Help Advice Needed - Lower foot and ankle pain for 20 years
Posted , 2 users are following.
Hi everyone,
My mum suffered an injury to her lower leg around the ankle about twenty years ago and I believe that because she did not rest it at the time it has become chronic and has gotten worse over the years. She has been to several doctors and had an injection in the ankle but it did not stop the pain. She also had several X-Rays done and each time the specialist says that they cannot see any injury or why she is getting this pain.
My first question is would her injury automatically show in the X-Rays?
And my second question is if nothing is showing in the X-Rays what could be causing her pain?
Also I have read that muscle injuries, nerve damage etc do not show in a typical X-Ray. Is this true? And are there any special type of X-Rays that can pick up muscle injuries, nerve damage etc?
If anyone has had a similar injury I would love to know what treatments worked for you and what treatments didn't? Did you find a cure for the problem in the end? Or did medication work? Or an operation?
Many thanks.
0 likes, 3 replies
DannyLev james93131
Posted
Hi James,
Sorry to hear about your mum. I'm no doctor here so this is just an opinion but it sounds like she could use an MRI. X-Rays only show bones so I am guessing they performed the xray to see if she possibly had a previous break that didn't heal properly or something related to the bones (like osteoarthritis?) in some aspect. I know that an MRI is what is required to spot soft tissue damage such as torn ligaments or tendons.
Sometimes there are injuries that require debridement of "junk" in a joint like scar tissue, bone fragments etc. This is typically done via arthroscopic surgery. It is consists of using a tiny camera enter and view the joint then to remove whatever shouldn't be there. An NBA player (Lonzo Ball) had a routine surgery, didn't recover normally, they couldn't figure out what was wrong, and only after the arthroscopic surgery did they find/remove some things that were hindering his recovery.
These are the two thoughts that come to mind that may help your mum figure out what is going on.
Good luck!
james93131 DannyLev
Posted
Hi Danny,
Thanks very much for taking the time to respond. It is very much appreciated.
I believe my mum has had a MRI Scan but I am not sure if they found anything. She has gone from hospital to hospital and seen many specialists without finding out what is causing her pain. She has also had massage treatment and chinese accupuncture but if anything her pain was actually worse after the treatments. One specialist did give her an injection into her foot but again it did not successfully treat the problem. The only other option she has been given is pain killers which she is reluctant to take. I think one specialist did diagnose the problem as a Muscle strain. It would be great if she could find an effective treatment to at very least reduce the pain she is experiencing. She is 88 now and the problem is getting worse. I am just hoping someone has been through something similar (or knows someone who has) and can offer some insight into this problem and maybe point the way forward with a successful treatment.
Many thanks.
james93131 DannyLev
Posted
With regards to the surgery this treatment option hasnt been offered to her yet. I believe her current specialist at the hospital is trying to work out why she is experiencing this pain in the first place. She has had X-rays before and so if the specialist had looked at her notes he would have seen that there is no visible sign of an injury on the X-rays. I am hoping that they can work out why she is experiencing this pain and then offer a suitable treatment.