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Ankle sprain..still not better after 9 weeks.!!

Posted , 13 users are following.

angie1760
angie1760

Sorry in advance for the long post but I am really worried about my ankle.

Nine weeks ago I fell down some steps onto a patio and severly sprained my ankle. I couldn't walk on it for over two weeks and then only on tip toe. It swelled up  so much I thought my foot would burst and although  it has gone down it's still very swollen around the ankle joint. It has been so painful I kept going back to first A and E and then doctors. I was always told it's sprained do these exercises..walk on it etc Thing is when I walk on it it swells even more and becomes so painful even the touch of a duvet cover hurts.

My doctor finally sent me for an ultra sound which revealed two tornligaments peroneal(??) tendon longus sheath inflamed and a tear in the peroneal (not sure if that's right) brevis tendonplus fuid on the ankle.

A consultant put me in a walking cast and I am now awaiting MRI scan to further assess the damage. I have been off work for two weeks (I'm a teacher so the majority of this was in the school holidays) and the doctor has signed me off again.

The thing is I am really scared it will never get better. It still hurts so much and even in the boot i accidentally trod on one of the dogs soft toys and it hurt so much it brought tears to my eyes.

Could I have damaged it by trying to use it when they said it's a sprain use it.. ?

I don't know what to expect-surgery has been mentioned as an option. Also I feel guilty and scared about missing work but as ateacher I am on my feet all day and I couldn't cope with that.

Has anyone been in a similar position?

Saying you've sprained an ankle sounds so lame (no pun intentded) but I have never felt so disabled in my life!!

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

0 likes, 19 replies

19 Replies

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  • jemma_96302
    jemma_96302 angie1760

    Posted

    Hi angie1760 may I ask how you come on please you would think you were telling my story am onto 14 weeks off work am having a mri scan in 2 weeks hope your all fixed now many thanks jemma
  • Beano15
    Beano15 angie1760

    Posted

    I feel you pain. I did exactly the same falling off a dance floor! Still not better after 10 weeks. I am a TA in a special school, so always on my feet. My ankle still swells up. If I twist my ankle around to do exercises something clicks and it is painful in the outside of my ankle bone. It also feels numb! I am thinking of going back for another Xray or have it scanned. I have been resting it every night to reduce swelling.
  • mary86466
    mary86466 angie1760

    Posted

    This is an old post but like me searching on the web for problems and questions , you might be finding that they are timeless. I have the same torn ligaments and stretched or torn tendons. It is from the ankle inverting the foot up towards the inside of ankle when you fell , stretching and damaging the outside stability. It’s more than a sprain with torn or stretched connective  tissue and you should not have walked on it at all or kept the ankle with a solid brace for 6 weeks. So sorry cause I know what you are going through. You will probubly have to start over with immobilizing , rising foot above heart proper up as you rest ( as much as you can ) and ice! They call this rice - rest , ice , compress with brace and emobilize as much as possible for 6 weeks. You may be able to go back to work on a brace in a month if you do this 24 - 7 for me it has been a month of on my back and I only have slight swelling still. My concern is that I know now that if I don’t let this heal right and get physical therapy it will continue to give me problems. It took me over a week to get the proper brace ( ace bandages don’t cut it! Hope this helps someone ! 
    • infestissumam
      infestissumam mary86466

      Posted

      Ha, I just got a notification from this because I commented on this about two years ago. Here I am, about 3.5 weeks post-op from ankle surgery smile I sprained my ankle again a few months ago, which led me to an orthopedist who in turn sent me to a foot/ankle specialist orthopedist. I had to have three torn ligaments repaired and clean up the arthritis/bone spurs in the joint (caused by the torn ligaments putting a tilt in my ankle joint). At the two week post-op check up the nurse took off my cast and moved my foot around, I was shocked to see how tight my ankle was! Not being able to walk has made my life pretty difficult but this surgery will be so worth it. I never had physical therapy after any of my three bad sprains so I wonder if that would have changed the outcome or if I would have needed surgery anyway. I'm still completely non-weight bearing on that leg and I can't weight to move up to partial weight bearing next week. 

      Anyway, hope you're doing well. Do the physical therapy and home exercises, hopefully it will save you from the pain I had to go through. The elevation really does help and so does taking it easy. Hope you're all better soon! 

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