Abstract

Background: Lateral ankle sprain is a frequent injury in daily and sports activities. The purpose of this study was to clarify the prevalence and healing process of the lateral malleolus of the fibula fracture in lateral ankle sprains.

Method: We included 57 patients diagnosed with lateral ankle sprain at our clinic between January 2015 and November 2020. The participants were divided into the bony injury (BI) group and the singular ligament injury (LI) group. The analysis parameters were the prevalence rate of BI, age, rest period, treatment period, and cause of injury.

Results: The prevalence of BI was 31.6% (18/57 cases; 17 men and 40 women), with 6 cases of lateral malleolus of the fibula fracture and 12 cases of avulsion fracture. BI was associated with the age of the patients. The age of the BI group (46.8 ± 19.7 years) was significantly higher than that of the LI group (28.4 ± 15.6 years). Moreover, the rest period of the BI group was significantly higher than that of the singular LI group. However, there was no significant difference in the treatment period between the groups. The BI group was significantly more likely to be injured while performing activities of daily living than the LI group.

Conclusion: Patients with BI were older and were more frequently injured in daily living than those with LI. Therefore, aging increases the risk of lateral ankle sprain with BI. This suggests that lateral ankle sprain with bone damage should be treated with less accelerated exercise therapy.