Ankle Dislocation Robert Griffin RG III

ankle dislocation

ankle dislocation

ankle dislocation fixed with Taylor spatial frame

So by now you heard about Robert Griffin the third and his ankle dislocation. What does that mean and what are its implications. After watching the video carefully the mechanism of injury is one that the foot everts from under the leg. Another way to say it is that the leg and the foot instead of aligning straight the foot was forced into an extreme position away from the leg. This is less common than the usual ankle sprain where the foot rolls in and under the leg, his rolled out and away from the leg. The main concern when this happens it an extreme pull on the posterior tibial nerve and artery, that can cause severe nerve damage and loss of feeling in the foot. In this case there was no associated fracture but sometimes that is not the case. Even if there is no fracture the ligaments are probably torn. Also another concern is the posterior tibial tendon can get caught under the medial malleolus of the ankle. That can require surgery to put back in the proper position. The ligaments that we are concerned with are the deltoid ligament complex and it is important to evaluate the syndesmotic ligament of the ankle and sometimes the spring ligament of the foot. An MRI is best for evaluating all those structures. If the foot is going numb or there is a loss of color to the foot or toes ( they are turning white) that is a surgical emergency and the dislocation must be immediately reduced.

The big concern is what is the recovery. How quickly can one get back to playing professional football. The answer lies in how extensive was the damage and if surgery is necessary. if surgery is necessary his season is over. If not he may be able to make it back if the Redskins make it to the playoffs. It will be interesting to see over the next few days when more extensive reports about his MRI are released.