What is the difference between a broken or sprained ankle?
If you make a wrong movement, you may suffer from severe pain in the ankle. There may be a bruised or broken ankle. But how can you distinguish this? In this blog, we will tell you more about the differences and treatment of a bruised or broken ankle.
What is a bruised ankle?
With a bruised ankle, the foot has folded inwards or a higher amount of pressure has been applied to the ankle. This can damage the ankle ligaments and other tissues.
What is a broken ankle?
An ankle fracture often occurs as a result of a severe sprain, stifle or fall. An ankle can break in several places. For example, it can break both on the outside and inside. In some cases, it can also break at the back. In most cases, the fracture is on the outside of the fibula.
Is your ankle broken or bruised?
If you have made a wrong move in daily life or while playing sports, you may suffer from severe pain in your ankle. This can have several causes. For instance, your ankle might be bruised or broken. But how do you know which of the two possibilities it is?
There are a number of symptoms you can look out for. Often, if you can take more than four steps, it is a sprain. This is also the case if you can put pressure on your ankle bones, the middle of your foot or the side of your foot without immediate severe pain. If you cannot walk at all, then a broken foot is most likely. We recommend you always have a specialist look at your ankle. This is because the treatment of a bruised ankle is different from that of a broken one.
Treatment for broken or bruised ankle
For an ankle that is broken or bruised, treatment may differ. It is therefore important to find out which injury is involved. It is therefore recommended to always visit a doctor. Then it can be decided what treatment is needed.
If the ankle is broken, then in most cases plaster casts are needed in treatment. The plaster treatment usually lasts about 6 weeks. If the ankle is broken in several places, there is usually reason to operate on the ankle. However, this rarely needs to be done. With a bruised ankle, it is important to wear tight bandages for the first few days. It is also important to walk carefully again as soon as possible. This helps the ankle to get better. You can also wear an ankle brace for support here.
