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Foot And Ankle Injury Essay

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The foot and ankle are important weight-bearing organs that have a vital role in activities of daily life (Walker, 2014). The most familiar injury is an acute sprain (Mai and Cooper 2009). It is estimated that more than 300,000 people came to the emergency department with acute ankle sprains every year (Roche et al, 2009). The ankle is a synovial hinge joint which is made up of the distal fibula forming the lateral malleolus, while the distal tibia forming the medial malleolus and the talus (Walker, 2014). The ankle sprain happened when weight is put to the foot and the foot experienced an uneven surface or got twisted and it rotated towards or away from midline of body, known as eversion or inversion. This occurrence causes ligaments on outside …show more content…

It is significant to enquire about the amount of force for the injury, because fractures sustained from low impact or weak forces may be an indication of osteoporosis (Ralston and McInnes, 2014). There are some indications that allow radiographic evaluation of ankle injuries which is known as Ottawa Ankle Rules. These includes patient inability to bear weight both immediately after injury or in the Emergency Department, the tenderness over the fifth metatarsal base, and the bone tenderness over posterior edge, distal or tip 6cm of the lateral and medial malleolus. Thus, a complete ankle standard series of radiograph examination are Anterior-posterior (AP) view, Lateral view and AP mortise view. In most cases, an AP view projection of the ankle is enough for the radiologist to diagnose the patient’s …show more content…

The radiographer needs to assist the patient to get on the table Bucky as she may not be able to walk by herself and the problem is that the radiographer may not be able to positioned patient in a true AP positioned. In a true AP ankle projection, the affected lower limb must be in a fully extended position and the foot must be in a dorsiflexion position with the toe pointing directly towards the ceiling. However, in dealing with the patient, the radiographer may not be able to position her foot in a dorsiflexion and the lower limb may not be fully extended. To overcome this problem, the radiographer should use positioning aids such as sandbags and compatible bottle filled with water to place at her foot so the dorsiflexion position can be maintain. Alternatively, the radiographer can also use a compression band for the patient to hold to maintain the

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