ankle is fractured, the ligaments are often torn and cartilage damaged too. Usually these kinds of fractures heal without any trouble – but it takes some time.

Symptoms

If an ankle is fractured, the foot becomes swollen and painful, and can no longer support your weight. Bruises form, and it becomes nearly impossible to move the foot. Sometimes the bones also change position, causing them to become misaligned.

Causes

Ankle fractures usually occur during sports or exercise. For instance, your ankle might twist and break if you fall or land the wrong way after a jump. That can also easily happen when running on uneven ground or if you take a wrong step.

Outlook

It takes several days or weeks for the swelling to go down completely, and it can take months for the ankle joint to fully recover from the fracture. Until then, the foot can't be moved much and can't carry much weight.

If you put strain on the foot too soon, the healing process may be disturbed, and the fracture might not heal properly. Then you might need more treatment. On the other hand, if you don't move your foot for too long, it could become less mobile and weaker.

Ankle fractures usually heal well. But they can lead to osteoarthritis over the long term. And the ankle may remain unstable, which increases the risk of twisting it again.

Illustration: Fracture of inner and outer ankle – as described in the article

Diagnosis

The doctor will first ask you about what happened, and then examine your foot and ankle to see how serious the injury is. If he or she suspects that the ankle is fractured, an x-ray of the ankle is taken. Sometimes x-rays don't lead to a clear . Then a (CT) scan, and perhaps a (MRI) scan, might be done too. Ligament and cartilage injuries can usually be seen better with MRI scans.

Treatment

The foot and ankle are first immobilized (prevented from moving), elevated and cooled as needed. Immobilizing the joint helps to protect it and allow it to heal properly. If the bones have moved or slipped out of the joint, they can be put back into place by a doctor. Bandages, splints, braces and plaster casts are generally used for around six weeks.

After a while you can gradually start putting more strain on the joint and strengthening it. The point at which people are advised to start doing gentle exercises or physical therapy depends on how bad the injury is: Sometimes gentle exercises are already possible a few days after the injury or surgery, and sometimes they can only be done once the splint or plaster cast has come off. Because the foot is immobilized at first, injections to prevent thrombosis are sometimes used.

Surgery isn't always necessary for ankle fractures. Whether or not it's needed depends on many factors, including

  • how severe the fracture is,
  • what part of the ankle is broken,
  • whether there's an open wound or break in the skin near the broken bone (an open fracture),
  • whether blood vessels or nerves have been damaged, and
  • whether the bone fragments have moved out of place.

Screws or plates may be used during surgery to hold bone fragments in place so they can grow together again.

After surgery, the ankle is immobilized using a bandage, splint or plaster cast. Some bandages and splints are removable, making it possible to already start doing gentle exercises during the immobilization phase. When the fracture has healed and the bones have grown back together, the screws and plates can often be removed, depending on the situation.

Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wissenschaftlichen Medizinischen Fachgesellschaften (AWMF). Prophylaxe der venösen Thromboembolie (VTE). AWMF-Registernr.: 003-001 (S3-Leitlinie, in Überarbeitung). 2015.

Goost H, Wimmer MD, Barg A et al. Fractures of the ankle joint: investigation and treatment options. Dtsch Arztebl Int 2014; 111(21): 377-388.

Javed OA, Javed QA, Ukoumunne OC et al. Surgical versus conservative management of ankle fractures in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Foot Ankle Surg 2020; 26(7): 723-735.

Lin CW, Donkers NA, Refshauge KM et al. Rehabilitation for ankle fractures in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2012; (11): CD005595.

IQWiG health information is written with the aim of helping people understand the advantages and disadvantages of the main treatment options and health care services.

Because IQWiG is a German institute, some of the information provided here is specific to the German health care system. The suitability of any of the described options in an individual case can be determined by talking to a doctor. informedhealth.org can provide support for talks with doctors and other medical professionals, but cannot replace them. We do not offer individual consultations.

Our information is based on the results of good-quality studies. It is written by a team of health care professionals, scientists and editors, and reviewed by external experts. You can find a detailed description of how our health information is produced and updated in our methods.

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Updated on June 24, 2022

Next planned update: 2025

Publisher:

Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG, Germany)

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