Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Ankle Injuries and Disorders
Your ankle bone and the ends of your two lower leg bones make up the ankle joint. Your ligaments, which connect bones to one another, stabilize and support it. Your muscles and tendons move it.
The most common ankle problems are sprains and fractures (broken bones). A sprain is an injury to the ligaments. It may take a few weeks to many months to heal completely. A fracture is a break in a bone. You can also injure other parts of the ankle such as tendons, which join muscles to bone, and cartilage, which cushions your joints. Ankle sprains and fractures are common sports injuries.
It sits within Bones, Joints and Muscles and Injuries and Wounds.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Ankle Injuries and Disorders
168 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Auditory Biofeedback Gait Training Individuals With Chronic Ankle InstabilityDanielle Torp
- Observational Study to Evaluate Safety and Performance of the Total Ankle Prosthesis, EasyMove®FH ORTHO
- Comparison of MBR + Suture Tape and MBR for CLAI : A Prospective Cohort StudyPeking University Third Hospital
- Nomad P-KAFO StudyShirley Ryan AbilityLab
- Platelet Rich Plasma for Musculoskeletal ConditionsUniversity of Utah
- Distinct Directional Postural Stability Deficits Across Lower Limb Musculoskeletal DisordersCairo University
Research already completed
- Randomized Study of an Analgesic Device Enabling Local Anesthetic Delivery and Neuromodulation After Shoulder/Foot SurgeryUniversity of California, San Diego
- Evaluating a New Knee-Ankle-Foot Brace to Improve Gait in Children With Movement DisordersNational Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC)
- A Cohort Study of Bioabsorbable Screws for Syndesmosis Fixation Fixation in Ankle FractureNHS Grampian
- Post-Market Registry of AURYON Atherectomy Device in Subjects Affected With Infrainguinal Peripheral Artery DiseaseAngiodynamics, Inc.
- Exparel Use in Peripheral Nerve Blocks and Local Infiltration for Foot and Ankle SurgerySt. Luke's Hospital, Pennsylvania
- An Imaging Framework for Clinically Testing New Treatments to Prevent Post-traumatic OAJ L Marsh
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Ankle PainMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Diagnosis and Tests
- Ankle ProblemsAmerican Academy of Family Physicians
- Bone X-RayRadiological Society of North America
- Direct ArthrographyRadiological Society of North America
- Search the Foot and Ankle Conditions (Interactive Foot Diagram)American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons
- X-Ray Exam: Ankle (For Parents)Nemours Foundation
Treatments and Therapies
- Ankle CheilectomyAmerican Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society
- Distraction ArthroplastyAmerican Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society
- How to Tape an AnkleAmerican Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society
- What Is a Foot and Ankle Surgeon?American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons
Prevention and Risk Factors
- Prevent Foot and Ankle Running InjuriesAmerican College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons
Living With
- Ankle Sprain TreatmentAmerican Academy of Pediatrics
- Foot and Ankle Conditioning ProgramAmerican Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
- How to Strengthen Your Ankle after a SprainAmerican Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society
- How to Stretch Your Ankle after a SprainAmerican Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society
- Mobility Aids: MedlinePlus Health TopicNational Library of Medicine
Related Issues
- Bone HealingAmerican College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons
- Leg SwellingMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Statistics and Research
- Ankle Fractures Often Not DiagnosedAmerican College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons
- Smoking and Bone Healing - A Risky Surgical CombinationAmerican College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Ankle InjuriesNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Ankle Injuries, Ankle Fractures. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Ankle Injuries and Disorders, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.