Cost-effectiveness of weight bearing in ankle fractures

Each day approximately 200 patients sustain an ankle fracture in the UK. Immediate effects include pain, swelling and physical impairment which can persist. This can lead to prolonged work absence and later, to posttraumatic arthritis and psychological consequences.

Ankle fracture surgery is a commonly carried out NHS operation with over 9,000 of these procedures performed per year. The operation is well established and standardised. However, post-operative mobilisation strategies are variable.

This study involves the conduct of a prospective economic evaluation conducted alongside a multi-centre, multi-surgeon, parallel, two arm, randomised non-inferiority clinical trial comparing Early weight-bearing (at 2 weeks post op) versus Delayed weight-bearing (at 6 weeks post op).