Summer - United States Special Operations Command

Field Evaluation and Management of Non-BattleRelated Knee and Ankle Injuries by the ATP in theAustere Environment — Part ThreeJF Rick Hammesfahr, MDEditor’s Note: Part Three consists of ankle injury evaluation and taping.Part Two (taping procedures for the various knee injuries) was published in the JSOM Spring 09, Vol 9 Ed 2.Part One (evaluation of knee injuries) was published in the JSOM Winter 09, Vol 9 Ed 1.ANKLEThe most commonly injured ankle ligament isthe anterior talo-fibular ligament (ATFL) located at theanterolateral aspect of the ankle (Figure 58).Figure 59: Plantarflexion and inversion ofthe ankle leads to abnormal stretching andtearing of the anterior talo-fibular ligament(ATFL).Figure 58: Anterior talo-fibular ligament locationat the anterolateral aspect of the ankle.With respect to ankle sprains and injury to theATFL, the typical mechanism of injury involves a forcedmotion that is best described as a plantarflexion – inversiondeforming force (Figure 59).This injury is often accompanied by a history ofa pop; the patient often states that they rolled their ankle;there is pain and swelling with the most intense area ofsymptoms located at the anterolateral aspect of the ankle.When intact, the ATFL goes from the distal aspectof the fibula to the talus. In this position, it acts asa checkrein to prevent abnormal posterior subluxationof the tibia relative to the talus (Figure 60).Figure 60: Intact AFTL preventssubluxation of the tibia and fibularcomplex relative to the talus.Field Evaluation and Management of Non-Battle Related Knee and Ankle Injuries by the ATP in theAustere Environment — Part Three1