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If Your Ankle Doesn't Heal After a Sprain, It May Not Be a Simple Injury: Neglected Ligament Tears Hardening into Chronic Instability

The moment of twisting an ankle can happen to anyone. An ankle sprain, occurring while going down stairs, walking on uneven ground, or during a sudden twist while exercising, is one of the most common foot and ankle injuries. Most people assume it will improve after a few days of rest, but if similar injuries repeat or a persistent feeling of the ankle shaking continues, one should suspect an ankle ligament tear rather than a simple sprain.

An ankle ligament tear occurs when a ligament goes beyond being simply stretched and is partially or completely broken due to a twist. If severe swelling and bruising spread quickly after an injury, pain persists when bearing weight, or the ankle feels unstable and frequently gives way, there is a high possibility of ligament damage. The problem is that many patients neglect the injury without receiving proper initial treatment. Some believe that wearing a full cast for a long time or receiving injections whenever it hurts will heal the injury, but the recovery of a torn ligament depends on the degree of damage, and it is difficult to achieve full recovery through a cast alone.

Continuing daily life in a state where the ligament has not properly healed leads to chronic ankle instability. As the neuromuscular control and proprioception around the ankle also decrease, a vicious cycle of injury repeats, eventually leading to recurring damage to the ankle cartilage and progression to early-onset ankle arthritis. This is why a problem that initially appeared to be a simple sprain becomes more complex to treat over time.

Director Hong-Joon Choi of Seoul Gunwoo Orthopedic Clinic, located near Gangil Station in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, emphasizes, "If an ankle ligament tear is not accurately diagnosed and appropriately treated in the early stages, it hardens into chronic instability and can even lead to cartilage damage and ankle arthritis. If symptoms repeat or you feel your ankle constantly shaking, I strongly recommend receiving a precise examination."

Seoul Gunwoo Orthopedic Clinic accurately identifies the degree and scope of ligament damage, as well as the presence of accompanying cartilage damage, through ultrasound and MRI scans, and provides a full explanation while reviewing the results with the patient. The treatment direction is determined by comprehensively evaluating the degree of ligament damage, the patient's age and activity level, and whether the condition has become chronic. If the initial degree of rupture is not severe, non-surgical treatment and rehabilitation are carried out concurrently while the progress is monitored, and the treatment method is periodically re-evaluated.

Surgical treatment is necessary if symptoms persist despite conservative treatment or if the ligament damage is severe. Seoul Gunwoo Orthopedic Clinic performs ligament suturing using an arthroscope to minimize the burden of pain and scarring according to the patient's condition. This method involves inserting an endoscope through a small incision to suture from the anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) to the connection point of the calcaneofibular ligament (CFL), with a typical surgery time of 20 to 30 minutes and a hospitalization period of 1 to 3 days. A significant advantage is the ability to directly check for inflammation and cartilage damage inside the joint and treat accompanying problems simultaneously. Director Choi explains, "Patients with ankle ligament tears often have accompanying cartilage damage, so checking and treating both ligament and cartilage issues at once through an arthroscope helps reduce the burden on the patient."

In treating an ankle ligament tear, rehabilitation is a process as important as the surgery itself. After surgery, the strength and proprioception of the ankle must be restored and walking function normalized through a step-by-step rehabilitation program. If rehabilitation is not sufficiently carried out, instability may recur even after surgery. Seoul Gunwoo Orthopedic Clinic manages the entire process so that patients can safely return to their daily lives after surgery through a systematic rehabilitation program.

If ankle pain repeats or a sense of instability continues, please do not consider it a mere habit and receive an accurate diagnosis. Director Hong-Joon Choi of Seoul Gunwoo Orthopedic Clinic holds a Ph.D. from Korea University and is a foot and ankle specialist who served as an exchange professor at the Foot and Ankle Center of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), affiliated with Harvard Medical School. Based on his rich clinical experience of treating over 80,000 foot and ankle patients and performing approximately 9,000 surgeries, he is dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of all foot and ankle disorders, including hallux valgus, ankle ligament and cartilage damage, plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, ankle arthritis, Morton's neuroma, and tailor's bunion. Please receive an accurate diagnosis and customized treatment at Seoul Gunwoo Orthopedic Clinic, which does its best for the foot health of patients in the Gangdong, Hanam, and Misa areas.

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