Early postoperative ankle exercise. A study of postoperative lateral malleolar fractures

Fifty-three patients with dislocated lateral malleolar fractures were randomly selected after operation for either active ankle movement and weight bearing in an orthosis or no ankle movement but weight bearing in a walking cast. At follow-up examinations after three, six, and 18 months, no differences were found between the groups except for a better linear analogue scale result at three months for the orthosis group. Active ankle movements do not improve the rehabilitation of surgically treated lateral malleolar fractures.