An unusual ankle injury in top skiers

Although skiers' feet are immobilized in extremely rigid boots, ligamentous lesions of the ankle may occur, especially in world class slalom skiers. The lesion arises when a sudden external rotation of the ankle causes the talus to press against the fibula and thus open the distal tibiofibular articulation. This study reports on a group of 10 skiers recruited between 1975 and 1986. These are professional skiers participating in World Cup races. Three patients underwent an operation for lesion of the tibiofibular syndesmosis, while the other seven were treated conservatively. All were able to resume their previous level of competition and only one skier later complained of painful instability in distal tibiofibular joint.