The ankle is made up of three bones: the tibia, fibula and talus. The tibia and fibula are the two bones of the lower leg and the talus is a bone of the foot. The malleoli are the protruding ends of the bones making up the ankle including the lateral, medial and posterior malleoli. A fracture to the ankle often includes damage to the many ligaments that hold the joint together.
Lateral Malleolus Fracture
A lateral malleolus fracture is a break in the fibula or shin bone. There are two levels at which the break may occur: low on the bone near the ankle joint and further up the bone a few inches. A lateral malleolus fracture is treated either by protecting the break with a splint or by repairing it with titanium plates and screws via surgery.
Medial Malleolus Fracture
A medial malleolus fracture occurs to the inner ankle bone or tibia. A medial malleolus fracture most often accompanies a break of the fibula, but can occur separately. This fracture is treated with a short leg cast, splint or by surgery.
Posterior Malleolus Fracture
A posterior malleolus fracture is a break in the back of the fibula at the level of the ankle joint. This fracture is almost always accompanied by a break in the lateral malleolus since ligaments connect these two bones.
Bimalleolar Fracture
A bilmalleolar fracture is a break in two of the three malleoli: the lateral and medial. This type of fracture almost always renders the ankle unstable and requires either a cast, splint or surgery.
Trimalleolar Fracture
A trimalleolar fracture is a break in all three of the malleoli. This type of fracture renders the ankle unstable and sometimes even dislocated. Both bimalleolar and trimalleolar fractures are treated with surgery if possible.
Syndesmotic Injury
A syndesmotic injury is also known as a high sprain. This dislocation of the ankle does not always include fracture, but when it does, surgery is usually required to return stability to the ankle.
Tags: fracture break, almost always, ankle joint, ankle unstable, break fibula, break three, break three malleoli