What are foot and ankle injuries?
Some common types of foot and ankle injuries are:
- Broken ankle (tibia and/or fibula)
- Talus fracture (the small bone between your heel bone and your leg bone)
- Calcaneus (heel) fracture
- Metatarsal (midfoot) fracture
- Stress fracture
- Toe or forefoot fracture
What are the symptoms of foot and ankle injuries?
If you have hurt your foot or ankle, you should go to the emergency room if you have any of these symptoms:
- Your injury has caused your bone or tissue to be exposed (seen)
- Your foot or ankle is not in its normal position (deformed)
- You can’t put your weight on it to walk
- Your pain or swelling is very bad
- You have numbness, sensation changes, or coolness (poor blood flow) to the foot
- You could have an infection (signs are redness, very warm skin and the area is very tender to touch)
- You have a fever higher than 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
You should make an appointment to see your doctor soon if you have any of these symptoms:
- Swelling that doesn’t go down within a few days
- Pain that is still there after a few weeks
- Any numbness, tingling feelings or burning pain on the bottom of your foot
How are foot and ankle injuries treated?
The type of treatment that you receive will depend on the type of injury you have and how bad it is. Some treatment options are:
- Splints
- Ice packs
- Rest
- Foot elevation
- Cast
- Specific shoes or shoe inserts
- Exercises
- Surgery
If necessary, you may be referred to a podiatrist (a foot doctor) or an orthopedist (a bone and joint doctor) for more treatment to make sure your foot heals correctly.
