The talus bone is a bone in your ankle located towards the top part of the back of your foot. It serves as a perch for the tibia and holds the weight of your entire body. The talus is considered a short bone and is one of the main bones of the ankle.

The talus bone is a little longer than 5 centimeters in women and a bit over 6 centimeters in men. A fracture of the talus bone is a significant injury that can affect the function of your ankle and usually requires surgery.

Talus Bone Anatomy

The talus is a very compact and hard bone making up a part of the ankle joint where the tibia (shin bone) and fibula meet the foot. It is found at the top of the foot and is one of seven tarsal bones.

The talus is 5-6 centimeters long and is covered with cartilage to help cushion the movements the talus makes as part of both the ankle and the foot.

The talus is connected to the tibia at the top (superior), the calcaneus to both the back (posterior) and below (inferior), the navicular to the front (anterior), and the cuboid below (inferior). Blood is supplied to the talus through the posterior tibial, anterior tibial, and peroneal arteries. The posterior tibial artery is the main blood supply for the talus.

The parts of the talus include the following:

Head, which connects to the navicular, the neck
Dome, which connects to the tibia
Posterior facet, which connects to the calcaneus
Anterior facet, which connects to the cuboid

There are protuberances on the back and side called the posterior process and the lateral process. There is a depression under the talus called the sulcus tali.

The word "talus" comes from the Latin word for dice, as Roman soldiers used this bone from horses to make dice for games of chance.

Function

The talus is pivotal to the function of the ankle. When viewed together within the ankle and in relation to the other tarsal bones, it has the look of a universal joint on a car's driveshaft. The talus works the same way, allowing the connecting bones of the ankle to slide around it in multiple directions while supporting weight.

The talus is the main bone that connects the ankle with the lower leg. The talus serves as the connection point for several bones and takes on a lot of force when twisting or sudden weight is applied to the foot and ankle.

Talus Bone Fracture

The most common injury of the talus is through a twisting motion. This can lead to very small, painful fractures of the talus, as well as damage to the connective tissue and cartilage surrounding it. Talus bone pain from a fracture is typically felt in the ankle.

Talus bone fractures were once uncommon, but newer mechanisms of injury have increased their incidence. Snowboarders, for example, have seen an increase in fractures of the lateral process of the talus.

Because a fracture of the talus bone on an x-ray can be subtle in appearance, these types of injuries are sometimes overlooked.

Illustration by Alexandra Gordon, Verywell

Severe ankle fractures or twisting can result in a fracture of the talus. Outside of twisting motion, it usually takes quite a bit of force to fracture the talus, which may occur due to falls from great heights or from head-on car accidents. Older people have a higher potential for talus fractures.

Until the 20th century, talus fractures were rarely documented. In 1919, doctors noticed an increase of talus fractures that came from airplane crashes. The same types of injuries occur today in high-speed car accidents and falls from very high places.

Talus fractures are classified from type 1 to type 4:

Type 1 talus fractures have a clear vertical fracture line, but very little, if any, separation of the two parts of the talus and it remains in the proper anatomical position within the ankle. Only one of the three blood vessels supplying the talus is typically affected. A type 1 talus fracture usually heals well without any necrosis (death) of the bone.
Type 2 talus fractures have a clear separation across the fracture, but the talus still remains mostly in place within the ankle. In a type 2 talus fracture, the bone can be reduced (put back together) almost always, but there can be some long-term damage and possible necrosis of the bone. In this case, two out of the three arteries feeding the talus could be damaged.
Type 3 talus fractures have the same sort of separation as a type 2 fracture with the addition of an ankle dislocation. This means the position of the bones around the talus is affected and might not fit together the same way they would if there wasn't an injury. Disruption of all three blood vessels is common in a type 3 talus fracture and necrosis of the bone can occur.

Type 4 talus fractures include not only the dislocation of the body of the talus (the posterior portion) from the calcaneus but also the separation of the head of the talus from the other tarsal bones anterior to it. This could be a subtle difference to a type 3 talus fracture and was not originally part of the classification system.

How can you tell if your talus is fractured?

Regardless of the type of talus fracture, symptoms run in a similar vein and include:

Pain
Swelling and deformity of the ankle
Inability to bear weight
Decreased range of motion
Tenderness

Treatment of talus fractures depends on the severity and will include a combination of:

Surgery
Immobilization
Physical therapy
Crutches or other weight relief
Pain relief

Long-term complications of talus fractures can include arthritis and multiple surgeries.

Congenital Vertical Talus

Congenital vertical talus is a rare genetic deformity of the talus that happens in utero and is diagnosed at birth. Vertical talus is painless at birth, but if left untreated can become extremely painful for the patient.

Usually, vertical talus is corrected with surgery at around 9 months to 1 year of age. Prior to that age, some doctors might recommend trying nonsurgical treatments, such as special shoes or braces.

If vertical talus is not corrected during childhood, repairing it in adults is extremely difficult and will require multiple surgeries.

Treatment

Injuries to the talus require high-energy trauma and may take weeks to months to fully recover. Stable fractures, listed above as type 1 talus fractures, are those in which the bone is still in the proper anatomical position. Those are the only types of talus fractures that can reasonably be treated without surgery.

More severe talus fractures that are considered unstable, meaning the bones have shifted out of place, will require surgery to put the bones back where they belong and secure them. The bones will often be held in place with screws.

You should not walk on a broken talus during the beginning of the recovery period, up to the first eight to 12 weeks. Weight reduction includes wearing a cast and using crutches or a knee scooter.

Talus bone fracture recovery time

If you've fractured your talus bone, you will probably need to wear a cast for six to eight weeks. It may be as long as two to three months before you'll be able to put your full weight on your foot.

Despite the need to keep weight off of a healing talus, your healthcare provider may encourage you to begin moving your ankle as soon as possible. If you had surgery, your surgeon will probably suggest movement as soon as the wound heals. If you did not have surgery, you may be advised to move your ankle as soon as the cast is removed.

Once it is possible to begin bearing weight on your ankle again, the doctor is likely to suggest a gradual introduction to weight-bearing. Usually, this will include wearing an orthopedic boot to distribute weight across multiple areas in the foot and direct weight to higher on the leg.

Summary

The talus bone is a bone in your ankle that helps support the bones in your lower leg. Talus bone injuries are painful and can cause difficulty walking.

A talus bone fracture can occur during an incident such as a sports or car accident. If you fracture your talus bone, you will have to wear a cast to give the bone time to heal. Some talus bone fractures require surgery.

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.

Caracchini G, Pietragalla M, De Renzis A, et al. Talar fractures: Radiological and CT evaluation and classification systems. Acta Biomed. 2018;89(1-S):151-165. doi:10.23750/abm.v89i1-S.7019
Wijers O, Engelmann EWM, Posthuma JJ, Halm JA, Schepers T. Functional outcome and quality of life after nonoperative treatment of posterior process fractures of the talus. Foot Ankle Int. 2019;40(12):1403-1407. doi:10.1177/1071100719868712
Alton T, Patton DJ, Gee AO. Classifications in Brief: The Hawkins Classification for talus fractures. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2015;473(9):3046-9. doi:10.1007/s11999-015-4136-x
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Talus fractures.
Miller M, Dobbs MB. Congenital vertical talus: Etiology and management. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 2015;23(10):604-11. doi:10.5435/JAAOS-D-14-00034

Additional Reading

Alton T, Patton DJ, Gee AO. Classifications in brief: The Hawkins classification for talus fractures. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2015;473(9):3046–3049. doi:10.1007/s11999-015-4136-x
Alvarado DM, McCall K, Hecht JT, Dobbs MB, Gurnett CA. Deletions of 5' HOXC genes are associated with lower extremity malformations, including clubfoot and vertical talus. J Med Genet. 2016;53(4):250–255. doi:10.1136/jmedgenet-2015-103505
Lui TH. Correction of neglected vertical talus deformity in an adult. BMJ Case Rep. 2015;2015:bcr2014208187. doi:10.1136/bcr-2014-208187
Wong DW, Niu W, Wang Y, Zhang M. Finite Element analysis of foot and ankle impact injury: Risk evaluation of calcaneus and talus fracture. PLoS One. 2016;11(4):e0154435. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0154435

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.

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Talus Bone Anatomy and Common Injuries