How to Tell If Your Ankle Is Broken

Aside from pain, broken ankle symptoms may not be obvious. Your ankle may be bruised and swollen, and you may have trouble bearing weight on it. However, without an X-ray or other special imaging, it can be tough to tell if an ankle is broken, sprained, or even dislocated.

This article explains how to tell if your ankle is broken.

An illustration of a patient having their ankle x-rayed by a healthcare provider.

Illustration by Michela Buttignol for Verywell Health

1

Joint Deformity

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swollen ankle
Leslie Antonis

The term joint deformity refers to an alteration in the natural shape of a bone or joint—in this case, the ankle. Joint deformities can be congenital, meaning that a person is born with it, or they can be acquired, for example, when the ankle is broken or dislocated.

Your ankle may seem deformed or twisted at an odd angle if it is severely swollen. A broken bone may also be visibly misshapen if it is partially or totally displaced and protruding from its normal position.

2

Bruising

This photo contains content that some people may find graphic or disturbing.

bruised and swollen ankle
Leslie Antonis

Bruising is another common sign of a broken ankle.

Bruising or discoloration is from blood. Usually, blood is contained in the blood vessels (arteries and veins). After an injury, blood leaks out of the blood vessels and pools in the flesh and muscle, where you can see it.

There’s one more sign commonly associated with broken bones: crepitus. Crepitus can't be seen, but it can be felt. It’s the broken bits of bone grinding on each other with movement or manipulation of the injury. To the person feeling for it, it can be described as a bag of gravel.

3

Swelling

Elderly woman with swollen feet putting on shoes

Toa55 / Getty Images

One way to tell if an ankle is broken or sprained is to observe how quickly it swells. Typically, an ankle that is sprained will swell gradually, while an ankle that is broken will swell immediately. Also, compared to a sprained ankle, inflammation in a broken ankle tends to be more severe.

It can take weeks for the swelling to go down and return to normal, and even longer if you do not give your ankle the rest and stabilization that it needs to recover.

4

Intense Pain

Two runners help runner with broken ankle

FatCamera / Getty Images

A broken ankle will cause immediate, severe pain. Often described as sharp or shooting, the pain may shoot up from your ankle toward your knee, or down into your foot. The pain will also intensify if you try to bear weight on your ankle.

5

Inability to Bear Weight

Young girl with broken ankle writes on cast

ediebloom / Getty Images

The immediate swelling and sharp pain from an ankle break actually serve an important purpose: to get you off of your foot as soon as possible. In most cases, a person with a broken ankle will fall right to the ground upon injury, and will have immense pain and difficulty if they try to bear weight on the ankle after that.

If a healthcare provider diagnoses you with an ankle fracture, they will likely place your foot and ankle in a cast. The cast, along with a mobility aid (i.e., crutches or wheelchair), will function to keep your ankle stable and prevent you from placing weight on it until it is completely healed.

Summary

A broken ankle usually causes immediate, severe symptoms. Upon injury, there is typically a sharp pain that may shoot toward the knee or foot. The ankle and surrounding tissues will quickly become inflamed, making it unbearable to place any body weight on the ankle. A broken ankle that is grossly swollen or that has a protruding bone may also appear deformed.

5 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. Hospital for Special Surgery. Ankle fractures (broken ankle).

  2. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Ankle fractures (broken ankle).

  3. Inklebarger J, Rimbault MT, Joshi T, Whitehouse K. The TOAST (Traction On Ankle Stress Test): a supplemental clinical and dynamic ultrasound examination approach for focal assessment of axial ankle joint instability. Int J Med Sci and Clin Invent. 2021;8(06):5442-5446. doi:10.18535/ijmsci/v8i06.02

  4. Beacon Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine. Broken ankle or a sprain?.

  5. YaleMedicine. Broken ankle (ankle fracture).

Rod Brouhard, EMT-P

By Rod Brouhard, EMT-P
Rod Brouhard is an emergency medical technician paramedic (EMT-P), journalist, educator, and advocate for emergency medical service providers and patients.