These injuries most commonly occur as the result of a distortion of the foot during supination, typically affecting the medial compartment and resulting in persistent pain and functional limitation.
Patients (often professional athletes) report numerous ankle sprains, persistence of pain, limited range of movement and swelling.
Varus-valgus and drawer tests can have very positive results in these cases. X-rays are not sufficiently accurate to use in these cases, MRI’s give a better picture of osteochondral fractures as well as any displaced fragments.
Treatments for these injuries vary depending on the severity of the lesion. As long as a 4th level lesion is not found (a lesion with a displaced fragment which can only be dealt with surgically) a conservative rehabilitation-based treatment can begin.
Cartilage lesion surgery
Cartilage lesions are often observed as the result of wear on the knee joint through repetitive movements, although they are equally common as the result of a sports injury.
Treatment here can be conservative, or surgical in more severe cases. Either way, we can effectively treat this type of knee injury using our own conservative rehabilitation process, or through planning a specialised post-surgical rehabilitation programme.