Torn Foot Ligaments and What You Need to Know
When foot ligaments are torn, the sufferer is in for long and painful recovery. If you or someone in your family has a torn ligament in their foot, you likely have many questions regarding cause and rehabilitation. This guide provides the answers to many common questions people have about foot ligaments and what to do when one is torn.
Brief Overview of Foot Ligaments
There are five ligaments in the human foot. These ligaments include the anterior and posterior talo-fibular ligaments, the deltoid ligament, the calcaneal-fibular ligament, and the syndesmotic ligament.
Their purpose is to help stabilize joints by lending strength to your articular capsules, envelope-like surroundings on the joints. Ligaments are dense, connective tissues that are made of collagen-infused fibers that connect bones together to form joints. Ligaments are often confused with tendons, but tendons serve to attach muscle to bone.
How a Foot Ligament Is Torn
Tearing a foot ligament is almost always caused by a twisted or sprained ankle. This is a common injury for dancers, martial artists, and athletes that spend a great amount of time on their toes. Bad falls are the most common culprit for the average non-athlete.
Diagnosing a Torn Foot Ligament
It’s very important to see a doctor if you suspect you have torn any ligament in your body. Often times, people mistakenly think they’ve simply sprained an ankle. This is not good because tearing a ligament in your foot can permanently cause stability issues for your ankle joint and may eventually deteriorate into osteoarthritis.
In addition to this, what you may believe to be a torn ligament could also be a broken bone. See a doctor if a simple twist of the ankle has resulted in excessive pain and swelling in your foot and ankle.
Healing Time
If you have torn a ligament in your foot, you are looking at a recovery time of anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months (including physical therapy rehabilitation) depending on the severity. This injury takes a long time to heal because ligaments do not have a good supply of blood circulating through them. This substantially increases healing times.
Additionally, it will be important to undergo physical rehabilitation of your foot and ankle. This is painful and time consuming, but may help your ankle’s strength increase. It’s important to do so because injured ligaments flare up again once you reach middle age.
R.I.C.E. Treatment at Home
When at home and during the initial healing period, it is highly recommended that you implement R.I.C.E. treatment. This consists of rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Your doctor may recommend this as the main treatment if the tear in your foot ligament is minor. You will want to do this anyways even if you have a more substantial tear.
Rest and stay off of your injured foot as much as you can. Don’t exert your ankle in any way if possible. Have someone else run your errands and fetch you items from the kitchen. If your bedroom is upstairs, you may want to sleep on the couch or in a downstairs bedroom.
Put ice on the injured area for short 15 minute periods. Remove the ice for another 15 minutes, and then replace again. This will help with pain and swelling.
Compressing your injury with bandages and dressings can help to give your ankle much needed rest. It prevents unnecessary movement, preventing inflammation and irritation of your ligament.
Finally, keep your ankle elevated as often as you can. Prop it up on a pillow while you sit on the couch or lie in bed.