Ankle Anatomy

How many bones make up the ankle? The tibia, fibula, and talus is three. The previous post showed the bones of the foot with all it’s 33 joints, but moving up the chair, we have three bones. 

Image: https://www.theskeletalsystem.net/ankle-bones

The foot bones are made for stability, as previously mentioned. The ankle joint, however, is made for mobility-that means movement. The foot keeps us stable with it’s bones, tendons, and ligaments, but the ankle keeps us moving!

There is greater range of motion in the ankle and it can move in 4 directions: dorsi-flexion, plantar flexion, eversion and inversion. Because there is so much mobility in this joint and it’s the main weight bearing joint, it is prone to injury. The most common injury being a sprained ankle. This typically happens when we misstep and “roll” the ankle. In order to keep ankles and feet strong, stable and mobile, stay tuned to the next few weeks’ posts!