broken/fractored/sprained ankle advice

deano72_2

whilst playing footy fri night i twisted my ankle.i thought it would be ok after a 10 min rest but no.i woke up sat morning & couldnt stand on it so went to a&e,the nurse said it looks like a sprain & best to walk on it.so i walked on it as much poss over the weekend & it felt pretty good even tho it was still swollen & all my toes/heel/side of foot & ankle was v bruised.i spoke to the nurse over the fone today & asked if it is worth having a xray as it still bruised & swollen & hurts abit,she said even if its broken they dont plaster these days,is this true? i dont really fancy having a plaster anyway but after showing 2 other people they said it looked exactly the same as theres when they broke there ankles (even tho they was told it was only a sprain from the same hospital & later turned out to be broken)& said i should get it xrayed.would there be any long term damage if it was left broken & not plastered.

dawyldthing

i broke my fibula 2 years ago and it did get plastered, but met someone randomly on a bus and they had broke the same bone but it hadn't been plastered. If you have broke it it may not set like it did before. When I did mine it swelled twice the size, after about an hour (as i carried on walking on it to school as i was on placement and just thought it was sprained so didn't think any more of it) by the time i got there i couldn't bare putting it on the floor, walking on it or anything and it was 3 times the size and bruising started, but I was still in denial. I'd go to a minor injury unit as its where i first went it and found them more helpful than when i went a second time but to a and e when the pot had fallen off

anatomical

Does it hurt in one specific place on your ankle? Where exactly does it hurt? How many steps can you take? Are you able to walk for a little while?

I would say if you can't put any weight on it or take more than four steps, go back tomorrow and get it x-rayed. Even if it was a break they weren't going to plaster, it would be immobilised or you would be given a support of some kind, it wouldn't just be left. If it is broken they will need an x-ray to confirm the best method of treatment.

Having said that, the fact you have been walking on it would indicate your ankle most likely isn't broken, but if you are experiencing pain in one particular place on your ankle I would get it checked out.

Nile

Hello deano72

We are not supposed to ask for.......or give medical advice.;)

What is and isn't acceptable on this board.
I think it is important for me to clarify exactly what is and what isn't permissible on this board.

What it is not for

It is very specifically and strictly not for the discussion of what to do in the event of certain medical problems. Please do not ask questions about this. If you're having problems use facilities such as NHS direct and your doctor to go and talk through what you should do.

Even though there are medically qualified people sometimes visiting these forums, I would ask them to restrain from answering specific medical questions.

Even though you know you are medically qualified, others don't. There is no way of proving it and this leads us open to somebody coming on, pretending to be a doctor when they're not and giving advice.

As such it is very important there is a blanket rule that nobody no matter who (not even Robert Winston) should be giving any form of medical advice or detailing what to do on these boards.


I hope you are soon feeling better.

Nile

mazza111

Not going to give medical advice but to let you know about my DD. We thought she had sprained or had a dislocation that popped back in. Upon visiting the A&E we explained that her joints are hypermobile and we weren't sure whether it was that or a sprain.

Turned out she had a bad spiral fracture of the fibula. Was non weight bearing for the first 2 weeks. Which was difficult because of her mobile joints, and ended up using the leg to go up and down stairs. This resulted in the fracture lengthening by another inch. This was on October 31st last year. She was told last Monday she could start weaning herself off the aircast. So in 4 and a half months, she's been between plaster cast and air cast. Therefore IMO it's always worth getting an xray to be on the safe side.


Good luck, I sincerely hope it's not broken and you make a full recovery without cast. Sorry, didn't want to scare you, i know my DD's was an extreme, but feel it's better to warn that these things can be made worse without the proper support

jenniewb

I can't believe the nurse told you to walk on an injury- thats just scary!

Did your doctor diagnose a sprain? If you have a diagnosis try to find out if its grade 1, 2 or 3 and then you can find out timescales on recovery. I've sprained my ankle twice before (same ankel, 6 months apart- it had only just about healed and I tripped up again!!). The general rule of thumb for all injuries is:

Rest
Ice
Compression
Elevation
Rehabilitation.

Basicly, rest until you can walk on the ankle without any limping. Ice your ankle whenever you have had to use it and also straight after injury (do not add heat!) Compress your ankle- n/b do not do this as you sleep as you need a proper circulation and doing this can make cirulation harder. The reason for the compression is that as you use the ankle your likely to get an increase in swelling and this is not a good thing when it comes to a speedy recovery. Elevate your ankle- again not as you sleep. It just helps with the inflammation.

What needs to happen is that your body heals the damaged part. The problem is with ankles, they don't have a great amount of circulation and so things take longer to heal as circulation of blood is a big part of recovery.

There are many rehab exercises and no doubt your doctor will advise you on what to do. Things like pointing and flexing your foot and drawing ever increasing/decreasing circles in the air or in water help as they help both the circulation and help the foot to recover properly. Its important to keep your foot and ankle mobile because if its a ligamen you have torn it can heal and without the same flexibility as it had before which can create additional issues for the shin/tibia. You need to make sure you have enough flexibility as you recover but makes sure it doesn't hurt too much. Pain is a sign your pushing it too far. By all means there will be some tightness but if its actually painful its likely your undoing repair your body has already done and this just adds more time to your recovery.

And make sure you eat a balanced diet: enough protein or even slightly more protein then normal: a range of protein rather then just one type though. Keep hydrated and make sure you sleep well.

deano72_2

Thanks for replies
I have not been to the docs, iwent to a&e saturday morning & they said it looks like a sprain, i wouldent of questioned it untill i showed 2 different people who exsperianced the same thing & they both wer told they had sprained by same hospital as i went to bu they later found out actually they had broken it. The pain (not unbareable)is in same spot on the ball of the ankle. I can walk on it all day but trouble is im a building site (uneven ground) which i hope will not cause longterm problems. Personly i dont think its broken

pmduk

deano72 wrote: »

after showing 2 other people they said it looked exactly the same as theres when they broke there ankles ...& said i should get it xrayed.would there be any long term damage if it was left broken & not plastered.

What were their medical qualifications for saying so? If you want to check the advice given by the hospital either call NHS Direct on0845 4647 or visit your GP

scrappie_2

Deano - as we are not supposed to give medical advice on here all I will say is this -

If it were me, I would make an appt with my GP, so that the injury sustained can be reviewed.

Sometimes such injuries can result in damage to tendons (rather than bones), and may need some period of immobilisation. Your GP should be able to refer you for x-ray if he deems it necessary following examination.

deano72_2

Went bk to the H & they said it was aligament damage. No xray so il leave it at that.
Ps they did say walk on it as much as poss even on a rocky uneven building site, just dont twist it again as that will lead to scar tissue

scrappie_2

Glad you go it sorted!