Everyone who drives a car has seen accidents on the side of the road or been involved in a car accident themselves. Car accidents are a risk of operating a motor vehicle and regardless of the size of a car accident, every car accident can cause serious injuries. Ankle fractures are a common injury that people can sustain in car accidents and can range widely in both severity and unintended consequences.
How Do I Sustain an Ankle Injury in a Car Accident?
When people are involved in a car accident, they could be involved in a head on collision. The fronts of money cars are designed to crumple on impact because this spreads the force of the impact out across a wider timeframe. While this lessens the overall force the driver and passenger feel, many people hit their breaks at the last second in an effort to avoid the car accident. When the front of the car crumples, people’s feet are often extended at the front of the car. Therefore, people’s ankles can crumple with the front of the car, leading to an ankle fracture.
What Kinds of Symptoms Should I Watch For?
Understandably, people who sustain an ankle fracture will be in a significant amount of pain and will have trouble walking on the fractured ankle. In addition to these symptoms, patients will also have swelling in the ankle. This swelling will be tender to the touch, especially over the fractured bone. If any of the blood vessels in the ankle have been damaged, there will be bruising on the ankle as well.
How is an Ankle Fracture Diagnosed?
The physician is going to look for many of the symptoms discussed above. The physician may also ask the patient to walk on the injured ankle for confirmation. After this, the physician will order x-rays to confirm the ankle fracture and locate the fracture to pain for an operative repair. If there is any suspicion of nerve or blood vessel damage, an MRI may be ordered to grade these injuries and plan for a repair.
How is an Ankle Fracture Treated?
Most ankle fractures are going to require a surgical repair by an orthopedic surgery team. If the is a complete break, the surgeon will need to use screws and plates to hold the bone in place to facilitate the healing process. Most patients will make a complete recovery; however, many patients will also require physical therapy to learn how to walk on the repaired ankle. Anyone who has been injured in a car accident should seek medical attention.
Anyone who has been injured in a car accident should contact an experienced legal professional for advice. There may be legal routes to alleviate some of the financial stress created by mounting medical bills, especially if the hospital visit included a surgical procedure or an ICU stay.