Experiencing foot and ankle trauma can be very debilitating. The trauma affects your joints, muscle tissues, bones, and ligaments. As a result, you experience some inflammation, severe pain, strain while walking, and ineffectiveness to carry weight on your foot. The good news is that Dr. Jordan D Cameron and his team at Foot and Ankle Institute of Colorado offer different foot and ankle trauma treatment options to help you return to full productivity soonest.
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What causes foot and ankle trauma?
Foot and ankle trauma mainly occur when you are involved in sports, exercises, and other physical activities. The injuries can also happen while walking on an even surface, through an accident, putting on inappropriate gear, unpreparedness, and when you are unwell.
Categories of Foot and Ankle Trauma
There are three categories of foot and ankle trauma: strains, fractures, and sprains.
Strains
Strains occur when your tendons and muscles are overstretched, damaging them and even causing inflammation. You can suffer strains from falling, slipping, running, or when jumping. If you are an athlete, you are at risk of getting chronic strains. Strains cause swelling, pain, muscle spasms, and restricted motion.
Fractures
A fracture is a broken bone that is caused by twisting or rolling your ankle, falling or tripping, or being involved in an accident. If you are active in skiing, basketball, and football, you are at high risk of getting fractures. Having fractures causes you to experience bruising, swelling, difficulty while walking, and tenderness.
Sprains
A sprain is caused by tearing or overstretching your ligaments. Ligaments are the material which joins your adjacent bones in a joint, giving it stability. A sprain can occur when you twist your ankle joint, when participating in sports, or when you run on an uneven surface. The sprains cause you to experience pain, stiffness, swelling, toe numbness, tenderness, and difficulty walking.
Diagnosis for foot and ankle trauma
Your doctor will review your medical history concerning your injury during your diagnosis and perform some physical examination to check for inflammation, tenderness, and pain areas. To determine your mobility, your doctor will examine your ability to move your joint and if you can bear weight on your injured ankle or foot.
If your examination indicates you might have a fracture, your doctor may recommend you go for an X-ray test of the affected area. If there is a need to confirm a particular diagnosis, your doctor may recommend a CT scan or an MRI scan.
Foot and ankle trauma treatments
To treat mild sprains and strains, your doctor may recommend taking rest and avoiding moving the injured part to reduce pain and prevent further damage. Your doctor may advise you to place an ice-pack around the injured area for three days after the injury for twenty minutes sessions to reduce swelling and relieve pain.
Your doctor may recommend using an elastic wrap to compress the injured area for some time after the injury to reduce swelling and bruising. Elevating your injured part above your heart level will help reduce swelling.
In case of fracture, your doctor may recommend a brace or a short leg cast to be applied over your fractured foot or ankle to give support.
For more details on foot and ankle trauma treatment, call or book an appointment online at Foot and Ankle Institute of Colorado.
