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Broken ankle/broken foot

احدث اجدد واروع واجمل واشيك Broken ankle/broken foot

A broken ankle or broken foot is relatively common. After all, you have more than two dozen bones in each foot and three bones in each ankle joint. And these bones take a pounding every time you walk across a room, run for a bus or play a game of basketball.

The seriousness of a broken ankle or broken foot varies. Fractures can range from tiny cracks in your bones to shattering breaks that pierce your skin.

Treatment for a broken ankle or broken foot depends on the exact site and severity of the fracture. A severely broken ankle or broken foot may require surgery to implant wires, plates, rods or screws into the broken bone to maintain proper position during healing.
Symptoms

If you have a broken ankle or broken foot, you may experience these signs and symptoms:

    * Immediate, throbbing pain
    * Pain that increases with activity and decreases with rest
    * Swelling
    * Bruising
    * Tenderness
    * Deformity
    * Inability to walk or bear weight
    * Cuts, puncture wounds or protrusion of bone fragments

Some people feel or hear a snap at the time of injury and assume that means something has broken. However, a snapping sound or feeling is not always a sign of a fracture.
Causes

The most common causes of a broken ankle or a broken foot include:

    * Car accidents. The crushing injuries common in car accidents may require surgical repair.
    * Falls. Tripping and falling can break bones in your ankles or feet, as can landing on your feet after jumping down from a great height.
    * Impact from a heavy weight. Dropping something heavy on your foot is a common cause of fractures.
    * Missteps. Sometimes just putting your foot down wrong can result in a broken bone. Many broken toes have happened when people stub their toes on furniture. Twisting your ankle just right can cause a sprain or a broken bone.
    * Overuse. Stress fractures are common in the weight-bearing bones of your ankles or feet. These tiny cracks are usually caused over time by repetitive force or overuse, such as running long distances. But they can also occur with normal use of a bone that's been weakened by a condition such as osteoporosis.

Risk factors

These factors may put you at risk of a broken ankle or broken foot:

    * Being overweight. Carrying too much weight can make you more susceptible to rolling your ankle or stressing the bones in your feet.
    * Participating in high-impact sports. The stresses, direct blows and twisting injuries that occur in football, hockey, gymnastics, ballet, tennis and soccer are common causes of foot and ankle fractures.
    * Using improper sports equipment. Faulty equipment, such as shoes that are too worn or too stiff, can contribute to stress fractures and falls. Improper training techniques, such as not warming up, also can cause foot and ankle fractures.
    * Working in certain occupations. Certain work environments, such as a construction site, put you at risk of falling from a height or dropping something heavy on your feet.
    * Keeping your home cluttered or poorly lit. Walking around in a house with too much clutter or too little light may lead to foot or ankle injuries.
    * Having certain conditions. Having fragile bones (osteoporosis) or poor sensation in your feet (neuropathy) can put you at risk of injuries to your foot and ankle bones.
Complications

Complications of a broken ankle or broken foot are uncommon, but may include:

    * Arthritis. Fractures that extend into the joint can cause arthritis years later. If your ankle or foot starts to hurt long after a break, see your doctor for an evaluation.
    * Bone infection (osteomyelitis). If you have an open fracture, your bone may be exposed to bacteria that cause infection.
    * Compartment syndrome. This neuromuscular condition causes pain, swelling and sometimes disability in affected muscles of the legs or arms. Compartment syndrome usually occurs in high-impact injuries, such as a car or motorcycle accident.
    * Nerve or blood vessel damage. Trauma to the foot or ankle can injure adjacent nerves and blood vessels. Seek immediate attention if you notice any numbness or circulation problems. Lack of blood flow can cause a bone to die and collapse.

Preparing for your appointment

You may initially seek treatment for a broken ankle or broken foot in an emergency room or urgent-care clinic. If the pieces of broken bone aren't lined up properly to allow healing with immobilization, you may be referred to a doctor specializing in orthopedic surgery.

What you can do
You may want to write a list that includes:

    * Detailed descriptions of your symptoms
    * Information about medical problems you've had
    * Information about the medical problems of your parents or siblings
    * All the medications and dietary supplements you take
    * Questions you want to ask the doctor

What to expect from your doctor
During the physical exam, your doctor will check for points of tenderness in your foot and ankle. The precise location of your pain can help determine its cause. He or she will also check to see if the nerves and blood vessels for your foot and ankle have been damaged.

Tests and diagnosis

Broken bones — especially stress fractures — are sometimes difficult to diagnose, so your doctor may suggest additional types of imaging scans.

X-rays
Most ankle and foot fractures can be visualized on X-rays. The technician may need to take X-rays from several different angles so that the bone images won't overlap too much. Stress fractures often don't show up on X-rays until the break actually starts healing.

Bone scan
For a bone scan, a technician will inject a small amount of radioactive material into an intravenous line. The radioactive material is attracted to your bones, especially the parts of your bones that have been damaged. Damaged areas show up as bright spots on an image taken by a scanner.

Computerized tomography
CT scans are useful because they can reveal more detail about the bone and the soft tissues that surround it, which may help your doctor determine the best treatment. CT scans take X-rays from many different angles and combine them to make cross-sectional images of internal structures of your body.
Treatments and drugs

Treatments for a broken ankle or broken foot will vary, depending upon which bone has been broken and the severity of the injury.

Medications
Your doctor may recommend an over-the-counter pain reliever, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others). If you're experiencing a lot of pain, you may need a prescription narcotic, such as oxycodone (Percocet).

Therapy
After your bone has healed, you'll probably need to loosen up stiff muscles and ligaments in your ankles and feet. A physical therapist can teach you exercises to improve your flexibility and strength.

Surgical and other procedures

    * Reduction. If you have a displaced fracture, your doctor may need to manipulate the pieces back into their proper positions — a process called reduction. Depending on the amount of pain and swelling you have, you may need a muscle relaxant, a sedative or even a general anesthetic before this procedure.
    * Immobilization. To heal, a broken bone must be immobilized so its ends can knit back together. In most cases, this requires a cast. Minor foot fractures may only need a removable brace or shoe with a stiff sole. A fractured toe is usually taped to a neighboring toe, with a piece of gauze between them.
    * Surgery. In some cases, a surgeon may need to use pins, plates or screws to maintain proper position of your bones during healing. These materials may be removed after the fracture has healed if they are prominent and painful.

Prevention

These basic sports and safety tips may help prevent a broken ankle or broken foot:

    * Wear proper shoes. Use hiking shoes on rough terrain. Wear steel-toed boots in your work environment, if necessary. Choose appropriate athletic shoes for your sport.
    * Replace athletic shoes regularly. Discard sneakers as soon as the tread or heel wears out or if the shoes are wearing unevenly.
    * Start slowly. That applies to a new fitness program and each individual workout.
    * Cross-train. Alternating activities can prevent stress fractures. Rotate running with swimming or biking.
    * Build bone strength. Calcium-rich foods, such as milk, yogurt and cheese, really can do your body good.
    * Use night lights. Many broken toes are the result of nighttime stumbling.

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