Ankle Sprain / Ankle Instability
The ankle joint is a very complex joint mainly stabilized by ligaments. The ligaments around the ankle joint guide the movement of your ankle and thus provide you with a safe feeling when walking or performing sports.
Ankle sprain is the most common sports injury of the foot and ankle, characterized by a swollen and painful ankle. If one of the ligament partially or totally ruptures you will see a hematoma around your ankle and have pain putting weight on your foot.
In case of an acute injury x-ray is mandatory to rule out a bone injury. If there is no bone injury / fracture the treatment normally is non-surgical meaning that you will wear an ankle orthosis for 4-6 weeks and apply the P.R.I.C.E principle (protection, rest, ice, compression, elevation). When the acute symptoms go down I will recommend you to do physiotherapy with one of my partner physiotherapists. After physiotherapy sports performance is again possible.
If you suffer from recurrent ankle sprains which repeatedly injure ankle ligaments you will have the feeling of instability and suffer from pain while performing sports or sometimes even during walking. Recurrent ankle sprains can also lead to a lesion of the ankle cartilage and tendons around the ankle joint.
In case of chronic ankle instability, surgery is indicated in order to stabilize your ankle and prevent further damage to the ankle joint. There are different options on how to surgically treat chronic ankle instability depending on the grade and eventual other injuries or deformities to your ankle. In some cases minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery can be performed.
After a thorough examination I will consult you on which method best meets your needs on an individualized basis.
After surgery a cast / walker boot will be applied for 4-6 weeks in order to guarantee the healing of the sutured ligaments followed by physiotherapy.