A 32-year-old male basketball player comes down hard on his ankle. He is admitted to the outpatient clinic, and radiographic examination reveals a Pott's fracture. What ligament is most likely injured?
Pott's fracture is a rather archaic term for a fracture of the fibula at the ankle. The term is often used to indicate a bimalleolar fracture of fibula and tibia, perhaps with a tear in the medial collateral ligament, allowing the foot to be deviated laterally. (The medial malleolus will often break before the deltoid ligament tears.) This fracture is also known as Dupuytren's fracture. The fracture results from abduction and lateral rotation of the foot in extreme eversion. There can also be breaking of the posterior aspect of the distal tibia. The spring ligament, also known as the plantar calcaneonavicular ligament, extends from the calcaneus to the navicular bone and is a part of the medial longitudinal arch. This ligament would not be affected in eversion or inversion of the ankle. The plantar ligament, which is composed of the long and short plantar ligaments, supports the lateral longitudinal arch of the foot and would therefore not be affected by inversion or eversion of the foot. The calcaneofibular ligament runs from the calcaneus to the fibula. It would be injured during inversion of the foot, not in eversion, as is the case in a Pott fracture.
Calcaneofibular ligament
Deltoid ligament
Spring ligament
Plantar ligament
Lower Extremity