Prompt Action Crucial For Ankle Injuries, By Dr Nicholas Yeo

The past 5 years has seen orthopaedic cases increasing among young Singaporeans. This, according to experts, are mainly due to the rising participation of this demographic in physical activities or sports. The most common among injuries sustained seem to revolve around the ankle.

In a recent webinar for sports related medicine, Dr Nicholas Yeo shared about this type of injury and the treatment options available. He also stressed on the importance of prevention and early treatment that are key to better management of injury and pain.

In his presentation, he touched on the importance of stretching before engaging in physical activity to avoid injury. If injury does indeed occur, one has the option to opt for non-surgical treatments such as physiotherapy. However, if the injury is more serious, one can decide to undergo traditional or minimally-invasive surgery.

Dr Nicholas Yeo began by elaborating on the various types of ankle injuries in varying degrees of seriousness. He then went on to share about the treatment options for injuries depending on how grave the damage is; with the less serious needing non-surgical treatment and the more serious needing surgery to repair the ankle injury.

Physiotherapy is what is usually recommended for light injuries and this will involve external physical treatment and a period of physiotherapy sessions. When it comes to the more serious injuries that cannot be repaired with mere physiotherapy, some form of surgery is necessary to correct the injury.

Dr Nicholas Yeo explained that there are 2 types of surgery that can be employed for treatment, namely traditional, invasive surgery and the minimally-invasive or “keyhole” surgery.

In recent years, Dr Nicholas Yeo shared, more patients are electing to have the minimally-invasive or keyhole surgery these days rather than traditional surgery.The most compelling reason for this is that keyhole surgery involves a smaller incision, the patient experiences less pain and recovery time is shorter.

Bearing in mind that patients are mostly the active type or they are even athletes – keyhole offers the added benefit of the patient returning to the sport of their choice sooner than if they were treated with the traditional invasive surgery. Dr Nicholas Yeo also pointed out that taking quick action when injury occurs is key to prevent the injury from getting more serious.

More importantly, as the old adage goes “prevention is better than cure” – active individuals should engage in a good stretching session before elevating the intensity of their sporting activity. Many people take this part of their workout regimen and experience the peril of regret later.

Dr Nicholas Yeo’s sharing was followed by a Q & A session where the doctor ably answered questions fielded by participants of the webinar.