Ankle syndesmotic injuries - Research Paper Example

Ankle syndesmosis injuries are not very common disruptions. Most of the time, rupture in the syndesmosis is seen in the deltoid ligament injury and fractures in the malleoli (Chow, p. 663). Such contributory related injuries lead to a higher possibility of syndesmosis involvement based on the understanding of the mechanism of injury (Chow, p. 663). However, ankle sprains with possible syndesmosis injuries can lead to a longer period of recovery from initial mild injuries. With better detection and early recognition methods, early detection may lead to improved outcomes of treatment.

In understanding ankle syndesmosis injuries, there is a need to review the anatomical relationships in the ankle area. There are three separate ligaments in the distal tibiofibular sydesmosis, namely, the anterior-inferior tibiofibular ligament (AITFL), the posterior-inferior tibiofibular ligament (PITFL), and the interosseous ligament. Syndesmosis injury is seen with the “external rotation of the foot that causes a diastasis of the tibiofibular joint due to pressure exerted by the talus” (Chow, p. 663). The ankle may be in a position of either full dorsiflexion or plantarflexion during the injury.

These positions often place much tension on the ligaments, hence, causing the injury. High ankle sprains occur at an incidence rate of 1 to 11% of soft-tissue ankle damages (Chow, p. 663). These rates vary based on athlete injury rates. Nevertheless, its yearly incidence rate is at 15 cases per 100,000 of the general population (van den Bekerom, et.al., p. 456). For athletes, the incidence rate is higher because their activities mostly involve “planting the foot and then cutting motions as well as direct blows to the lateral ankle” (Porter, p. 575). Accurate rates for ankle syndemosis injuries are not available because reporting processes do not present accurate figures which cover all cases; however, relative estimates are