Foot and Ankle

The foot and ankle in the human body work together to provide balance, stability, movement, and Propulsion.

This complex anatomy consists of:

  • 26 bones
  • 33 joints
  • Muscles
  • Tendons
  • Ligaments
  • Blood vessels, nerves, and soft tissue

Foot Fracture

The foot has 26 bones, and can be divided into 3 parts:

  • The hind foot is comprised of two bones, the talus bone which connects to the bones of the lower leg, and the calcaneus bone which forms the heel.
  • The midfoot is comprised of the navicular, cuboid, and three cuneiform bones.
  • The forefoot is made up of five metatarsal bones and 14 toe bones called phalanges.

The hind foot is separated from the midfoot by the mediotarsal joint and the midfoot is separated from the forefoot by the lisfranc joint. Muscles, tendons and ligaments support the bones and joints of the feet enabling them to withstand the entire body’s weight while walking, running and jumping. Despite this, trauma and stress can cause fractures in the foot. Extreme force is required to fracture the bones in the hind foot. The most common type of foot fracture is a stress fracture, which occurs when repeated activities produce small cracks in the bones.

Types of foot fractures

Foot fractures can involve different bones and joints and are classified into several types:

  • Calcaneal fractures: This type affects the heel bone and occurs mostly because of high-energy collisions. It can cause disabling injuries and if the subtalar joint is involved it is considered a severe fracture.
  • Talar fractures: The talus bone helps to transfer weight and forces across the joint. Talus fractures usually occur at the neck or mid portion of the talus.
  • Navicular fractures: Navicular fractures are rare and include mostly stress fractures that occur with sports activities, such as running and gymnastics, because of repeated loading on the foot.
  • Lisfranc fractures: This type of fracture occurs due to excessive loading on the foot, which leads to stretching or tearing of the midfoot ligaments.

Causes

Foot fractures commonly occur because of a fall, motor vehicle accident, dropping a heavy object on your foot, or from overuse such as with sports.

Symptoms

The common symptoms of a foot fracture include pain, bruising, tenderness, swelling, deformity and inability to bear weight.

Diagnosis

Your doctor diagnoses a foot fracture by reviewing your medical history and performing a thorough physical examination of your foot. Imaging tests such as X-rays, MRI or CT scan may be ordered to confirm the diagnosis. Navicular fractures can be especially difficult to diagnose without imaging tests.

Treatment

Treatment depends on the type of fracture sustained. For mild fractures, nonsurgical treatment is advised and includes rest, ice, compression, and elevation of the foot. Your doctor may suggest a splint or cast to immobilize the foot. For more severe fractures, surgery will be required to align, reconstruct or fuse the joints. Bone fragments may be held together with plates and screws.

Physical therapy may be recommended to improve range of motion and strengthen the foot muscles. Weight bearing however should be a gradual process with the help of a cane or walking boot.

Heel Fractures

The calcaneus or heel bone is a large bone found on the rear part of the foot. The calcaneus connects with the talus and cuboid bones to form the subtalar joint of the foot. A fracture is a break in a bone from trauma or various disease conditions. The types of fracture to the calcaneus depend on the severity and include stable fractures, displaced fractures, open fractures, closed fractures and comminuted fractures.

A fracture of the calcaneus is most commonly due to a traumatic event such as falling from a height, twisting injury, motor accidents, sports injuries and ankle sprain.

Fracture of the calcaneus is considered serious and can cause longstanding problems if not treated correctly. Stiffness and pain in the joint and arthritis are commonly reported risks of a calcaneal fracture.

The commonly seen signs and symptoms of calcaneal fractures are

  • Pain in the heel
  • Swelling in the heel
  • Bruises in the heel
  • Inability to walk or bear weight on the foot

The evaluation of the calcaneal fracture is done by imaging i.e., X-ray and CT scan. Based on the severity of the fracture, the doctor recommends the plan of treatment.

Calcaneal fractures are treated based on the type of fracture and extent of soft tissue damage.

  • Nonsurgical treatment
    • Rest, ice, compression, and elevation (R.I.C.E.) – is the most commonly used treatment option. Staying off (resting) the injured foot can heal the fracture. Covering the affected area with ice packs over a towel reduces swelling and pain. Compression stockings and elastic bandages can also aid in healing the pain. Positioning the feet above the level of heart reduces swelling.
    • Immobilization – Casting the injured foot prevents the fractured bone from moving. Walking with the help of crutches is advisable to avoid bearing body weight until healing has occurred.
  • Surgical treatment
    • Open reduction and internal fixation – This surgery involves putting the bone fragments back together with metal plates and screws to reposition them and set them to normal alignment.
    • Percutaneous screw fixation – This is the best preferred treatment in cases where the bone pieces are large. The bone can either be pushed or pulled to set into place without making a large incision. Metal screws are then inserted and fixed through small incisions to hold the bone pieces together.

Rehabilitation

Irrespective of the treatment procedure, the patient is recommended to undergo physiotherapy and practice simple exercises regularly to help restore function. This would help the muscles to gain flexibility and after complete recovery, the patient can resume their daily living with normal activities.