Evaluating the weight bearing status of stable Weber B ankle fractures

E. Iliopoulos, T. Voller, R. Freeman, N. Hossain

Introduction: Stable Weber B ankle fractures are treated with a walking boot for six weeks with instructions to fully weight bear. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the amount of weight patients manage to apply through the boot during their treatment and the amount of support the boot provides to them.

Materials and methods: All the adult patients treated with the above mentioned protocol between December 2017 and April 2018 were included to the study. Functional outcomes measured with the FADI and COST questionnaires and weight bearing radiographs were obtained at 2 and 6 weeks after the injury. The patients were asked to weight bear with and without the boot in order to measure the amount of weight going through the injured limb.

Results: Data from a total of 77 follow up appointments were collected and analysed. Most of the patients were female (61%) and their mean age was 56.3 ±18 years (mean BMI 29 ±7). At the 6-weeks follow-up the functional scores reached almost normal values (72.1 ±15.8 for FADI and 50 ±17 for COST score). At the 2 weeks follow up, 73.5% of the patients were able to weight bear fully with and without the boot. Of the remaining 26.5%, 9.8% patients were able to put full weight through the boot only. The boot improved the weight bearing status of these patients significantly (p=0.05) by 23% of their body weight. All of the patients (100%) were able to weight bear fully with and without the boot at the 6-weeks follow-up.

Conclusion: Conservative treatment for stable Weber B ankle fractures lead to good functional outcomes. For 73.5% of the patients at the early phases of their treatment the walking boot does not aid their weight bearing but for the remaining improves significantly the weight bearing status.