Ankle Instability
Ross Hauser, M.D.

The foot and ankle structures are amazing. A unique complex unit composed of 26 bones can bear the full body weight on standing and is able to transport the human body at amazing speeds. It is frightening to think of the forces placed on these structures during athletic events. The peak impact force produced by a basketball player during a landing from a jump may exceed seven times the athlete's body weight!1

The ankle and foot are composed primarily of a mass of bones in a sea of ligaments. The ligaments hold the 26 bones together. An injury to any ligament will cause mechanical alterations that affect the whole foot/ankle complex. The most common injury in the ankle is a sprain. A sprain is defined as an injury to a ligament. The sprain typically occurs in the lateral ligament complex. This is classically described as the anterior talofibular ligament (ATF), the calcaneofibular ligament (CF), and the posterior talofibular ligament (PTF). These ligaments, as well as others, have been described in a study involving the ligaments of 72 ankles treated surgically. The morphology of the ligaments in 30 dissected specimens is described in the figure above.2,3

1. Sport Research Review, July/August 1988, Beaverton, OR, Nike, Inc.
2. Aderson, K. Operative treatment of injury to the fibular collateral ligament of the ankle. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. 1954; 36A:825-832.
3. Ruth, C. The surgical treatment of injuries of the fibular collateral ligaments of the ankle. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. 1961; 43A:229-239.

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