About 4 days ago, I tripped over an area rug and twisted one ankle, something I have not done since childhood.

I didn't expect it to be any big deal - it wasn't, in childhood - but this sucker is nasty. The entire foot is swollen. There is faint lavender bruising across the top of the foot, very colorful bruising south of the ankle on the outside of the foot, and just today, I'm seeing bruising on the inner aspect of the foot as well.

I can put weight on it, as long as a bulk of the weight is on my heel. But the thing aches constantly. DH insists that medical attention is not needed. He put a snug Velcro wrap on it immediately, which I kept on for a day and a half. It throbbed like blazes, so I eventually peeled that off, and have not bandaged it since. And I did have ice on it at first.

But this is the fourth day - and it just keeps looking nastier, and aches!! At what point do I throw in the towel and get it looked at?? I don't want to be a wuss, but this is getting VERY old. And gimping around in an lopsided way is doing bad things to my back.

I know most of us are not medical professionals. But many have had experience with this sort of thing. Any ideas??

YOU NEVER KNOW! I'm not one who goes to the doctor either. I had a foot that looked something like your's and my dad told me to GO TO THE DOCTOR. I had a Jones' fracture, which is the 5th metatarsal (small toe that extends down the side of your foot). Actually, when I called my doctor, they also told me to get to the ER. It sounds like you have blood pooling. It isn't bruising. That can cause other issues.

Best to have it checked. They just gave me a boot and sent me to a DPM, and he decided whether it needed surgery or not. It might be displaced. I had to wear my boot for about 6 weeks. I broke my feet 3 times, the same type fracture. I finally just kept my last boot and haven't broken one since.

A boot will take the pressure off your foot. I don't think the Velcro splint is the answer.

I am going to suggest you have it looked at. It is really easy to break a bone in your foot and not know it. (Trust me I have experience).

A quick x-ray will but that to rest. If there is a break they will give you that attractive boot to wear and that helps with both pain and swelling. They are starting to hand out the boot even for bad sprains.

Other than that ice and elevation are you friends.

I would get it looked at.

The only two ankle sprains I had were both nasty ones. The first one sounds like what you describe (I was in junior high then.) After getting it x-rayed doc determined there was a hairline fracture in addition to the badly sprained ankle which made it swell and bruise rapidly and ginormous. I needed a cast for mine. Was on crutches for a long time. Cost me a track meet. Sprained ankle while practicing the long jump for PE. I jumped so far that I hit the dirt on the other side instead of the sand pit. My teacher's hopes for me winning medals at track meets were dashed, as were mine. :(

Ouch! Sounds painful. Take care.

I would have it checked out. You may have a fracture. Apart from that, keep up the ice and elevate your foot as much as possible. Lie on the sofa and put it up on a few pillows (with an ice pack) while you are watching TV.

Ok, here is my (not so) expert advice. I took a nasty fall on my bike when I was in the 8th grade. Mom took me to the family doctor who x-rayed it. He thought it was broken. But he sent the x-ray to a radiologist who said it was a sprain. So, for WEEKS I just had it wrapped in an ace bandage and hobbled around. My dad made a box for me to put my foot into at night because I couldn't even stand for the sheet to touch my foot. At a follow-up appointment with the doctor, he x-rayed it again and could tell by the way it healed that it was, in fact, broken, and should have been set. To this day, some 50+ years later, I have a big lump on that ankle.

Please, please get this checked out by a doctor.

GO TO THE DOCTOR. ASAP.

Go see a doctor. A few years back, I jumped off a deck (about 3 feet) and twisted my knee. It hurt, but not too bad. Took some ibuprofen and was fine. Woke up at 2 in the am and it felt like it was on fire. Swollen like crazy. Couldn't walk for two days. A few weeks later I smacked it on a trailer hitch. Swelled up like a cantaloupe. I attributed it to a life of hard knocks.Played football for 10 years. I had 42 jumps out of planes with the old canopy chutes that basically crash landed you. I went to the doctor and she was concerned. Took some blood tests and it showed excess of uric acid crystals in my joints. Apparently, my body doesn't process it enough. Put me on some meds and have been fine for 2 years. If you're not healing in a normal time frame, I strongly recommend seeing a specialist.

That's gout, you old goat!

Life on allopurinol is fine...

Kind of. Never had gout in my toes, feet or ankles. My knee which I had previously injured and an elbow I screwed up in college. Seems places that I have scar tissue. I asked the R/A doc and she said it may be a lesser sister form of gout.

My gout is always in my knees. For me, I have no problem pushing the brake pedal, but I have to use my arms to pick my knee up to put it on the brake. Luckily, through diet and chemistry, I haven't had an attack in years.

I recommend 2 Percodan and a pint of Jack Daniels. No, seriously, go to the doctor.

Same here! And I got it in just about every lower body joint there was...

Call the doctor, now!

In the meantime, ice it.
Elevate it

Do NOT wrap it!

Do NOT walk on it!


Remember the old joke:

Patient: "It hurts when I do--this."
Doctor: "Then don't do it!"

Girl, you have had too many other problems to just treat this as any other person would. You have too much else going on with too many other systems to blow this off. Run on down there and let us know :)

You've probably already read this, but...

https://patient.info/health/sports-injuries/ankle-injury-sprained-ankle

The bruising usually (but not always) means it's a sprain, not a break. Sometimes the two happen at the same time.

I've got legendarily bad ankles, mostly from numerous bad sprains and breaks in my reckless youth. I've had one minor operation (to remove bone spurs and re-attach a ligament), and am getting cortisone shots every 3-6 months because the injuries have resulted in traumatic arthritis. It sucks. I'll probably have to get an ankle replacement surgery on the left within a year or two. Still, I can strap on my brace and play 18 holes with only a little pain, so I count myself lucky.

I agree with the others, go see an doctor. It's *likely* just a bad sprain (though they're no fun, and you're in for 3-4 weeks at least of pain), but if it is broken and you don't get it taken care of, you can limit your mobility permanently. Go get x-rayed and rule that out!

Bone spurs?

At least you were safe from the draft administrators. . .

Surely.

:)

Mine developed over time, likely because of numerous injuries.
I dutifully registered for the draft at 18...and other than the two years as a missionary, was always eligible. Never called up, though.

Unlike some other people...

Don't be too judgemental.
Bone spurs are a terrible thing to have - after surgery it takes forever for the pain to go away because you have to keep stepping on the foot.

I have had two separate surgeries, one on each foot and it took about 5 years to be completely pain free again, 2.5 years for each foot.

It was a joke, so not meant to be judgmental.

I'm sorry you had to go through that.

My foot looks a lot like the one shown in the photo (only I don't have hairy legs. . .) There is bruising over the instep as well as on both sides.

DH keeps insisting that it is only a sprain (he has no medical training but I believe if he thought I was injured, he would take me to the E/R right away.)

I think it would hurt more if it were fractured. Despite my innumerable orthopedic challenges, I have never had a broken bone.

It aches, I'm annoyed at the limitation, I'm feeling impatient, and I know I am being crabby. DH reminded me, rather delicately, that I am 71 now, not just 7, and things take longer to heal when you get "up there" in age.

DH is gone on errands just now, and I insisted that he leave my car, so I COULD drive to the Urgent Care, but there is a caveat; my driving is even scarier than my ankle predicament. While I have never been in a vehicular accident, I don't want that record to change, and I have become very hesitant about driving. The reflexes just aren't there any more.

Villager - I am able to stand on my toes as long as I am not putting much weight on that foot. The ankle is throbbing pretty uncomfortably at the moment.

I would really like to rule out more serious injury. I just wish DH was on the same page. Sigh. I would like his support, and I can't figure out why he is being so resistant.

I have any number of orthopedic appliances, but none designed for the ankle. Otherwise, I would have slapped a boot on it right away.

Thanks, guys, for your support.

I walked on a broken foot and ankle for over a week because "it did not hurt that much". It was purple and swollen, but not all that painful. Breaks don't always hurt as much as sprains, I have done both. FYI torn ligaments hurt the most.

Can you tell I have the klutz gene?

sbg Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I walked on a broken foot and ankle for over a
> week because "it did not hurt that much". It was
> purple and swollen, but not all that painful.
> Breaks don't always hurt as much as sprains, I
> have done both. FYI torn ligaments hurt the most.
>
>
> Can you tell I have the klutz gene?


Almost any time a fracture occurs near a joint, there is ligament damage as well. With any sort of foot/ankle/fibula fracture, there's usually a considerable sprain in addition to the fracture.

I was lucky, the break was clean and I did not need surgery. Yes there was some tendon damage, but I had already damaged that ankle as a kid, so not all of it was new.

Did DH go to medical school for four years? He might be right. And he might not be.

Fractures are not always clear cut (this is coming from the queen of broken bones.) But if you do have a fracture you want it taken care of. You really, really, really do not want to mess with your mobility. Get thee to the urgent care and let them take an image. You're on Medicare, right? Medicare will pay for it. I'm at a loss as to why you are hesitating on this. Tell DH if he doesn't drive you, you will call a taxi.

Find a good foot doctor & get a MRI. My "sprain" was a ruptured tendon. It looked a lot like you are describing-- a lot of swelling & bruising. The regular x-ray did not pick it up and there were no broken bones.
Hold on to something and see if you can roll up and stand on your toes. This was one thing my Dr. had me do prior to getting the MRI. (I could not stand on my toes at all). My foot Dr. had training in sports medicine too. In my case I had to have surgery.
You do need to have this looked at.
Good luck.

I fractured both ankles last year had surgery on one side, doctor said if you don't treat them (I guess by surgery or wearing the boot), arthritis will most likely set in and then you have long term problems that may not be treatable. My feet swelled and bruised for about 3-7 days and for the first 3 days I couldn't put any weight at all on them without excruciating pain. He said you have to wait for the swelling to go down to do surgery.

I empathize! Presently I have a pinched
sciatic nerve in my back. It is terrible so let's whine and whimper with each other. (just joking)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2018 03:03PM by thedesertrat1.

A fracture can almost never be ruled out in a significant joint injury without some sort of radiologic study.

If DH does not have X-Ray vision, his medical opinion is probably greatly overrated by himself.

Get it checked out, you might have a break.

during the bad years in my life. All it took was stepping on the edge of a door mat that was too thick. I walked on it for 4 days with shoes on. My dad just happened to see it on a Sunday and he told me to go to the doctor. Then 6 weeks later I broke it again in a place about 1/16 of an inch above the first break doing the same thing, stepping on that damn doormat. Then it was several years later that I broke it slipping and falling on ice.

The last break I could tell it was broken, as could my children, by just looking at it. The other ones, I couldn't tell. Just bruising and swelling and pooling of blood around the edge of my foot.

I haven't had a break since then. The boot helped A LOT. They sure can be a pain to walk on for very long, but they help with the pain. I wish you lived close by as I'd let you use my boot.

I was just checking back hoping you had gone to the urgent care.

Actually, my family doesn't break bones very often. I have 2 brothers who have had a broken bone. One fell out of a tree and one jumped out of a tree after having surgery on his ankle and had a wire in it and a cast. None of my niece or nephews have had breaks. So we must have strong bones.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2018 07:57PM by cl2.

I'd still get it checked out, Catnip.

Don't second guess yourself or your husband. Let the doctors decide if its "only" a sprain, or worse. Some sprains are as bad as a broken bone. Both of mine were that bad.

Plus, since you're on the mending end of the same thing I've been through, and taking the anti-hormone med, it weakens the bones.

Get it checked out before it could get worse resulting in more damage to your ankle that might be prevented by getting it looked at.

Imho, when you think that you need to see a doctor thats when you go to see a doctor. Dont deny yourself what you have healthcare. Believe in yourself.

Well amputation. It's the only lasting remedy for recurring sprained ankles. Just kidding of course. I sprained my ankle in a football game. I was a starting OLB, and I had a bead on the running back, and I went in for the tackle. It was a beauty, lost yards, fumbled, the works. I was so happy, until I stood up, and OMG the pain of my ankle, I had twisted it in the tackle as this 250 pound full back rolled over on it. I thought, "meh, I'll walk this off", but no, that SOB lasted for 2 months, turned a deep black and blue, hurt like a MF, and swelled for the first two weeks. Course imaging showed no fractures, but Jesus - it hurt. Thought it would never get better. That was 30 years ago. Never had a problem w/ it since. I would get it x-rayed because you don't want a potential broken bone (and there are a lot of them in the ankle) to fuse incorrectly. Basically, "rule out" fracture. Good look and watch where you're going for cry eye...pick up those cloggers….lol. JK.

I also vote to get it seen. I fell near the bottom of some carpeted stairs last November and twisted my right ankle and foot pretty badly. Pain, swelling and bruising like you described. Iced and compressed it for several days and resisted my husband’s suggestion that I get it looked at. And of course, after several weeks and then months went by I thought there was even less reason to go. It took me until about now to regain a full range of motion, to the point where I can kneel and sit back on both heels without pain. Tellingly, I can’t sit like that for long.

I almost certainly had something more significant than a sprain. My stubbornness (“it’ll get better!”) cost me months of reduced activity and some weight gain.

I too recommend getting it checked.

I always had weak ankles so when I took a couple of bad tumbles (including one when I was very pregnant), I just treated the sprains at home and kept on going.

Mistake.

Years later, I ended up getting some specific hurting areas examined. It turns out that I have permanent ligament damage that can't be fixed at this point. If I had talked to the right person when the injuries occurred, it might have been different.

Ankles take a long time to heal. So be ready to have lots of patience with it. I twisted my ankle badly a few years ago. The good news is that now it seems to have healed up close to 100% (I don't know if you ever get to a perfect recovery). But it took about 4 to 6 months after the injury before it eventually got to the point that everything was back to normal.

In any case, it may be a good idea to get an x-ray just to make sure that you have it properly diagnosed.

But in most cases, it just takes lots of time and being careful not to re-injure it.

Go and see a doctor. Years ago when I was in my early 20s, I sprained my ankle very badly. It swelled up a lot, turned blue, and hurt terribly. I did not go to a doctor (there were reasons for that which I won't go into). I did not walk normally for over three months.

I did not break anything, but did tear the tendons on the inside of my ankle. (I found this out later). It has continued to bother me throughout my adult life. It acts up all the time, and it is 30 years later. Don't put yourself in this position. Get it taken care of and see that it heals properly

The first thing I usually do when anything is swollen is to take ALEVE around the clock for a couple of days.

If there is still pain after that, X-rays and a doctor are needed.