Distal Fibula Fractures

Distal Fibula Fractures mean the lower part of fibular fracture is a result of repeated stress to the bone the fibula and cause fractures, injury, dislocation, with associate muscle and soft tissue injury in fibula by the high-energy axial compression force, twisting force when the foot is planted, Eversion force of the fibula during the times of driving vehicle, football, cricket, basketball-playing, pressuring break as it acts as a pestle, lead vertically fracture into the fibula.[rx] Proximal fibular fractures are associated with injuries to the lateral knee, including those of the lateral collateral ligament, tendon, and the posterolateral complex.

The level of fibular fracture is vital to work out when the fixation of this bone is indicated. In supra-syndesmotic fractures osteosynthesis results in a better incidence of nonunions. Fibular osteosynthesis could prevent malrotation and malalignment and is advisable in distal metaphyseal fracture of this bone (trans- or infrasyndesmotic lesion) with syndesmotic injury

Different Types of Fibular Fractures

‌There are differing types of fibular fractures. the sort you experience depends on the type of bone injury you’ve got, where it happened, and the way serious it’s. Here are a number of the foremost common fibular fractures.

• Lateral malleolus fractures: These are fibular fractures that happen at the ankle.
• ‌Fibular head fractures: These are fractures seen at the knee portion of the fibula bone.
• ‌Avulsion fractures: These fractures happen when a neighborhood of the bone is pulled away by the tendon or ligament attached thereto.
• Stress fractures: Stress fractures are a result of repeated stress to the bone and are most ordinarily seen in sports activities like long-distance running, basketball, tennis, gymnastics, dance, and track and field.
• ‌Fibular shaft fractures: These are fractures seen within the middle of the fibula bone.

Anatomy

The fibula is one of the 2 long bones within the leg, and, in contrast to the tibia, may be a non-weight bearing bone in terms of the shaft. Located posterolaterally to the tibia, it’s much smaller and thinner. At its most proximal part, it’s at the knee just posterior to the proximal tibia, running distally on the lateral side of the leg where it becomes the lateral malleolus at the extent of the ankle.

The fibula and tibia connect via an interosseous membrane, which attaches to a ridge on the medial surface of the fibula. there’s very limited mobility between this syndesmosis.

There are several distinct portions of the fibula in terms of structure, including the top, neck, shaft, and therefore the distal end termed the lateral malleolus. this text focuses on the shaft of the fibula, which may be located between the neck of the fibula, the narrowed portion just distal to the fibular head, and therefore the lateral malleolus, which together with the posterior and medial malleoli, form the ankle. Both the posterior and medial malleolus is a part of the distal end of the tibia.

The fibular shaft is an origin for multiple muscles of the leg, including muscles of the anterior compartment (extensor digitorum longus, extensor hallucis longus, peroneus tertius), the lateral compartment (peroneus longus, peroneus brevis), the superficial posterior compartment (soleus), and therefore the deep posterior compartment (tibialis posterior and flexor hallucis longus). The triangular shape of the fibula is dictated by the insertion points of the muscles on the shaft.

The superficial peroneal nerve innervates the musculature of the lateral compartment and is liable for eversion and, to a way milder degree, plantarflexion of the foot. Damage to the present nerve may end in deficits in those movements. The superficial peroneal nerve also gives sensation to the dorsum of the foot.

The deep peroneal nerve innervates the musculature of the anterior compartment and is liable for the dorsiflexion of the foot and toes. a standard result of damage to the deep peroneal nerve is drop foot, during which there’s a loss of the capacity to dorsiflex the foot. The deep peroneal nerve is liable for sensation over the primary dorsal web space.

Causes of Distal Fibula Fractures

The causes of Distal Fibula Fracturesare following

• The repetitive impact – to the lower limb bone with weight-bearing exercises, occupational work cause microfractures, which consolidate to stress fractures.[rx]
• Heavy impact – The force of a jump or fall down from height can result in a broken ankle. It can happen in foot bone fractures even if you jump from a low height.
• Missteps – You can cause a fracture of the ankle if you put your foot down awkwardly abnormally. Your ankle might twist or roll your foot joint to the side as you put weight on it. It can also happen in stare up or stare down unawkwardly.
• Sports – High-impact sports such as football cricket, hockey, volley boll involve intense movements that place stress on the joints, including the ankle bone fracture examples of high-impact sports include, cricket, racer of the bike, soccer, football, Horseback riding, Hockey, Skiing Snowboarding In-line skating, Jumping on a trampoline and basketball.
• Car collisions – The sudden, heavy impact of a car accident, bike accident can cause metatarsal bone fractures. Often, these types of injuries need surgical repair. The crushing types of injuries common in car accidents may cause breaks that require surgical repair.
• Falls from height – Tripping, and falling when walking on uneven surfaces can break bones in your ankles and metatarsal bone, phalanges fractures, as can landing on your feet after jumping down from just a slight height, sudden landings from the plane in the war field, violent trauma, etc.
• Driving and compressing in break – It is one of the major causes of foot microtrauma for the driver of the car, motorbike, truck, bus, bicycle runner. During the time of driving such kind of vehicle frequently have compress break to maintain the speed of the vehicle. Repeated compression causes, microtrauma, tendon, cartilage, ligament degeneration, and weakness that may lead to injury in the foot.
• Missteps – Sometimes just putting your foot down the wrong way can result in a twisting injury that can cause a broken bone. Fracture also occurs when stairs up or stairs down, especially older people.
• Unconsciously Toilet Use – It is a very common and day by day increasing incidence of fracture of the ankle joint, foot bone, metatarsal bones, tarsal bone, phalanges, especially high comodo using time and lower limb fractures.
• High hell Use – It is the most common cause of fracture in the ankle, foot, lower limb fracture, especially for women, abnormal arch, foot angle, the lake of the flat foot, abnormal sole of your footwear, muscle, tendon, cartilage, ligament weakness in the knee, ankle joints.
• On a battlefield – with the increasing of technology, nuclear weapons, one country is involved in the war from one country to another country. On the battlefield, millions of armies and general people are falling in injury that is gradually causing ankle, foot, metatarsal, tarsal bone fractures.
• Have osteoporosis –  a disease of your bone that weakens your bones gradually due to inadequate intake of calcium or vitamin D.
• Weak low muscle mass or poor muscle strength – lack agility or older age muscle strength, mass, power, endurance become weak, and poor balance conditions make you more likely to fall and cause a fracture.
• Walk or do other activities in the snow or on the ice – or do activities that require a lot of forwarding momenta, such as in-line skating and skiing,  Skiing Snowboarding, in-line skating, Jumping, playing lead to fracture of the bone in the lower limb.
• Insufficient vitamin D and sunlight – Insufficient vitamin D and sunlight decrease the intestinal absorption of calcium which leads to abnormal regulation of parathyroid hormone (PTH). Vitamin D also works to upregulate the transcription of genes involved in neovascularization in areas of endochondral ossification such as a healing fracture site. Vitamin D deficiency is typically characterized as a serum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 of less than 20 ng/mL and sufficiency is between 20 and 31 ng/mL.[rx]

Symptoms of Distal Fibula Fractures

Symptoms of  Distal Fibula Fractures of include

• Intense pain, swelling, tenderness, limited range of motion is the first
• May present with pain, swelling, tenderness, hematoma directly over the mid-foot in athletes, and construction workers may present with various pain and swelling over the foot which worsens with exercise and walking.
• Visible signs of deformity‌.
• ‌Inability to bear weight or take any form of pressure on the injured leg.
• ‌Bleeding, bruising, and laceration at the site of the fracture.
• Pain with or after normal activity
• Pain that goes away when resting time and then returns when standing, walking, or during activity
• Pinpoint pain at the site of the fracture when touched
• Swelling but no bruising may be present if it becomes microtrauma
• Bruising or discoloration that extends to nearby parts of the foot bones.
• Pain with walking and weight-bearing
• Swelling in the heel area
• Pain may decrease with rest but increases again with activity.
• Pain at the site of the fracture, which in some cases can extend from the foot to the knee.
• Significant swelling may occur along the length of the leg or may be more localized.
• Blisters may occur over the fracture site after some days.
• Bruising that develops soon after the injury time.
• Inability to walk; it is possible to walk with less severe breaks, and fractures so never rely on walking as a test of whether or not a bone has been fractured.
• Change in the color and appearance of the ankle will look different from the other ankle.
• Bone protruding fracture through the skin is a sign that immediate emergency care is needed. Fractures that pierce the skin require attention because they can lead to severe infection and take a prolonged time to recover.
• This pain may occur or feel in the setting of acute trauma or repetitive microtrauma over weeks to months. One should be suspicious of stress fracture with pain or pain of worsening quality or duration over time.

Diagnosis of Distal Fibula Fractures

Laboratory tests should be done as an adjunct in overall medical status for surgical treatment.

• CBC, ESR test
• Random blood sugar, glucose, and routine diabetes test if the patient has diabetes mellitus.
• Microscopic urine examination test, and stool test.
• ECG, EKG test for heart abnormality is present
• Ultrasonography test in some cases.
• Normalized hemoglobin, hematocrit test
• Coagulation profile with bleeding time and coagulation time test, prothrombin time (PT) test for surgery if needed,
• Thromboplastin time and platelet counts will be needed for operative intervention.
• Serum creatinine test,
• Serum lipid profile
• Serum uric acid test

Imaging Test

• X-Ray  – When cases amenable for radiographic evaluation are selected, three radiographic views should be obtained consistent with the American College of Radiology guidelines: anteroposterior (AP), lateral, and mortise view. The AP view is performed along the long axis of the foot. In isolated fibula fractures, this view is especially useful to gauge signs of the associated ankle and/or syndesmotic instability through the analysis of talus coronal inclination, tibiofibular overlap, tibiofibular clear space, and medial clear space (MCS). In the lateral view, the talar dome must be centered and congruent with the tibial plafond. This view is beneficial in isolated fibula fractures to demonstrate AP displacement and external rotation type fractures. The mortise view is taken by placing the foot on the table with about 15° of internal rotation. This visualization is beneficial in isolated fibula fractures to detect signs of associated syndesmosis instability and to get a transparent view of the lateral malleolus without other overlapping structures. it’s especially useful in undisplaced and incomplete fractures.
• CT Scan –  Given these findings, computerized tomography (CT) is the gold standard for diagnosis, though only 91% of fractures were properly evaluated with a CT scan at A level trauma center. CT should be a part of routine surveillance of ankle injuries that have swelling and pain disproportionate to radiographic findings, as 6.9% of talus fractures were undiagnosed at the time of presentation. Even when an x-ray demonstrates the fracture pattern, CT provides additional information on the degree of comminution, articular involvement, and surgical planning.
• Multi-Detector computerized tomography (MDCT) images have both higher sensibility and specificity than radiography. CT images are often more easily interpreted even when anatomical relations are subverted. MPR images should be performed along the anatomical axes of the foot. MDCT evaluation with MPR and VRT reconstruction is recommended to best assess fracture(s), anatomical relationship, degree of comminution, eventual intraarticular loose bodies. CT is additionally needed to guide management decisions and for surgical planning
• Ultrasound (US) and resonance Imaging (MRI) has a limited role within the acute setting of fractures. they will be useful during a re-evaluation for the evaluation of the soft-tissue injury, especially for the evaluation of the posterior talo-tibial ligament, calcaneus ligament.

Treatment of Distal Fibula Fractures

Initial Treatment Includes

• Get medical help immediately – If you fall on an outstretched leg, play cricket gets into a car accident, or are hit while playing a sport and feel intense pain in your leg area, then get medical care immediately. Cause significant pain in your leg, foot, ankle joint, and part of your leg closer to the base of your leg. If the accident is major you keep your leg at the same heart position and then clean and treat any wounds on the skin of the injured leg.
• Aggressive wound care – It is very important for patients to reach a safe position with the proper ventilation needed for contaminated wounds. Injured are clear with disinfectant material [rx]
• ICE and elevation – It help for prevention swelling, edema
• Rest – Sometimes rest is all, that is needed to treat a traumatic fracture of the foot, ankle, tarsal and metatarsal fracture. Sometimes rest is the only treatment needed to eradicate healing of a stress or traumatic fracture of a metatarsal bone fracture.
• Compression – a bandage will limit swelling, edema, and help to rest the joint. A tubular compression bandage is frequently used but should be removed at night by easing it off gradually. Put it on again before you are from out of bed in the morning. Mild to moderate pressure that is not too uncomfortable or too tight, and does not stop blood flow, is ideal. Depending on the amount of swelling. pain, edema you may be advised to remove the bandage for good after 48 hours.
• Elevation – Elevation initially aims to limit and reduce any swelling. For example, keep the foot upright on a chair or pillow to at least hip level when you are sitting. When you are in bed, put your foot on a pillow. Sometimes rest is the only treatment that is needed, even in fractures.
• Splinting – The toe may be fitted with a splint to keep it in a fixed position.
• Rigid or stiff-soled shoes – Wearing strong stiff-soled shoes to protect the toe and help keep it properly positioned. Use of a postoperative splint, shoe, or boot walker is also helpful.
• Avoid the offending activity – Because fractures result from repetitive stress, the trauma it is important to avoid the activity that led to the fracture more seriously. Crutches or a wheelchair, or other types of supporting splint are sometimes required to offload weight from the foot to give it time to heal.
• Immobilization, casting, or rigid shoe – A stiff-soled shoe or another form of immobilization may be used to protect the fractured bone while it is healing. The use of a postoperative shoe or boot walker is also helpful.
  
• Casting, or rigid shoe – A stiff-soled shoe or another form of immobilization may be used to protect the fractured bone while it is healing. The use of a postoperative shoe or boot walker is also helpful.
• Stop stressing the foot – If you’ve been diagnosed with a stress fracture, avoiding the activity that caused it is important for healing. This may mean using crutches or even a wheelchair.

Do no HARM for 72 hours after injury

• Heat – Heat applied to fracture and injured side by hot baths, electric heat, saunas, heat packs, etc has the opposite effect on the blood flow. Heat may cause more fluid accumulation in the fracture joints by encouraging blood flow. Heat should be avoided when inflammation is developing in the acute stage. However, after about 72 hours, no further inflammation is likely to develop and heat can be soothing.
• Alcohol –  stimulates the central nervous system that can increase bleeding and swelling and decrease healing.
• Running and movement – Running and walking may cause further damage, and causes healing delay.
• Massage – A massage also may increase bleeding and swelling. However, after 72 hours of your fracture, you can take a simple message, and applying heat may be soothing the pain.

Medication

The following medications may be considered by your doctor to relieve acute and immediate pain, long term treatment

• Antibiotic – Cefuroxime or Azithromycin, or  Flucloxacillin or any other cephalosporin/quinolone, meropenem antibiotic must be used to prevent infection or clotted blood removal to prevent further swelling, inflammation, and edema. Antibiotics should be administered as soon as possible within the prehospital setting or emergency department. One study suggested that antibiotic administration within three hours of injury decreases infection rates six-fold. A newer retrospective study by Lack, et al. indicated that if antibiotics got within 66 minutes of injury, the infection rate was 0%, but increased to 17% if antibiotics were delayed beyond this point frame.
• NSAIDs – Prescription-strength drugs that reduce both pain and inflammation. Pain medicines and anti-inflammatory drugs help to relieve pain and stiffness, allowing for increased mobility and exercise. There are many common over-the-counter medicines called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). They include first choice NSAIDs is Ketorolac, then Etoricoxib, then Aceclofenac, naproxen. As you are taking pain medication or NSAIDs, your doctor must prescribe a standard anti-ulcer drug, such as omeprazole, pantoprazole, esomeprazole, dexlansoprazole, etc.
• Muscle Relaxants –  These medications provide relief from spinal muscle spasms, spasticity.  Muscle relaxants, such as baclofen, tolperisone, eperisone, methocarbamol, carisoprodol, and cyclobenzaprine, may be prescribed to control postoperative muscle spasms, spasticity, stiffness, contracture.
• Calcium & vitamin D3 – To improve bone health, blood clotting, helping muscles to contract, regulating heart rhythms, nerve functions, and healing fractures. As a general rule, too absorbed more minerals for men and women age 50 and older should consume 1,200 milligrams of calcium a day, and 600 international units of vitamin D a day to heal back pain, fractures, osteoarthritis.
• Neuropathic Agents – Drugs(pregabalin & gabapentin) that address neuropathic—or nerve-related—pain. This includes burning, numbness, tingling sensation, and paresthesia.
• Glucosamine & Diacerein, Chondroitin sulfate – can be used to tighten the loose tendon, cartilage, ligament, and cartilage, ligament regenerates cartilage or inhabits the further degeneration of cartilage, ligament. The dosage of glucosamine is 15oo mg per day in divided dosage and chondroitin sulfate approximately 500mg per day in different dosages, and diacerein minimum of 50 mg per day may be taken if the patient suffers from osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and any degenerative joint disease.[rx]
• Topical Medications and essential oil – These prescription-strength creams, gels, ointments, patches, and sprays help relieve pain and inflammation in acute trauma, pain, swelling, tenderness through the skin. If the fracture is closed and not open fracture then you can use this item.
•  Antidepressants – A drug that blocks pain messages from your brain and boosts the effects of endorphins in your body’s natural painkillers. It also helps in neuropathic pain, anxiety, tension, and proper sleep.
• Corticosteroids – Also known as oral steroids, these medications reduce inflammation. To heal the nerve inflammation and clotted blood in the joints.
• Dietary supplement – To eradicate the healing process from fracture your body needs a huge amount of vitamin C, and vitamin E. From your dietary supplement, you can get it, and also need to remove general weaknesses &  improved health.
• Cough Syrup – If your doctor finds any chest congestion or fracture-related injury in your chest, dyspnoea, post-surgical breathing problem, then advice you to take bronchodilator cough syrup.
• Teriparatide – Teriparatide may be a recombinant human parathormone (PTH) that stimulates osteoblasts to grow new bone cells when given intermittently. Use in treatment for osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, all kind of fractures has been shown to be successful results, and there are now some scientists to support the use it in treating fractures and nonunions. The medication was administered via daily injections of 20 μg about a month[rx] [rx]

What To Eat and What  to avoid

Eat Nutritiously During Your Recovery

All bones and tissues in the body need certain micronutrients in order to heal properly and in a timely manner. Eating a nutritious and balanced diet that includes lots of minerals and vitamins is proven to help heal broken bones and all types of fractures. Therefore, focus on eating lots of fresh food produce (fruits and veggies), whole grains, cereal, beans, lean meats, seafood, and fish to give your body the building blocks needed to properly repair your fracture. In addition, drink plenty of purified mineral water, milk, and other dairy-based beverages to augment what you eat.

• Broken bones or fractures bones need ample minerals (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, boron, selenium, omega-3) and protein to become strong and healthy again.
• Excellent sources of minerals/protein include dairy products, tofu, beans, broccoli, nuts and seeds, sardines, sea fish, and salmon.
• Important vitamins that are needed for bone healing include vitamin C (needed to make collagen that your body essential element), vitamin D (crucial for mineral absorption, or machine for mineral absorber from your food), and vitamin K (binds calcium to bones and triggers more quickly collagen formation).
• Conversely, don’t consume food or drink that is known to impair bone/tissue healing, such as alcoholic beverages, sodas, fried fast food, most fast food items, and foods made with lots of refined sugars and preservatives.

Surgery

Surgically treatment depends on the individual fracture characteristics, the size of fractures, the degree of displacement, the location, comminution, the condition of integrity of the soft tissues of the foot, the presence of associate bones, ligament injuries on the foot, comorbidities, and overall functional movement status.[rx]

Fibular nailing

Fibular nailing is taken into account as a legitimate alternative method of fixation for distal fibula fractures. the utilization of intramedullary fibula fixation was first introduced within the mid-1980s to scale back complications of the normal plating techniques. However, early attempts in intramedullary fibula fixation, like using rush rods, Inyo nail, K. wires, etc., showed several complications and failures thanks to poor rotational and longitudinal stability, which led to a loss of reduction, malunion, and nail migration. As a result, modern locking fibula nails are developed to scale back such complications. Modern fibula nails are designed with proximal and distal locking fixation systems. the utilization of proximal and distal locking screws also as of intersyndesmotic screws if needed, allows optimal fracture stability with consequent advantages on early weight-bearing. the utilization of a contemporary fibula intramedullary nail should be considered especially in cases of suffering skin and/or patients with severe comorbidities. Several authors compared the results of plating and nailing for internal fixation of the fibula in ankle fractures, and most of them show no differences in functional outcome.

External fixation

Four cases (3.4 %) were treated with external fixation. There was also an underlying nonunion/delayed union of a concomitant fracture of the tibia. Three cases (75 %) eventually healed at 12 months, and one (25 %) still remained united at six months.

Drilling

Drilling of pseudoarthrosis is performed to stimulate osteosynthesis. Sneppen treated one case (16 %) of lateral malleolar pseudoarthrosis with drilling and reported bony union at around four months.

Open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) ± bone grafting (BG)

Open reduction and internal fixation in direct compression mode with or without bone grafting lead to the successful healing of symptomatic fibular nonunions. Forty-four cases (36.9 %) of all nonunions were treated with ORIF ± BG. Hypertrophic nonunion primarily requires fracture site stabilization with compression plating. Bone grafting wasn’t routinely needed unless there was significant malalignment or bone defect. Atrophic nonunion required both fracture stability and an optimum biological environment at the fracture site. Often, it had been necessary to resect the nonviable bone and animal tissue, and therefore the defect was crammed with autologous bone graft. Konig and Gotzen reported complete alleviation of symptoms and bony union in four cases (66 %) which were treated with plate osteosynthesis of the fibula. Ebraheim et al. treated eight cases (47 %), Walsh and DiGiovanni treated four cases (66 %) and Siliski et al. treated 18 cases (69 %) with plate osteosynthesis and autologous bone grafting and reported good outcomes with bony union altogether cases. In recent years, the bulk of symptomatic Weber B fracture nonunions are successfully treated with ORIF and autologous bone grafting.

Bone graft only

Seven cases (5.9 %) of nonunion of the fibula were treated with a bone grafting of the fracture site only. Sneppen treated two cases of lateral malleolar pseudoarthrosis with an autologous inlay bone graft applied on the pseudoarthrosis defect without resecting the animal tissue, and healing occurred within three months in one case and within a year within the other. Mendelsohn treated one case with autologous bone graft only, but the patient remained symptomatic even after 18 months. Walsh and DiGiovanni reported significant symptomatic improvement during a case of nonunion of the fibula treated with burr resection and curettage of the nonunion with autologous bone grafting harvested from the calcaneus. Ebraheim et al treated three cases of nonunion of the fibula with an accompanying tibial fracture with posterolateral bone graft only and reported bony union in two cases between 19 and 28 months. The third patient was lost in follow-up.

Arthrodesis

Two fibular nonunion cases (1.6 %) required ankle arthrodesis [2, 13]. one among them, an open ankle fracture, was treated with immediate internal fixation and subsequently developed a chronic infection.

Excision

If the ununited fragment of the fibula was very small and distal, it had been excised within the symptomatic patients. Two cases (1.6 %) were treated with excision of the ununited distal piece; one among them had lateral ligament (modified Bröstrom) reconstruction to supply continued ankle stability postoperatively.

Segmental resection

Segmental resection or partial fistulectomy provided significant symptomatic relief during a patient with painful hypertrophic fibular nonunion. One to 5 centimeters of the fibula around the nonunion site was resected. Generally, it should be considered in nonunions involving the center third of the shaft of the fibula. so as to preserve normal ankle and knee mechanics, the published recommendation is to form the foremost distal and proximal resection a minimum of 5 to 6 centimeters from the respective ends of the fibula. Overall, seven cases (5.9 %) were treated by segmental resection which resulted in complete resolution of pain.

References