Ankle Injuries Part One

Icy winter conditions can lead to slips and falls, resulting in various injuries, including ankle, tibia and fibula breaks and dislocations.  This is not fun, but an unfortunate reality of living in Toronto during the winter months.  

The most common issue with ankles is an ankle sprain.  When we are dealing with this, the most important exercises to focus on are balance and stability exercises. Hip control is really important too, because your hip controls where your foot will land.

A more serious issue is a fracture of the ankle, tibia or fibula.  Depending on the severity of the fracture, it can be treated with a splint or cast, or in more severe cases, ORIF surgery.  Open Reduction Internal Fixation surgery is used to fix severely broken bones.  These injuries are usually fractures that are displaced, unstable, or those that involve the joint.  The physio and Pilates approach for these is different and depends on many factors, including where and what type of fracture is involved, as well as the lifestyle of the person recovering. 

A client came to us recently for recovery and rehab for ankle and tibia break and dislocation, as a result of a fall.. Her injury occurred in the winter of 2022, and required ORIF surgery. When she initially started at the studio, about 3 months ago (October 2022), she had only just stopped using a cane to assist with walking and still had difficulty navigating stairs (especially descending them).

In next month’s post, we’ll focus on how we tackled this in the Pilates studio and the steps we took to help her and other clients  regain full confidence in their ankle after an ORIF surgery.