Reconstructive Foot & Ankle Surgery (Podiatry)

Ankle injuries can happen to anyone at any age. Every day approximately 25,000 people injure their ankles in the United States. More than a million people visit emergency rooms each year because of ankle injuries. The most common ankle injuries are sprains and fractures, which involve ligaments and bones in the ankle, but you can also tear or strain a tendon. Ankle injuries are defined by the kind of tissue, bone, ligament, or tendon that is damaged. The ankle is where three bones meet, the tibia and fibula of your lower leg with the talus of your foot. These bones are held together at the ankle joint by ligaments, which are strong elastic bands of connective tissue that keep the bones in place while allowing normal motion. Tendons attach muscles to the bones to do the work of making the ankle and foot move and help keep the joints stable.

A fracture describes a break in one or more of the bones. A sprain is a term that describes damage to ligaments when they are stretched beyond their normal range of motion. A ligament sprain can range from many microscopic tears in the fibers that comprise a ligament to a complete tear or rupture. A strain refers to damage to muscles and tendons as a result of being pulled or stretched too far. Muscle and tendon strains are more common in legs and lower back. In the ankle, there are two tendons that are often strained. These are the peroneal tendons, and they stabilize and protect the ankle. They can become inflamed as a result of overuse or trauma. Acute tendon tears result from a sudden trauma or force. The inflammation of the tendon is then called tendinitis.

If you have an ankle injury, we recommend an evaluation at the Jersey Shore Foot and Leg Center. At our center, we have digital x-ray capability to determine whether any of these bones are broken. In addition to an x-ray of your ankle, we may order other imaging scans such as an MRI and CAT scan. Also, if you happen to go to an emergency room at either Community Memorial Center, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Monmouth South, Southern Ocean Medical Center, or JFK University Medical Center, as a physician who is on staff at these hospitals we can easily be called to the emergency room to see you at that location. If you do go to an urgent care center they will call us with your diagnosis, and we can coordinate treatment at that point, after which time fractures can be treated either surgically or nonsurgically. Most ligament damage and ligament sprains are treated nonsurgically.

Treatment of Fractures

Again, after x-rays, MRI evaluation, CAT scan evaluation, and physical examination, treatment of ankle fractures can be surgical or nonsurgical. In surgical intervention the ankle is made stable by utilizing a metal plate and/or screws to hold the bones in place, after which time it usually takes 6-8 weeks for the bone to heal, and it could take up to two years to completely recover full pain-free range of motion and strength after an ankle fracture, although most people are able to resume their normal daily routine within 3-4 months.

Treatment of Sprains

Treatment of sprains depends on the severity of the injury. They are graded as mild, moderate, and severe, and surgery is usually not a treatment option unless the damage is extensive, involving severe instability. Mild sprains can be treated with rest, ice, and compression and elevation. For a more moderate sprain, we may use a device such as a boot or a splint or a walking cast and utilize physical therapy. A more severe sprain may be immobilized in a cast for a longer period of time, after which time physical therapy would be considered. The possibility of instability after a very severe sprain may necessitate surgical intervention to reconstruct the torn ligaments.

The treatment for tendon strains and injury is similar to the treatment options and protocols for ankle sprains.

In conclusion, at the Jersey Shore Foot and Leg Center, we have been treating ankle fractures and sprains and tendon injuries for over 25 years. At the current time, we are on call for foot and ankle trauma at Community Memorial Hospital. If you go to any emergency room in the area, I am on staff, and you have the right to ask for the staff to contact me for your care. If you go to an urgent care center you may ask them to refer or call my emergency service, and we can transfer care to my service. We have the ability to operate if you need to have surgery to repair the ankle fracture or foot fracture, at Community Hospital, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Monmouth South, JFK University Medical Center, and Southern Ocean Medical Center.

In sum, at Jersey Shore Foot and Leg Center, we not only take care of ankle fractures, but all fractures of the lower extremity, any type of foot fracture, and we do treat pediatric lower extremity fractures. If you do have a fracture, we strongly recommend that you call us for a second opinion, especially with pediatric fractures, as due to the open growth plates, they have significant potential for long-term sequelae.