Ankle fractures

Around 10% of ankle fractures are sports-related.[4]Court-Brown C, McQueen M, Tornetta P 3rd. Ankle fractures. In: Tornetta P 3rd, Einhorn T, eds. Trauma, orthopaedic surgery essentials. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; 2006. Basketball players are especially prone to this injury. Lace-up ankle braces have been shown to be effective in the prevention of ankle injuries during basketball.[18]McGuine TA, Brooks A, Hetzel S. The effect of lace-up ankle braces on injury rates in high school basketball players. Am J Sports Med. 2011;39:1840-1848. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3213051 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21795671?tool=bestpractice.com

If it is found that the patient has osteoporosis, pharmacological measures may include bisphosphonates and parathyroid hormone analogues.[87]Compston J, Cooper A, Cooper C, et al. UK clinical guideline for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. Arch Osteoporos. 2017 Dec;12(1):43. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11657-017-0324-5 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28425085?tool=bestpractice.com ​ Further measures include removing trip hazards in the home and re-evaluating the need for medications that may cause syncopal episodes. See Osteoporosis.

Patient counselling with regard to smoking cessation is also undertaken.[88]Hernigou J, Schuind F. Tobacco and bone fractures: a review of the facts and issues that every orthopaedic surgeon should know. Bone Joint Res. 2019 Jul 5;8(6):255-65. https://boneandjoint.org.uk/article/10.1302/2046-3758.86.BJR-2018-0344.R1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31346454?tool=bestpractice.com ​ See Smoking cessation.