With around 33 joints, 26 bones, and more than a 100 muscles, ligaments, and tendones, your foot and ankle work harmoniously together to provide support, balance, and mobility to your body. As such, should these parts of your body get injured in any way, you will be forced to deal with an immense amount of pain that you are definitely not ready for.
According to Steward Medical Group, fractures, sprains, and strains are some of the most prevalent ankle and foot injuries that have affected more than one million people annually in the United States. These types of traumatic injuries tend to occur most commonly when people indulge in sports or other kinds of recreational activities – but someone can also suffer from these injuries simply walking or doing any kind of normal activity at home or at work.
Ankle And Foot Trauma Causes
There are a number of reasons why these types of traumas can occur. Stretches, tears, and strains in the tendons or muscles are the result of a quick twist or a pull. Sprains tend to happen due to tears in the ligaments. Bone fractures occur during falls or slips though they can also be a result of direct impact to the ankle or foot. Another contributing factor can include repetitive stress and advancing age to the ankle and foot that can make a person more susceptible to these types of injuries.
Diagnosis And Treatment
When diagnosing foot and ankle trauma, doctors will consider the medical history regarding the injury and accordingly, examine areas of pain, inflammation, and tenderness. If the examination suggests the possibility of a fracture, the injured area will be examined with X-rays. Often, in cases of foot and ankle trauma, an MRI or a CT scan will be more useful in confirming accurate diagnoses.
For treatments, the first thing you will need to treat the trauma is through the RICE technique – which stands for rest, ice, compression, and elevation. For years now this technique has proven to be quite useful in treating mild sprains and strains. Fractures to the ankle or foot would require you to wear casts for a couple of weeks – and in serious cases, you may be asked to consider undergoing surgery.
For a more in-depth understanding, consider taking your queries to professionals like Mohammed Alshouli, who know the ideal ways to take care of foot and ankle trauma cases.
As a highly-acclaimed orthopedics surgeon, educator, and inventor, Mohammed Alshouli has been known for his work in reconstructing intricate ankle and foot trauma cases. He has a lot of experience in treating and operating these injuries as well sports and arthroplasty disorders. He specializes in the preservation, investigation, and restoration of the form and function of the extremities, spine, and associated structures by medical, surgical, and physical means.
Moreover, he is also an expert in handling congenital deformities, trauma, infections, tumors, including the metabolic disturbances of the musculoskeletal system, injuries and degenerative diseases of the spines, feet, hands, knee, hip, and more. Currently, he is focused on developing a local health care program for diabetic foot preventive care and virtual design of Foot and Ankle surgical simulation laboratory for resident training.
