Ankle syndesmosis injuries, also known as a high ankle sprain, commonly occur during high impact tackles or collisions that involve forced lateral rotation of the foot in ankle dorsiflexion. Syndesmosis injuries can be missed in the early stages as the degree of pain and swelling may not reflect the severity of the injury. Early diagnosis of syndesmosis injuries is key in preventing persistent pain, disability and limited ability to return to play or activity.

In Physio Edge podcast episode 80, English Premier League Physiotherapist Chris Morgan, and David Pope explore how to assess and diagnose ankle syndesmosis injuries (ASI), including:

• Questions you need to ask when your patient has had an ankle injury
• What is an ASI?
• What symptoms will your patient report following ASI?
• Ligaments and structures that are often involved in an ASI
• What is a "peeling injury", and how does this influence the structures that are injured?
• Common mechanism of injury
• How to assess, diagnose, classify and grade ASI
• How to differentiate between stable and unstable ASI
• Which tests can you perform to accurately diagnose ASI?
• Differential diagnosis
• Which injuries are likely to require surgical intervention, and which injuries may be managed conservatively?
• When imaging is useful
• What type of imaging to perform
• Identifying underlying chondral lesions
• Early management strategies

Upcoming podcast - How to treat ankle syndesmosis injuries with Chris Morgan

A subsequent podcast with Chris Morgan will discuss in detail how to treat ankle syndesmosis injuries . Download this podcast now to improve your assessment and diagnosis of ankle syndesmosis injuries.

Free webinar - Medial knee injuries with Chris Morgan

Chris Morgan's Physiotherapy roles in English Premier League with Liverpool and Crystal Palace have provided him with a lot of experience treating acute injuries, including the ankle and knee. To help you take advantage of this experience, Chris is presenting a Clinical Edge webinar on medial knee injuries. In his webinar Chris will discuss:

• Presentation of medial knee injuries
• How imaging findings correlate with clinical findings
• How to progress your rehabilitation and return players to performance
• Incorporating change of direction and trunk control into rehabilitation

You can CLICK HERE to access this free webinar

Links associated with this episode:

• Twitter - @ChrisMorgan10
• Let David Pope know what you liked about this podcast on Twitter
• Review the podcast on iTunes
• Like the podcast on Facebook
• Infographics by Clinical Edge

Articles associated with this episode:

• Morgan et al. 2014. Conservative management of syndesmosis injuries in elite football
• Sikka RS, Fetzer GB, Sugarman E, Wright RW, Fritts H, Boyd JL, Fischer DA. Correlating MRI findings with disability in syndesmotic sprains of NFL players. Foot & ankle international. 2012 May;33(5):371-8.
• Sman AD, Hiller CE, Rae K, Linklater J, Black DA, Nicholson LL, Burns J, Refshauge KM. Diagnostic accuracy of clinical tests for ankle syndesmosis injury. Br J Sports Med. 2015 Mar 1;49(5):323-9.
• Other episodes of interest:
• PE 017 - Injury reduction with Dr Peter Brukner
• PE 027 - Sports injury management with Dr Nathan Gibbs