Snowboarder's Ankle Health Video

Video Transcript

CAROLYN COOPER: I'm Dr. Carolyn Cooper and I'm going to be talking about snowboarder's ankle, which is also known as lateral talus fracture. It is caused by a forceful twist of the ankle such as seen in snowboarders when they are landing forcefully on an uneven surface. So this condition is rarely seen in novice snowboarders who aren't yet jumping. The symptoms consist of pain and swelling on the outside of the ankle and pain with walking, weightbearing. The diagnosis is made by x-ray but often needs further imaging such as an MRI to actually diagnose this as these fractures can be very small and difficult to see on x-ray. Treatment depends on the severity of the fracture, but may often require surgery and prevention of this injury is by ensuring that equipment and boots are in good condition and that proper training has been pursued.