Trauma & Fractures

An ankle fracture is a painful condition where there is a break in one or more bones forming the ankle joint. The ankle joint is stabilized by different ligaments and other soft tissues, which may also be injured during an ankle fracture.

Trauma and repeated stress can cause fractures in the foot. Extreme force is required to fracture the bones in the hindfoot. The most common type of foot fracture is a stress fracture that occurs when repeated activities produce small cracks in the bones. Foot fractures commonly occur because of a fall, motor vehicle accident, dropping a heavy object on your foot or from overuse such as with sports.

The tarsometatarsal joint or Lisfranc joint is the region in the middle of the foot formed by the articulation of the tarsal bones (a cluster of seven bones) and metatarsal bones (a group of five long bones). This region supports the arch of the foot. Lisfranc or midfoot fractures are breaks in the bones of the midfoot. They also involve torn ligaments that support the midfoot.

The calcaneus or heel bone is a large bone found at the rear of the foot. A heel fracture is a break in the heel bone due to trauma or various disease conditions. A fracture of the heel bone occurs most commonly due to a traumatic event such as falling from a height, twisting injuries, motor vehicle accidents and ankle sprains.

A fracture is defined as a break in the continuity of the bone when a force against your body is too strong for the bone to bear. A toe fracture is when one or more of the toe bones of the foot are broken after severe trauma to the toes or foot. Toe fractures are commonly divided into 2 types namely, traumatic fracture and stress fracture. Traumatic fractures occur when there is a direct impact of your toes on a hard surface.

The metatarsal bones are the long bones in your feet. There are five metatarsal bones in each foot. The fifth metatarsal is the long bone that is located on the outside of the foot and connects to the small toe. The fifth metatarsal bone is more commonly fractured. There are two types of fractures that often occur in the fifth metatarsal, avulsion fracture, and Jones fracture.

A Jones fracture occurs when there is a break between the base and the shaft of the fifth metatarsal bone in your foot. This is a small region that receives limited blood supply and is prone to fracture. The fifth metatarsal is a long bone that is located on the outside of your foot and connects to the smallest toe. There are five metatarsal bones in each foot and the fifth is the one which is more commonly fractured.