Snowboarding Injuries - Snowboarder's Ankle

Snowboarder's Ankle ranks second in the top 5 Injuries in Snowboarding and
Skiing. Snowboarder's Ankle refers to a fracture of the lateral process of the Talus bone, which is located on the outer side of the ankle, above the heel bone. This injury is fifteen times more common in snowboarders than in the general population, hence, this injury is often termed as Snowboarder's Ankle.
With this injury, a history of an ankle sprain from Snowboarding is common. Typically, there is pain at the back on the bony prominence on the outerside of the ankle, which can be extremely tender to touch. It is usually accompanied by swelling and bruising.
The Talus is located above the heel bone, deep in the ankle, and with the shin bone above it to form the ankle joint. There is also some contact with the lateral malleolus of the Fibula (bony prominence) on the lateral (outerside) of the ankle. The 'lateral process of the Talus' is a medical term that refers to the part of the Talus bone located on the outer side of the ankle, immediately above the heel bone.
When the ankle is 'dorsiflexed' (toes are brought toward the shin) the Talus gets locked in place by the surrounding bones. If a person brings his or her foot into a dorsiflexed position and it then rolls in on the joint below the ankle, then the lateral process of the Talus gets compressed in between the heel and the lateral malleolus of the Fibula. If there is sufficient force then the lateral process of the Talus will fracture.
Recognizing this injury in its early stages is difficult but can help reduce the likelihood of subsequent ankle joint degeneration and resulting functional disability. Surgery may be required. If you suffer from a Snowboarder's Ankle injury, seek medical help. Once a fracture of the Talus bone has been confirmed, the medical management is dependent on the position of the fracture fragments. Small fractures where the fragments are not displaced tend to recover well with conservative treatment and a period of immobilization in an Aircast Pneumatic Walker. More complicated fractures often require surgical fixation with a screw.
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Sunday 9th April 2006 at 8:10:02 PM
I got the ankle fracture and after a year I'm still busted up!
Wednesday 7th October 2009 at 4:22:08 PM
arghhh.... I just had what i thought was a sprained ankle confirmed as a talus fracture. This happened 8 months ago. Dont know how things may have been different if I had this picked up sooner...but right now my options are 1.) surgery which has a 70% success rate and 6 month recovery time (also takes 6 months to determine if it was successful) and 2.) wear a proper brace for two months, see how that works and then get the surgery if it doesn''t.
Sunday 8th November 2009 at 2:12:52 PM
same here, i done mine just under a year ago and i still cant run on it. does it really hurt yours when you try and slightly roll it on its outer side? im not sure what to do with it, any advice? my season starts again in 2 weeks and im gutted its stilled f***ed.
Monday 25th January 2010 at 7:52:37 AM
Just got back from a weeks boarding and hurt my ankle when I was out there second day.
Was doing a switchback on the toe edge in flat light and dropped off a small unseen ledge mid carve, landed and held the toe edge. Foot seemed to stop moving when it got to the end of it''s range of motion as explained above. Ankle felt sprained all week on the outside and the next day the inside edge felt like it had massive bruising and is still sore now (7 days later), No visual bruising though and I don''t remember hitting the inside of my ankle on anything. Sprain sensation seems to be receding. Is a trip to the Docs in order do you think? or does the bruising sensation only happen on the outside?
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