Frequently missed findings in acute ankle injury

Most acute ankle injuries involve the lateral ligament complex. There are several other structures that can be injured during acute ankle trauma and therefore can be responsible for the patient's acute presentation or for continuing pain. Some of these injuries are less common than others and thus can be more frequently missed during the initial patient presentation. Continued pain and disability following acute ankle trauma that is not responding to routine conservative treatment should alert the clinician and the radiologist for the possibility of injuries other than the common lateral ligament sprain. In this article we describe those injuries that are often overlooked during acute ankle assessment. These include the less common ankle ligaments injuries, fractures, and tendon-related abnormalities.