Fit For Sochi: Snowboarder Set To Return After Ankle Injury

Prolific snowboarder Shaun White has endured some injury problems in the lead up to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. White suffered from a sprained left ankle after crashing out in the Dew Tour Mountain Championships superpipe final. White was pretty lucky to get away with just a sprain as it could have been a lot worse. His coach Bud Keene has declared him 110 percent healthy for the games in Sochi and he will be eyeing off a podium finish in his events.

“Snowboarder’s ankle” – a more serious ankle injury

“Snowboarder’s ankle” is the term used to describe a much more serious ankle injury that commonly occurs in snowboarding. This injury results in a fracture of the lateral process of the talus which is a large bone that sits underneath the tibia and fibula and helps form the ankle joint. A fracture of this particular area is quite rare in the general population, it only accounts for less than 1 percent of reported ankle injuries. However these fractures account for 15 percent of all ankle injuries in snowboarders. This injury usually occurs due to landing awkwardly at high impact as well as the twisting/side to side movements that are in the nature of the sport.

Treatment for “snowboarder’s ankle” includes:

• RICER (rest, ice, mobilization, elevation and referral)
• Immobilisation (camwalker or plaster cast)
• Surgery (in extreme cases)

The aim of treatment in these cases is to minimise swelling, inflammation and pain, and to provide the best conditions for healing to take place. Rehabilitation is a must with any ankle injury after pain and inflammation have reduced.

If you have a history of ankle sprains or commonly suffer from pain in your ankles, make an appointment with one of our Melbourne Podiatrists for an assessment. Ankle injuries usually require intensive rehabilitation to reduce recurrence of future injury and referral to a podiatrist should be a must.