28 Dec Did your child twist their ankle and fall over causing a fracture at their ankle

Did your child twist their ankle and fall over causing a fracture at their ankle
Have you wrapped their swollen ankle in bandages hoping that it will get better soon

It’s the Christmas time, which means it’s a time of decorating, cleaning and partying to celebrate with loved ones. This is also the time when there are increased accidents like falls and trips. Ankle fractures and ankle sprains are one of the common injuries seen from such accidents. With the Christmas festive season, they often just wrap their ankle in bandages and hope it gets better instead of having it seen by a Healthcare professional like their family doctor or a Physiotherapist. As a result, ankle sprains and fractures can often be diagnosed 1 week to 4 weeks after the incident that caused it.

If ankle fracture is not corrected treated and managed, it can result in a stiff and pain ankle months and years later. There are 3 Key Treatment Strategies for Ankle fractures that should happen to ensure that you are able to return to pain free active living.

1. Immobilisation. When an ankle fracture s identified, it is important to have the ankle joint immobilised using either a walking boot or a cast. This is to allow the broken bone to heal. Bone healing can take 4-6 weeks for children, 6-8 weeks for young adults and 12 weeks or more for older adults.

2. Manual Therapy. After weeks of immobilisation, it is important to have Physiotherapy to help you move your ankle again because your ankle joint would be stiff and your muscles would have wasted away and shortened. Manual Therapy included joint mobilisation, soft tissue massage and Low Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound.

3. Strengthening and Balance Exercise. Once you gain movement back in your ankle, it is important to strengthen your calf muscles, foot muscles and ankle tendons and ligaments. An Expert Physiotherapist will be able towel you tailor a specific exercise program to help you return to pain free active living.

So if you are experiencing a swollen bruised ankle from a fall, don’t ignore it, ring My Favourite Physio on (02) 9790 433 or DM us @myfavouritephysio to have you ankle properly assessed and correctly treated today!