Occupational Outcomes and Return to Running Following Internal Fixation of Ankle Fractures in a High-Demand Population

Background:Literature evaluating surgical outcomes after ankle fixation in an active patient population is limited. This study determined occupational outcomes and return to running following ankle fracture fixation in a military cohort.Methods:All service members undergoing ankle fracture fixation at a single military hospital from August 2007 to August 2012 were reviewed. Univariate analysis determined the association between patient demographic information, type of fracture fixation, and the development of posttraumatic ankle arthritis and functional outcomes, including medical separation, return to running, and reoperation. Seventy-two primary ankle fracture fixation procedures were performed on patients with mean age of 29.1 years. The majority of patients were male (88%), were 25 years of age or older (61%), were of junior rank (57%), underwent unimalleolar fracture fixation (78%), and did not require syndesmotic fixation (54%). The average follow-up was 35.9 months.Results:The mean time to radiogra...