Patriots fan or not, Julian Edelman was invincible during the super bowl. No matter what defense was played, or player was marking him he always was able to allude them with a sharp cut or shear strength. The coined term for being so illusive in any sport is “breaking the ankles” of your opponent. Essentially being so good, that you leave them in your wake as if they had broken their ankle! I do not know if this terms origin came from a player actually breaking his ankle, but I am here to talk about broken ankles so it applies!
Broken ankles come in all sizes and shapes. From a simple hairline fracture to a landmine injury, ankle fractures can be drastically different. For this reason their treatment protocols are also drastically different. In mild ankle fractures immobilization with a walking boot can be all that is required. Typically after immobilization is achieved and bone is healed soft tissue irritation can run rampant from both disuse and from the injury itself. For mild fractures like this we typically employ regenerative medicine techniques such as super pulses laser, platelet rich plasma, or ozone therapy to allow our patients to get back to action asap!
In more severe fractures typically surgery is required to stabilize the ankle joint which has lost any sense of it. During surgery, a combination of plates and screws are used to reconstruct the ankle and essentially “put the pieces back together”. This is aimed at not only stabilizing the ankle for a full recovery but also to mitigate the risk of post traumatic arthritis in the future. The same regenerative medicine techniques as with mild ankle fractures are then often employed with severe fractures to stimulate rapid soft tissue recovery!
Hopefully you never find yourself on the receiving end of moves like Edelman’s, but if you do and your ankle is actually broken, give us a call at Healthy Feet Podiatry. We specialize in getting our patients evaluated in the office and into the operating theatre as soon as possible (if indicated). During a traumatic process like a broken bone, it is important to feel well taken care of. We make it our goal to treat our patients like family, and get you back to full health, while keeping you fully informed through the process! Call today for your same day consultation.