Author: Donald Stader, M.D.
Educational Pearls:
- The most common ankle injury mechanism is an inversion.
- Most common broken bone in the ankle is the fibula.
- During exam, it is important to palpate over the fibular head, medial and lateral malleoli, over the 5th metatarsal and over the cuboid bone. If no tenderness in these areas and the patient is walking - they have a sprain and can be sent home without imaging.
- In calcaneal fractures, make sure to image the lumbar spine since up to 30% of calcaneal fractures are associated with lumbar spine injury.