Torn Ligament in my Ankle
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My Torn Ligament
Take a look at the picture to the right, now imagine that awkward angle happening while going down the stairs. That is pretty much what happened to me about 3 and a half weeks ago. I am still getting swelling and have a bruise under my foot, in the arch. Not to mention the bruising around the joint in the ankle.
When it originally happened I decided to call an ambulance as I thought there might be a break. I was advised that there was not likely any break but it could be a torn ligament. The advice was that there would be a long wait at the hospital and if there was no break there would be little they could do and then I would have to make my way home on a foot that could not take any weight. The advice was that I should give it a few days and if it was not healing then go to the hospital, I could call for another ambulance if need be.
I took the advice given and stayed home, kept off the foot as much as I could and waited to see if it would heal. There was very little healing after three days and as I had family visiting with a car I asked if they would take me to the hospital. It was very helpful having a ride both to the hospital but also to get back home after. The hospital x-rayed my ankle and found no break. I was told that I had probably torn the ligament but that they did not have the technology to asses the damage to the ligament.
I went home with no more information then I could have found online, and I have found much more online since. After a week had passed I could just about walk and so had to walk to the doctors office (family with a car was back home by then) so that I could get a doctors note for work. The doctor took one look at my ankle and wrote me a note for two weeks (taking me up to the work holidays, no pay over the holiday this year for me). I think the walking brought out the bruise and swelling worse then I had seen it before.
My faith in the medical system has not been strengthened by this experience but I have been educating myself instead. I would like to share what I have learned with you since it seems likely to me that you may well be in a similar situation to my own.
How to tell the difference between a broken ankle and a sprain
As I shared above that one look by the paramedics from the ambulance indicated that there was no break and proved to be right after having an x-ray. A torn ligament can be exceptionally painful and can take a long time to heal, the paramedics even said that a torn ligament can take longer to heal then a break.
One of the signs that I had not broken a bone was the minimal motion I had in my toes and other joints. Swelling and general pain made movement difficult but possible, immediately after the fall I had much more of a range of motion actually.
The next sign that I had not suffered a break was the lack of bruising. I got pretty swollen but did not have much by way of bruising for over a week. If memory serves I was told that the ice should bring out the bruises that would indicate a break. Ice will also not cool the area if there is a break, to the touch the area can still be warm or hot after ice has been applied.
Pain is not always the best indicator as sometimes people can break a bone and not actually feel the sort of pain associated with a break. If you do have excruciating and constant pain chances are you have a break. If the pain is reactionary there can still be a chance that you have a fracture.
A funny looking angle will usually be a indication of a break. The thing about a break is that it is possible to miss if there is little pain involved, stories of people suffering a broken bone and not realizing it for a few days are quite common. If for any reason you suspect you may have a break getting yourself to a hospital where they can x-ray it is a must. You may want to call a family member or friend about a ride home when you are finished.
The 3 Grades of Sprains
The first is a grade 1 sprain or a mild sprain. With this injury there is some stretching and some damage to the fibers of the ligament.
The second is a grade 2 sprain or moderate sprain. This injury involves a partial tearing of the ligament. With this injury there can be an abnormal looseness or laxity of the joint,
The last is a grade 3 sprain or sever sprain. This injury involves the complete tear of the ligament there is gross instability in the joint.
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If you think you have a Torn Ligament
If you think you have torn a ligament your first action should be rest, ice, compression and elevation or R.I.C.E. Ice will help reduce swelling and should be applied in 10 to 15 minute cycles. Keeping ice on an ankle or knee or anywhere else may cause cold injuries and I have even been advised to alternate ice and heat such as a hot water bottle. The reason for using the heat is to draw the blood to the wound since a wound needs blood to heal. I think the reason this is not medically advised is because of the swelling problem and I would only suggest it because it is the method I used as my foot got very icy and cold very quickly (I suspect it was not getting good circulation and the warmth felt good). Keep your foot rested and elevated and as you feel comfortable with it remove wrappings when inactive as you want to allow blood circulation.
As you are healing you will want to stretch and move the joint as this will keep the area from getting stiff and weak with inactivity. If your tear is a bad one and heals slowly you may want to sign up here at Hub Pages as it has kept me occupied and kept me from going stir crazy! On a serious note if your injury is a bad one you will need patience and to give it lots of rest and the chance to heal.
The best site I found when researching
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Green Lotus, it is very possible to break a bone and never realize it! My mother in law had a hair line fracture in her ankle years back that she did not get x-rayed and it gave her problems for ages! I was confident that I did not break anything as I have had my fair share of breaks and they are usually bloody painful! With her advice tho I figured it is always best to make sure with an x-ray, and even then they sometimes have to take a second x-ray to find a break! I guess this is why I was told a torn ligament can be worse then a break, assuming its a hairline fracture in a spot that is reasonably protected from strain you may just miss it, a torn ligament is going to hurt tho, no doubt about it :)
Very interesting info on ligaments and broken bones, kirstenblog. I hope that your ankle is now healing nicely and that you are experiencing less pain. Be careful walking on all this snow and ice!
CMHypno its healing but its being blooming slow about it :/. I still cannot comfortably wear a proper pair of shoes for this time of year, getting a soft flimsy pair on is not exactly easy when its so tender, fortunately I have the rest of the holiday season with little need to go out and around the flat its not to bad. By the end of the day it gets swollen and tired but the itching is encouraging, that usually means healing.
Ouch! I sure hope you can get better soon!
In slipped in my own stairs years back and got a cow-like ankle, very big, very heavy, swollen, and painful. My doctor said it could be treated with injection of a drug I forgot what the name was now. Imagine yourself lying in the doctor's clinic with a very big injection needle being pushed very very slowly for about 30 minutes. On every push you either bite your lips or shout out "Please stop it!"! It was a very painful experience but in no time at all my ankle was healed. Hope you are now being healed. God Bless!
Lita, goodness that sounds horrid! I would need morphine to not kill the doctor in that situation. I am healing, but slowly. I think I would rather this then a 30 min injection *shudders*.
hey kirsten, good information here, get well soon, or are you ok now, Happy holidays to you and yours, Maita
Ouch, I have weak ankles that flip on me occasionally. It's no fun at all, and does take time to heal. Hope you are feeling better as you mend; and be careful because from now on the slightest wrong move will injure it all over again...Thanks for sharing!
My daughter hurt her ankle in sept 09 and we have seen the dr constantly for the past 5 months, they did xray twice and nothing broken or fractured. He said it was soft tissue damage and sent her home with a note to be off P.E. for a month, in that time my daughter was able to start walking on it again, she attended P.E. class once and was back on crutches by the end of the day. Our dr sent us to physio therapy once she was able to walk again, saying that she needed to strengthen her ankle again before she did any running. We went to physio last week he gave her some exercises to move and strengthen one was to try and move her toes since she cannot move her toes except for a fraction. And to try and bring her foot as far forward as possible and alternate heat and cold. Well now she has been doing these things and is again unable to walk from excruciating pain in from her baby toe in a straight line to her ankle bone and around th back of her ankle.
Does anyone have any idea why her ankle isnt healing and what might be wrong with it..
Willow to me it sounds like the ankle was re-damaged, I am no doctor but from what I have been told a torn ligament can be worse then a break. It can take as long or longer to heal and is very easy to re-damage. It has been 2 months since I tore my ligament and I still cannot wear most of my shoes as putting them on hurts and continues to hurt for a while after taking them off, I had to find and buy something easy to get on and off that wouldn't hurt so I could get back to work. I still cannot run or do to much on the ankle as trying anything causes stabbing pains in the ankle, on top of which 4 of my toes have purple sores from the problems with circulation. I have had others who have suffered the same thing say that it can take 6 months or more to fully heal and thats if you do re-damage the soft tissues and ligaments. When the paramedics told me a torn ligament can be far worse then a break I now know they were not joking! I kinda wish I had broke the bone instead. This is such a frustrating spot to be in and a lot of it has to do with how difficult it has been to get any sort of decent advice from the doctors, it seems like I will be walking slowly and/or limping for a few more months to come :(. If you would like to contact me to compare notes please feel free to as for myself the best help I have had is from others who have gone through the same ordeal. I hope your daughter will start to heal enough to be able to walk again soon :)
I have sprained my ankle and couldnt walk for a week and it has now been and a half months and my ankle is still swolen and sore has any one had the same sort of thing and should i get it looked at or is it normal and is still going to take longer to heal.
macca, it sounds like you need to have your ankle looked at. I thought I had just sprained my ankle at first but when it got worse instead of better after a few hours up I got a paramedic to come round and they said it was most likely a torn ligament. You may well have the same thing and if you can get a doctor to tell you as much you can at least know what's wrong and possibly be given time off school/work for it to heal.
thanks kirstenblog for the information,after falling off my friends horse at a show i carried on competing on my own horse,then drove home and mucked out two horses,i deceided i couldnt take the pain no more and went and sat in a&e for 4 hrs.when i cwmev out i was none the wiser exept i had a torn ligament so i found the info very helpful :)
Im a professional dancer, so when i went over on my ankle on Thursday and suffered a Phase II sprain of my ankle i knew i needed to do whatever it takes to get fit.
Within minutes i was fortunate enough to be able to ice as i had it nearby. I didnt go to the hospital (as above they would send me home with a rest up outcome)
For the first 48hrs i kept my foot elevated and iced every 2 hours for 20minutes. After 2 days (by Sunday) I alternated the Icing part of the RICE method with deep heat.
By day 3 the swelling disappeared and the bruising came out.
The bruising has turned from red, to purple and hopefully by the end of the week it will go yellow/green. This is the cycle of colour depending on recovery.
As of Sunday i was walking with weight on my foot (with the aid of crutches and an aircast XP which i bought cheap of ebay.
Monday has come and i went to the gym this morning to start slow rehab with some laps in the pool. Still wearing the Aircast XP to walk to the gym (only 1/4 mile) and i still ice twice a day.
I think i can have this beat in 7-10 days.
With early action and the correct treatment and lots of discipline you can overcome this very frustrating injury - Good Luck!!
clumsygirl - I don't know how you kept going on a torn ligament! I hope it is successfully healing now :).
TopOfTheFlop - It does seem that if you can get ice on an injury like this fast enough it can make a huge difference. I hope never to tear another ligament but if I do at least now I know more to treat it at home without all the trips back and forth to hospital for needless X-rays. Thanks for sharing!
I twisted my ankle bad 6 weeks ago and it didnt swell to big or turn blue/black as it would other times i sprained my ankle yet its still very sore and taking longer to heal it feels the same today as it did 4 weeks ago ?? unusual...
I am limited to what i can do wit it.
There is a clicking sound from my ankle when im moving it for exercise .
What will i do some pleaes help
booshay, have you had an Xray to rule out a break? It doesn't sound like a break but it is good to rule it out anyway. When I did my foot in I did have swelling but the bruising took AGES to come out, basically when it was really starting to heal. You could have a partly torn ligament (not completely torn but enough for the pain and even unusual clicking sounds when moved in certain ways). If this is the case there is not a lot you can do except to wait for it to heal. When you move it for exercise try to be gentle in your movements and don't over do it. Until it is completely healed the foot is more vulnerable to further damage so take it slow. You may have to build up the strength in your foot once it is healed so light exercise is a good thing :). I sympathize, it was very frustrating waiting for my foot to heal and I wish you a faster heal time then I had (a few months).
Gee whiz Kirstenblog! I am so sorry! I have no idea where you are but I wish I could have helped you (to a doc, hospital). I hope this heals well. Please be careful, MD
Micky Dee - Fortunately my ankle has made a good recovery and I no longer favor it when walking and I could even start jogging again (if I wasn't so lazy!). It is weird tho because sometimes there is a lot of resistance curling my toes, could be that my circulation in the toes was affected (thats my theory). At least my balance is back and I am not walking lopsided (horrible for the spine).
I done my ankle on Tuesday grade 3 sprain . I was a way at work so still had a long train ride home and have not had the propper time to rest it . Will this hinder my recovery as the job I have I'm on my feet all day 12 hours and can only take 10 day off .
chrissy - I am sorry to say this but it sounds like you are in for a rough time. The fact that it took so long to get proper rest and treatment can hinder the over all recovery time. I hope you take those days off that you can and perhaps get a doctors note saying you cannot spend so much time on your foot. When you are at work you may want to think about wearing a brace, it might not improve the ankle any faster but should protect it from further damage as you are more likely to damage it while its already injured.
Thanks this is what I thought it was just wishfull thinking. I don't have the idea job for an injurey like this. thanks for the advice I will have to get a brace and just wear it during work. I have had more info from this site then I got from the hospital. Cheers
chrissy - I wish I could have given better news as to your ankle. I had a similar experience in the hospital when I did my ankle in. I got the best advice from the paramedics and friends who had had similar injuries. I actually wrote this because I could not find much info online and the hospital was even worse for advice. I am glad that you got something from my article, mission accomplished :)
Hope your fine by now XD but for me i sprained my ankle like 3 weeks ago and applied rice for the first week and i always sleep with it elevated (hope its not bad). The thing is i can feel that it wont heal in likea a month or so.. i think 2-3 O.o withou playing football and juggling or so i m getting psycho :/ so for the main question cause docs did'nt answer it....how do i find out if i have actually torn my ligament or just 'extended' it further more. tnx in advance
caiN - It took about 3 months for my ankle to heal completely. Sounds like you are in that same boat. The unfortunate thing is that a tear, partial or full tear is not something they can easily see. A break is in some ways the better injury as it can be seen in an x-ray, a tear is a lot harder to see. The scanning equipment is expensive and not all hospitals even have it. For me I had a very unusual sensation apart from the pain that leads me to believe it was a significant tear, when trying to move my foot (home psycho) in one certain direction it felt as tho there was no strength, shaky and lax. My cousin was interning to become a psycho therapist and I consulted him about that sensation and he thought I was right in saying that it was the ligament in that area and it was a significant tear. Do you have any sensations similar? A bad tear will feel loose and lax, the ligament isn't able to provide the stability of movement for that movement direction. I hope that made some sense, it is frustrating that only professional athletes seem to get scanned and specific treatment and time-lines for recovery, the rest of us just have to wait and see :/
Hi kirstenblog as u know I srained my ankle a week a go tomorrow and the pain is still as severe as when I first did it and I can't bear any weight at all, and I'm getting a lot of pain a 3rd the way right up my leg. How long was it till u could bear weight . Thanks
chrissy - I think I was an extreme case but for me I was not able to walk (or could but with pain and loads of difficulty) for close to a month. The swelling was enough that I got tissue damage that turned 3 of my toes purple, had to walk to the doctors to get her to have a look and had to take anti-histimines to help with the swelling. I actually had to use a walking stick for some time even when walking was not exactly painful. You mentioned before that you cannot take much time off work but I don't see how you are going to be able to be on your feet or even get to and from work. Would it be possible to ask if there is a way they can get you off your feet, give you tasks you can do sitting down? It is not intuitive but a break is actually a better injury in terms of your ankle as a cast can mean some mobility and a clear heal time ware as a torn ligament can in extreme cases take longer to heal (not heal properly as well) and make walking more difficult then a cast would do. You also want to think about the fact that you will almost certainly need physiotherapy to rebuild the strength in the foot. I think you are going to need to get a doctors advice on staying off work (here in the UK its a doctors note to stay off work) so that your employer cannot punish you for your injury.
Sound like a bad one don't know how u coped. Thanks got a phone con with my doctor and he's given me dicloflex tabs to help with swelling and inflamation. He sounded a bit stumped to why the hospital never gave me these in the first place but that's the nhs for yer. Cheers
Incredibly helpful information, and awesome comments, too. That resource you sent me to is awesome as well. Very helpful, thanks!
chrissy - Good going talking to your doc, the pills might well make it bearable since you cannot take the time off work. I love the NHS but sometimes I am surprised how little info they give at the hospital. At mine they seemed most concerned with getting me out the door. I know they have targets for getting people in and out in under x amount of time but I don't think that a good consultation should be sacrificed for that. Oh well at least the net is a great place to share info and experiences, and when you can't walk it keeps you sane.
hi kirstenblog i damaged my ligaments about 6 months ago playing football,i went to the hospital for an x-ray and was told it wasnt broke and sent off hopping,i like you couldnt walk for nearly a month and all my toes went purple and i couldnt get a shoe on either,even after all this time its still swollen and slightly bruised,however it felt quite strong again,so i decided to try and play footy again tonight,it lasted 15 mins before a tackle from someone made it give way,im sitting here now with it throbbing but nowhere near as much as when i originally injured it,im only 26 so dont want to give up football just yet but dont want to jeopardise my job if it went again,what do you recommend i could do to help it heal quicker or a way i could make it stronger,thanks in advance frankie
frankie - First off I want to say sorry for taking a few days to reply (just came back from a camping holiday). It sounds like your ankle was probably well on its way to mending when you tried playing football and you may have set back its healing time by a bit. The fact that it doesn't hurt quite as much as before indicates that you probably have not done as much damage this time as originally suffered. I was told to take an antihistamine for my purple toes (she would have prescribed something but I said I had lots of benydryl in the house so that was fine) and to rub moisturiser in the toes for the skin as well as circulation (not hard or anything, just to keep the skin from getting dry n such). Since you have probably slightly re-damaged some of the ligaments in your ankle you may want to try a brace on the ankle when trying to walk when possible. A brace can support the injury to prevent further damage as well as allowing you better mobility and less problems with your other foot (taking all the work in compensation, this is the real killer as by walking lopsided you can wear out the other ankle as well as putting strain on your spine). If you take care of yourself and take things slowly so as to allow healing and not create new different problems from compensating for this injury you should be fine to play football again (or rock climbing, my sport of choice). The key is in allowing the ligaments to heal fully and then re-building the strength in the joints before going all out on the footy field :)
As far as trying to maintain mobility in the joint the exercise I was given to do (say when watching T.V.) is to spell out the letters of the alphabet with your foot and/or toes so that you move it in every which direction. Be sure to be gentle with these exercises tho, a torn ligament is a pain in the.. well the ligament, it takes a lot of patience to heal and hurts more then a break (in my opinion). I wish you all the best and of course if you feel the need there are always over the counter anti-inflamitories like ibuprofen (thats what I used, I hoped to avoid harsher prescription type pills as they mess with my stomach). Let me know if you have any more questions (I will be going camping again in a week tho so if its then I will answer when I get back :)).
I've had 4 weeks of bruising n swelling. Walking my dog with my fiancé and mum. There was this dip in the road. I went over foot went back twisted right and I heard a massive CRACK. I thought. I've broken it. I rested it for 5 days did the RICE and now it's still swollen went to the hospital twice there not interested did loads of xrays they weren't sure if I broke it or not. Shouldn't be doing that job if there not sure. Can't walk on it sometimes. I'm a teacher and it's really excruciating pain. I had the same pain now as when I broke my thumb/wrist years ago. My parents think it's a small break or fracture. Typical Kings.
Also it's still swollen. I was told I torn 3 ligaments. Dad says it's a break otherwise it wouldn't still be sore while walking on it. I was told to walk on it as much as possible. I did rest and walk on it. But nothing has changed. What do I do. Any suggestions?
Vicky - The crack sounds has me wondering if there could indeed be a break. I am not sure if a total rip of a ligament or tendon could make that sort of noise. I know it is possible to fully tear a ligament, not just some of the fibers but the whole ligament I just don't know if you would hear that. With either a break or a torn ligament its not wise to aggravate the injury by pushing yourself to walk when it hurts to much. I did do exercises like 'drawing' the alphabet in the air with my ankle and toes but for about a month I kept off my foot as much as possible. When I did start walking I was very careful as I did not want to fall on it again and until its fully healed that is a possibility. It is really frustrating that they cannot tell you definitely that you did or didn't break a bone, the foot is such a complex part of the body and there is a lot to damage. Is there any way of trying a different hospital? One with a good reputation for care? It sounds like you have a good support system in your family and you may need to ask them for help with many activities. I can say that even with a torn ligament (not a break) it can take a very long time to heal and walking on it can be too painful for some time (upwards of 3 months according to some accounts). I would strongly suggest that you do not push it and try to give the foot a break, don't push the walking, around the house is one thing but say taking the dog for a walk, I would avoid it as if you fall again its going to be so much more painful. When I had to walk to the doctors I used walking sticks (live in the city with no car so had to walk) and sat down just about everywhere I could on the way to and back. I remember after each trip to the doctors my foot would feel more painful and the swelling would return so that my toes turned purple. For me it took about a month to be able to walk and another to be able to walk without swelling and lots of pain, even when I went back to work I had to be soooo careful as the ankle was just not strong. I really hope you can find a decent doctor to look at your foot and let you know if there is a break as it does sound like there could be a break.
Bluebelle 1987 - I am not sure if you are the same person as Vicky but I assume that you are and the second post was a follow up one. If you did tear 3 tendons badly enough you can find walking quite painful and to be honest tearing a tendon is harder then breaking a bone, for one thing a break is easier to see in x-ray and tendons need a MRI to asses, mostly not worth it for hospitals. The problem is that if you have a complete tear or near complete tear it can take just as long as a bone to heal and until it does it will be weak and the chances of re-damaging it are high. A torn ligament (or 3) is just as serious an injury as a break and a lot more frustrating. When you try to walk you will have to favor one side and thats bad for your spine when done excessively. If the swelling is still there you can always take medicines for swelling like the anti-inflammatory ibuprofen, likewise if the swelling starts to effect the skin you can massage in lotion to keep the skin from drying out (thats why my toes turned purple a month and a half later). If walking is painful and hard, don't worry that a torn ligament cannot do that because it can, it can be quite painful for some time. If you do have to leave the house and walk to say a doctors office you can wrap the ankle and foot to give support to the joint and hopefully avoid the worst of the pain and any chance of re-damaging it. All the best!
I was in compression bandages for a year and 8 weeks ago I lost balance and twisted ankle and ended up on floor with left foot stretched out behind me. Since then I have been in agony and I told the district nurses about the fall and the pain and they claimed the compression bandage would support any injury I have acquired. I came out of compression bandages two weeks ago and put into compression stockings and I literally ccannot tooouch just above my left heal due to pain. If I stand up the pain travels up my leg, and I am having great difficulty walking on left leg. I got the district nurse to look at ankle and he said he could see bruising in area i get the pain. I am unsure if I should go to A&E as hubby reckons they will put me in plaster cast to rest my leg? Any suggestions anyone?
Alexandra - I would strongly urge you to go to A&E to get an x-ray. It sounds like you are in one painful situation and need to rule out breaks and such. If you can arrange for a ride to and from you could even try to go at a time when (in theory) it should be slightly less busy (I found going on the weekend was not advised by the paramedics, they suggested going at the start of the working week!). I do hope you get some good advice on the extent of the damage and what to do to start healing.
Hi! Back about two and a half three years ago I tore ligaments in my right ankle also.
Ever since then my ankle still hurts! Two years ago about a year after the first incident I sprained it.
BUT IT STILL HURTS!!!!! Do I need an x-ray? Plzzz Help!
Also I wear a brace at the moment cause don't know what else to do but it hurts! do i need a doctor or an x-ray?!?! Help mee plzzzz
Lahama - 2-3 years is a long time for an injury like this to continue hurting. Did you have an x-ray when you injured it 2-3 years ago? If you had had a break back then there could be a chance that the bone healed poorly and has given you this trouble. My mother in law broke a bone in her foot years ago that did not heal properly and has had problems every since. If you can it would be wise to go to your doctors and tell them about your injury 3 years ago and that your foot still causes you pain, see if they can do an x-ray and look for a bad heal in the bones or scar tissue on the bones. For now the brace is a good idea, until you can see about getting a doctor to examine your foot. I hope that you can get to a good doctor soon and get this sorted out!
I did not have an x-ray... We just thought it was a sprain.... later I went to the doctor and he said I had torn a ligament but he wasn't sure where!! I have NEVER had any broken bones EVER!!! I'm starting to think it's a hairline fracture but I can go to the doctor Thursday maybe.. Thank you soooooooo much for the help!
It certainly could be a hairline fracture, I had one in my pinkie finger knuckle a while back and boy did it hurt. Knowing what it was made it a lot easier to treat it so that it healed properly. I actually found the torn ligament harder just because the doctors were unable to give me advice or treatment other then take it easy on your foot (real helpful). A break (even a hairline one) that does not heal right can be a real pain for years after so if that is the problem I hope the doctor can do something for ya :)
One more last question for you.... For a hairline fracture would you need a cast??? Because I enjoy being very active and would not want a cast! I always ride my bike and I wouldn't want to not be able to stay off it for weeks! Thanks!
I doubt that they would put your foot in a cast, that is not the popular treatment for foot injuries anymore and if its possible to avoid they do. The reason for this is that while one area of the foot is injured a case restricts the whole foot and this can result in needing physical therapy for the foot once out of the cast.
Thanks.............in my case i tore my ankle when playing football. i din give it proper rest n the injury worsened. after i give it a couple of days off, the pain n swelling goes very down, i can even play football and run. but when i shoot the ball, it again starts paining. this is when when i hit a out foot shot in which i have to stretch my ankle. I know rest is the solution but how long??? i guess there is partial tear. i have rested my ankle for 2 weeks now but it is not 100 percent yet. very little pain n swelling still persists..........how long do you think it will take me to be able to play football again????? please help..THANK YOU
Vikram - The length of time for recovery for your ligament is really down to how badly it was torn. A tear can be a quite small, a few of the fibres in the ligament tearing, or the tear can be as bad as a complete tear, this is what is needing time to heal and thus the heal times can vary from say a month or so to 6+ months and even more when the area is re-damaged. The only suggestion I have for speeding up the recovery time in any way is to do things that encourage healing and in turn might speed up the time a bit. Things like eating a healthy diet mean you supply your body with what it needs to heal as opposed to a bad diet that does not supply the nutrients needed to aid healing.
When my ankle got to a point similar to what you are describing I found that 'normal' type exercises like walking to work and such was actually just what I needed. My only concern was the fact that it was not quite at 100% and so could feel a bit 'weak'. It kinda felt like a month or two of physical therapy to get the foot back to normal strength, so that I could feel it was 100% back to normal :)
I did not use the natural remedies from Nelsons with my injury but this last summer my niece banged her foot quite badly, a really hard blow against a tree trunk. My mother in law gave her a natural remedy from Nelsons Arnicare that reports to aid the body in healing tendons and muscle injuries, and it did seem to help my niece. I cannot say from experience if it actually was helping as I don't know how long the recovery would have been without the Nelsons Arnicare stuff but my niece (7 years old) was convinced it was helping her. Kids do heal faster then adults so I don't really know but it did look like it might have helped. Her foot when to swollen and hot to the touch to being able to walk on it in 3 days, she even insisted that she was OK to try rock climbing (we thought we were going to have to cancel the training with an instructor for the kids). She actually did very well climbing, better then me! LOL
thanx it was helpful I definitely agree a torn ligament is more painful, compared to when I fractured my wrist!!! I have repeatedly torn my ligament 3 times and so now the ligament is so worn that it is no longer connected to my bone so.... my advice let it heal and rest it the first time so u don't have to get multiple surgeries to fix it as do I and I am only a kid. Good Luck and hopefully you guys have a speedy recovery!
Hi my name is alex.. And two days ago( night b4 thanksgiving) I sprained/twisted my ankle playing basketball (Landed on someones foot after a rebound) I've had my troubles with twisting my ankles in my life. What I do after I sprain it.. I get up move it up and down and side to side to make sure it's not broken and get up and walk.. So I know it's just sprained and not broken. But i feel like dis sprain I did more damage than in my past ankle injuries. I'm still struggling to put weight but I can put weight and I can wiggle my toes.. Lots of swelling and some bruising.. I'm an impatient person so I wanna walk already but I know that's not gonna happen. To sum it up.. Lots of swelling, bruising on both sides of my ankles, I am able to move my ankle up and down but I can't do a circle (rotation) with my foot yet, able to put pressure on it and somewhat walk? What level is my ankle sprain or do I have a torn liga
Ent?. Should I be doing any exercise on my ankle? It's only been my 3rd day from the injury..so should I rest it? Need some advice on what level my ankle sprain is in and should I fully rest it and wait a week to start my rehab. Would help me a lot thank u :)
and if it's a torn ligament.. Do I need surgery? Or can I take a long rehab and wait for it to heal itself?
No more basketball for me.. Wanna be able to walk with no problem when I'm in my 40s (20 years old right now)
I can't tell if my ankle is broken cause it's swollen but I highly doubt it if I'm able to wiggle my toes, move my ankle up and down and put some pressure when taking a small step. So it's not broken right??
Alex - What you describe sounds very much like a torn ligament to me, without being able to see it I can't say for sure but it sure does sound like it. The good news is, it does not sound like a complete tear, if so the heal time should be faster. I will say this, if you have not had a doc have a look at it yet you should, it seems unlikely to be a break but without an x-ray it is not wise to rule it out completely (it is rare but people do suffer breaks and don't know it for years and the break never heals properly in that situation). Assuming it is a damaged/torn ligament you should not need surgery (that is pretty rare for non professional athletes). The advice given to me was to take it easy, keep any movement and exercise gentle so as not to further damage it and then just be patient, it takes time to heal and that can be frustrating but medically speaking there is not much they can do beyond saying to take it easy.
Thank you so much for the info. Imma do the RICE TECHNIQUE. What I didn't do was.. I didn't put ice on my ankle till the 2nd day so I know it's gonna take longer to heal. I'm on my 3rd day I'm resting buy I'm also trying to flex it and give it some strength bcuz I have an important day on the 4rth of December that I can't miss.. If I put an ankle brace would I be able to walk?
Alex - I did try to flex my ankle by 'writing' the alphabet with my foot and toes. I felt it was important to move it within the bounds of what I could without causing major pain (it was kinda a good pain if you know what I mean). When I absolutely had to walk, like going to the doctors for a sick note for work, I wrapped my foot up as much as my shoes would allow, it did help, that and taking it nice and slow. I also used walking sticks (this was last winter with icy sidewalks) that helped quite a bit. I can't say for sure how you will be on the 4th but I suspect if you take precautions for not falling on it again like a brace and enough time to walk slowly and take breaks you should be able to manage. You may also want to take anti-inflammatory pills as you could find it flares up after walking. I can sympathize with having to walk even tho it would be better not to, life just does not work out that way does it?! When you have done what it is you need to do you may want to do the RICE treatment again, help to reduce the inflammation that walking might cause. I hope things work out good for you on the 4th! All the best.
Well today is the 4th of December.. And I can say I'm walking normal with some small pain but I can walk. I've done the alphabet and I was able to flex my ankle.also I put my ankle in a bucket of ice water and the next Thayer the swelling went down a lot. I have a blessing with my ankles healing fast but I'm taking it easy.. I still feel like any twist can set me back cause it's still weak. So now that it's been a week and a couple days into my injury.. My ankle isn't swollen or bruised but still have little pain. What can u say about my injury now?
funny thing that happened... I was walking around my room with a shoe on my injured ankle and I kinda hit the side of the door with my injured ankle and I felt and heard a small pop (a good pop) and my ankle felt much better and it had less stress on it... Idk if that's a good thing.. I'm guessing it is because if it was a bad pop I would probably have a cast on it or something.
Alex - Good news on the ankle! That pop sounds weird but probably did help, could be that a ligament or tendon was caught or moved and that got it back in place. I would say that from the sounds of it you are healing very well and you are right to take it easy. The advice I got was that until an injury like this is completely healed the chances of going down on it again are high and that is the one thing to worry about (just don't want that to happen). It does sound like so long as you take it easy it should heal up nicely, a little exercise like you have been doing should keep the joint healthy and strong so really that is the best thing you can do until it feels totally healed. Good stuff that its healing!
Hey it's me again.. Good news but I got some concernes about my ankle. I can't completely do a circle with my ankle.. I can easily move it up and down but I can't do a completely full circle as I can with my other ankle. I still feel pain which I can understand since I tore my ligament. But I can't flex it as much as my other ankle.. Should I be concerned?... I really don't wanna go to the doctors and find out the have to break my ankle so they can fix it.
Alex - I had exactly the same! I could move the ankle joint one way fairly easily but not so well in other ways. I tended to try to do those harder to do motions, gently of course, as my physiotherapy. It took ages before the movement was completely normal, so even tho I could walk just fine I knew the injury still needed more care and careful treatment until that movement was back to normal. My cousin at the time was doing a residency for becoming a physiotherapist and over the phone agreed that what I was doing was the way to go, also over time it really did seem to work as my ankle is completely healed and is as strong as ever.
Are you being sarcastic with the whole "took ages" thing right? lol
also since my ankle feels like it's 100% when in reality it's not I jumped up to hit the roof completely forgetting my ankle is still injured and I got a sharp pain.. Wake up call that it still injured. So by walking and flexing it... How long do u think imma be out of playing basketball??
Also do you know why it's harder for me to move my ankle in a certain way??
Alex - Sadly I was not being sarcastic, I was able to get back to work and function mostly normally but for a full recovery, it took a couple of months to be back to full strength. I felt with my ankle that certain movements were harder to do then others was probably down to which ligaments and tendons are responsible for that movement. The weak and still recovering ligament struggled when having to do those movements. Torn and damaged ligaments are a pain in the, well ligament (sorry bad joke). It seems weird but it is true, a broken bone would have been easier to treat and heal(just what the paramedics told me).
I tore a ligament once. Talk about pain. I don't go to the doctor for every little thing, but when I woke up with my right ankle swollen, hardly able to walk, I knew I had to get to the doctor.
X-rays didn't seem to reveal much. I got prescription and went home, advised to stay off of it. I was off work for a week ( I think ) and even had pain for weeks to come.
I had to wear a ankle support which really helped.
I recently suffered a really bad sprain where at first i thought it was dislocated because it popped out and i immediately popped it back in i went to the ER that night and they told me i had not dislocated it and after seeing a specialist they told me i had torn a ligament and put me in a full hard cast and told me to wait four weeks for the cast to be taken off how long should i wait before trying to put some weight on it?
Freddy21 - Wow, that sounds like one heck of an injury! I take it you are still in the cast? If there is any issue with you standing and putting weight on the foot while its in the cast your doctor should have told you to stay off it, even with the cast. In your shoes I would try to call the doc and get proper advice over the phone to be safe, I do imagine that while the cast is on they will say its OK to stand and function the way people do when in a foot cast, ie walking with crutches. I do expect that when the cast comes off you are likely going to have to do physiotherapy to build the strength back up before being able to stand and walk without risk of further injury. In theory with a cast on your foot it should be protected by the cast but in your place I would double and triple check with a doctor who has examined the foot or has access to the medical records from the doctor who did examine it. I just don't think you should take any chances as they do not usually put a torn ligament injury in a cast and that says to me your injury is quite bad. I really hope that you heal up completely and would love to hear what your doctors advice is on the standing on the foot question. :)
If I wore an ankle brace from now on.. Will my ankle get weak by using it every time I play basketball??
Alex - If you are using it to play basket ball, because you think the ankle is almost healed then I do not think wearing an ankle brace would weaken it. The idea being that the ankle is supported while you play but during more normal activities its still getting movement and exercise so that it stays strong. I would however suggest that even with the brace on you let any coach and team members know that the injury is close but not quite healed, that you are playing so as to keep your skills up and let your ankle 'tell' you how it is doing and what it can handle.
Hello, a few days ago I was packing a lot of boxes and carrying a huge stack down the steps. Ironically this is about the same time my five and two year old decided to put all their toys on the bottom step. I have had several sprains in the past but something unique about this one. Instant swelling and pain of course and a little bruising. I rested but couldn't bear weight. I have a job that sometimes brings emergencies and not thinking, I took a huge step on the bad ankle like a running motion. The pop was huge, it almost echoed, but get this, the pain almost intantly stopped and the swelling when down to almost normal. Could I have had a dislocation? You mentioned in an earlier post about a ligament being out of place? I'm happy now I can finish m christmas shopping!! Just curious about this
jfink - It sure does sound like a dislocation of the ligament based on what you describe. Good thing too if you are behind on the christmas shopping! :D
Just try to be careful with that foot and it probably is fine, of course if there is any re-occurrence of pain in the foot you will want to get it looked at at that point (I imagine that wont be a problem tho)
Right now I'm not mentally stabled to get back on the court because I get flashbacks of what happened, so I'm not in the game like I have to. so right now I'm doing normal activity like walking, doing the alphabet with my foot and doing normal activities. I'm not anywhere close to running a full sprint in basketball and coach would get mad if I dont go up for a rebound which is my nightmare right now lol. I'm still worried tho.. I have pain in my ankle still.. And I can't make a complete circle. For some reason I feel like theirs a bone that's preventing it from doing the circle movement.. Or is just my torn ligament not being able to do that move yet??
alex - I just, re-read your previous posts and wonder if you did have an x-ray when the injury happened? For some reason I thought I remembered you had but I may have assumed you had. If you have not had an x-ray, it would be good so that you know for sure the bones are all ok. If the ligament was completely torn that could account for the inability to do certain movements. My tear felt like a complete tear when I had it and my ankle just wouldn't go a certain way for some time. I would move as close to it as I could without pushing it, over time it got a little closer and a little closer until it finally could just about do all movements, and eventually could do all without issue. If you can rule out any sort of break with an x-ray then it does sound like a complete or almost complete tear to me.
So it has been about a month and 2 weeks. And I still feel pain when I try to jump (jump shot in basketball) and the same injury happened to a professional Basketball player 2 days before my injury happened (November 23) and his out till March and he had surgery. So that means it might take me longer to heal since I didn't get injury?
I feel like I have a misplaced bone.. But if that was the case wouldn't I limp? I walk perfectly fine. But when it comes to moving my foot a certain way I'm still not able to do so and I still get pain.
I meant SURGERY instead of Injury on my Question.
Alex - If my injury is anything to go by your foot just needs time to heal completely (takes a long time, longer then if you broke it in some cases). With my foot I was half convinced that the doctors were talking BS and didn't know or care but after a few months like you, able to walk but not run or jump, I found that I could increasingly do more and more, until finally it felt completely healed. It took forever tho! Boy did it take a long time! I have started taking cod liver oil for my joints (I have naturally weak joints already) in the hopes of not having this type of injury again. I don't know how much it will help but I am willing to try as I would rather have decent joints in my old age :D
Hey Krisen, remember me? Umm we haven't been able to go to the doctor's office :(........... I have been wearing my bandage and it STILL huts!!!!!! No swelling,bruising just pain! And lately when I run it twists so easily and really hurts! My friends and I were running and just as I was slowing it felt like the muscle twisted and I almost fell to the ground! Then almost the rest of the day I was limping. After a while it stopped hurting but almost every time I run it twists and really hurts! Please help, and I can't go to the doctor's office anytime soon! :(
lahama - I just read through the comments to find your previous ones. You were worried before that you might have had a hairline fracture and since you did not have an x-ray it was certainly a possibility, I take it you still have not had an x-ray for evidence of a fracture?
If it was a fracture there is a chance that it has not healed right, you really need to have that foot examined. I would not suggest you go running or anything where you could fall on that ankle until you have seen a doctor and had an x-ray. I know its not always easy to get to a doctor and if you need to you might want to take yourself to the hospital, they should be able to x-ray the foot then and there. I hope you can get that foot properly examined soon, I am worried that something has healed badly and could cause you problems for a long time to come. :(
kirstenblog,
hi there,i have severely torn the ligaments in my ankle and am currently in cast (i needed splints inside the pot to hold my ankle in place as it was twisted out of place and i had no movement at all) i can now move my toes but when i had the pot changed could not move my ankle at all, my ankle is pretty numb and i can still feel things moving around inside it and its been 4 weeks sice i injured it, was there a time when you couldnt move your ankle at all? im a bit concerned at the mo that i wont get the movement or full movement bk?? cheers x
oopsie - The injury sounds quite a lot worse then mine was if you had it put in a cast and splints. I did have a point where I could not move my ankle at all, without lots of pain and I have healed completely. The problem is that what you describe sounds worse then what I had, meaning I really don't know the chances of a full recovery that will not give problems long term. I would, in your shoes, be sure to take to heart advice from the doctors as to when its ok to move it, put weight on it, etc. Has your doctor given you any advice?
kirstenblog,
been told i can put weight on it in the cast and to try and get used to walking on it, not really had any advice and not been fully told whats wrong with it just torn ligaments, i couldnt not move it cos it was painful it just didnt do anything when i tried may have to give the doctor another call or ask more questions at next hosp appointment - thanks for getting bk to me :)
oopsie!- I am wondering if you had a complete tear. The ligaments in our joints like the ankle, are made up of fibers that can tear, a few might tear and the connections in the joint suffer, or you have the whole ligament tear completely. I wonder if this is why they decided to put you in a cast. You may want to ask the doc if they think it is a complete tear.
kirstenblog
think i will ask the doctor, at the moment all i know is it wont move and that i have damaged both sides of my ankle and that i have torn the ligaments,thanks once again
I really don't no what I did to my ankle. I'm a skateboarder and I hurt my ankle 5 or more weeks ago. I thought it was just a sprain it could be more I'm not sure. But when it happend my ankle bent in an awkward position just like in the picture at the top of the page. It also poped like twice realy loud nd I felt it too. I cud walk on it the rest of that day but the next day I could not nor cud I the next few days. Well here I am 5-6 weeks later and I can skate. I just can't do any tricks wear I have to bend my ankle or flick it because it will really hurt the muscle Do u know how long it will heal and what's wrong with it?
From the time it happend tell a few days ago I did not skate on it. And I can run with litle pain. I did not get it looked at but my parents said it could take 6 months for it to fully heal and Can skate and do any tricks. I hope it doesn't take this long because I love to skate.
Shane - It does not sound like a break but have you had an x-ray, it is a good idea just to be on the safe side. Chances are you did your ligaments a bit of damage, it sounds like you are healing BUT you do not want to fall on that ankle again! That will get you off that skateboard for awhile, perhaps you could try wearing a brace to support your ankle if you feel that you are able to skate but maybe a bit less? It does sound like your foot does have some strength to it and it might be a case that you really just want to be mindful of the weaker areas of the joint. The one thing to think about is that by taking it easy you have less risk for re-damaging it and it is under less strain so can heal faster. If you do go for an x-ray just to make sure, you can ask about wearing a brace for some of those activities you don't want to get out of the habit of practicing.
hi an MRI scan can show up a torn ligamens, just had one in the uk,(not sure where you are). ive torn a ligament and have two fractures not a lot of pain but wont be climbing again for 6 months, having an operation to alaign my ankle. hope this helps elliott
Alright thank you. Iv decided to give my ankle some time to heal a few months or so. I'm not Gona step foot on another skateboard tell a few months have passed. hopfully by summer I can start skateing again. It sucks but I'll just have to re-learn alot, when it comes to skating nd you take a long break from it... It is like learning all over again lol. "should be fun!" Ty for replying to my comment in such short time I appreciate the help.
Hey Kirsten, great hub, very informative. I take it (without having read through *all* the comments) that your sprain healed without issue?
robschwenck - The comments this hub has received amazed me! I think there is probably more in the comments then the hub itself LOL. Yup, my foot heal up just fine, a year on and I have absolutely no problem with it at all :D (perfect heal! Woo Hoo!)
hi kristen! ummm well i dont know if u were able to tell but i am a kid... am only 11..... so it'll probably be a while until i can make it to the doctors between school and stuff. My mom says to wear the bandage but i always wind up taking it off! then she says "keep it on but if it still hurts i will take you to the doctors." but i always forget to put it on! but thank you so much and i will post back to you once i have gotten to the doctors! :3
lahama - I did not realise you were so young, figured mid teenager (tho you never really know online tho do you?). I am kind of surprised that your foot is still bothering you as we all tend to heal fastest when we are young, I broke my elbow when I was your age that healed fine, if I did the same now it would likely always be somewhat sore. I can understand wanting to take the bandages off, it can feel restrictive and suffocate the skin making it itchy. The bandages are a good idea when you are active tho, maybe take them off when you are chilling and not on your feet to much. If you can show your mom that you are making a serious effort to wear them then she may seriously consider taking you to the doctor when/if it still hurts (show her the seriousness you want her to show you, might work and is worth a try). Feel free to pop by anytime and let me know how you are getting on. :D
Hi I broke my ankle at easter 2008 I broke a small bone in my ankle and have since been for mri scans and xrays and nothings been done, they said they can do surgery on my ligaments and tendons in my ankle as I could be sat down for minimum of 10 miniutes and ill get really bad cramp and can't feel tgthe ankle up to my knee and start getting shooting pains in my leg like ime been repeditly stabbed! Its a horrible feeling I just want to get it sorted I am 17 now neally 18 and I did this when I was 14 - 15 and causes me trouble all the time I can't even feel my foot half the time and its always crunches and the bones grind, also ankle and toes sometimes go blue purple colour . Can any1 help me. Thanks.
keeley - Ouch! What you describe sounds like it involved both a broken bone and badly torn ligaments. If they are offering you surgery it must be serious. In your shoes I would be seriously considering taking the surgery. Living with what you describe is no way to live, in that sort of discomfort and pain. I know surgery itself does have risks so you are going to have to make your own decision on that score but I wish you all the best!
hi again.....i had posted for advice 3 months ago after i had torn a ligament in my ankle when playing football...as it turns out, a doctor is basically helpless to speed your recovery up...all i did was eat healthy...light exercise...and 2months of rest 4 the ankle...my ankle is now fully fit and i can play football again with the same intensity as i did before...thanks for the advice Kristen
Vikram - Good to hear your ankle is back to normal and you back enjoying some football!
Well bad news... i was jumping on the couch, i leaped off it and landed on my ankle in almost the same position as it showed in the picture.... now it REALLY hurts... i should be into the doctor's office soon!
lahama - What a horrible way to get your self to the doctors! That must have hurt soooo much, yikes! I do hope the doctor gets to the root of the problem and gets you the best recovery plan. Since you are young your body should be able to heal completely. All the best!
About a week ago I have torn my ligaments at school. I am currently in matric and iy is terrible to move between classes. I feel sad about what happend to my ankle because it is the athletics now and the winter sports are around the corner. I relly wish that my ankle would heal faster. I'm frustrated with the situation because I'm finding it hard to go by my normal rotine and going out with friends. I really want to be able to walk by monday...could that be possible?
lollie - I sympathize with your frustration, not being able to move about normally is a real pain. It sounds like you are still pretty young (being in school still) so you should heal faster then I did. The problem is that until the ankle is completely healed the chances of doing it more damage means its just not worth pushing yourself to much.
I have to disagree with the video.... I broke my right ankle badly 2 years ago and a cousin of mine said that if I could move it it wasn't broken. I WAS able to move it and it WAS broken!
zombiemonkey - I agree and think the video is good as a rule of thumb kind of thing. There are always exceptions to just about any rule, including the if you can move it it ain't broke rule. I think that is why in the end I had 2 x-rays done, just in case, because it wasn't healing and a break would have made sense. My mother in law broke a bone in her foot that never got treated (she didn't think it was broke) and years and years later that break healing poorly came back to give her real pain in her foot. I think its always best to go for the x-ray to rule out the broken bone thing before assuming its a torn ligament when the pain seems that bad. Doctors might know lots but they can still make mistakes and over look stuff.
hi, nicholas here. i tore my ankle ligament about five weeks ago while playing football. i was really exhausted and when i blocked a shot i forgot to lock my ankle and as i was pretty near the impact was kinda huge and it made my ankle turn inwards. after that i could walk to a seat but that was it. it was really swollen and it was like there was a tennis ball on the outside of my foot. the thing i'm worried about is that i didnt ice it immediately or the days after. i was sent to a&e and was told that my leg had to be put in a below-knee cast the following week for 2 weeks. after the cast was removed my ankle felt really weak and i couldnt stand on it or i would get lots of pins and needles and some pain. on the fourth week i was off my crutches and walking with an ankle brace but after a long day of walking my leg would swell up when i got home and i had to wait till the next day for the swelling to subside. now its the fifth week and it isnt that swollen already but i have an overseas holiday in two weeks and there would be a lot of walking, what i need to know is whether i will be able to walk normally painfree for three consecutive days and when i can get back to playing football again. i'd really appreciate your help!
nicholas93 - Ouch! It sounds like you did a real number of you ankle if they decided to put it in a cast! It does sound like you are healing pretty quickly but I would offer you a word of caution, if it feels 99% better, be careful anyway as it is much easier to re-injure it if its still healing. It is not really possible to say if you will be able to handle a lot of walking on this holiday like normal, you might want some sort of basic brace to support the joint, it might get swollen if it really is a lot of walking too. You are young enough you might just heal fast enough to get through your holiday fine but its not easy to say how long until you are playing football again. I guess take it one stage at a time and see how it goes on holiday, if its not too bad you might find your healing fast and are playing football again soon but take care on holiday so you don't go down on it again. I hope it works out OK for you on holiday! Have a great time :)
thanks a lot for getting back so quickly! =) really hope i can get back to playing football again soon, its been really frustrating for me the past few weeks, not being able to do so many things. anyway your advice is really helpful, thanks!
Hi Kristen. I went over on my ankle 5 weeks ago playing football, after a week I decided to go to A&E. I was told I had torn a couple of ligaments and put into a half cast. A week later the cast came off and I felt much better, but to my astonishment they stuck a full cast on which comes off in two days time. I'm guessing that rehab is going to play a big part!
I just wanted to know did you see a phisyo or did you just get the info from your cousin over the phone? By the way, this is a great post and I'm glad to hear you are better.
Hi Mani - I am not sure how your comment got past my inbox but I am glad to have seen it at any rate! I did not do any official physiotherapy and just talked with my cousin and tried to do the alphabet with my foot the way he described, so as to move the ankle in as many ways as I could manage. It took a bit of patience and perseverance but it did pay off as I have no further problems now :)
Hey-
About three years ago my husband and I were hiking and I slipped and tore three ligaments in my ankle! I went to the doctor and he had me do exercises and of course I did RICE! He xrayed it and said it was torn! I still have pain daily and I still do my exercises faithfully, ice it and take ibuprofin when necessary! HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
pinupgirl - From the sounds of it I am wondering if it has healed badly, and that is why you have persistent pain after so long (3 years is a long time for your foot to not heal, more likely it healed badly). I am not aware of any treatment for a badly healed ligament, in your shoes I would be asking the doctor to look at it again (and if I don't think he is taking it seriously, find another doc for a second opinion). I am not sure what more I can say except I hope there is something they can do to improve a badly healed ligament. :(
Hi again, rmb I tore a couple of my ankle ligaments four months ago? Well, I think I was well on my way to a full recovery until a couple of days ago when I went to play football and when I stretched to receive a pass, I felt a sharp pain in my left ankle and stopped playing immediately. After that it swelled up although the pain was minor. So it can't be a torn ligament again, can it?
nicholas93 - It sounds like you have re-damaged or undone the healing your body had already done. Until an injury like this is completely healed its actually much easier to fall on your injured ankle which can put you back to square one so to speak. I was warned when I did my ankle in that until it was 100% healed that it was a weak point and falling/re-damaging it was very easy to do if not careful. Hopefully it wont have gone all the way back to square one in terms of healing but from your description it sounds like you might have put the healing right back :(
A week ago today I was playing football and I went over on my ankle rly hard, I knew I had done something as it swelled up instantly.. Bout 2hours later I went to the hospital as my ankle was massive, they x-rayed my ankle to find no breaks or feactures and sent me on my way, I rested it and iced it and swelling has gone down and my ankle is extremly bruised.. I can't afford to b off work so after 5days off I have worked 2 shifts.. I has been uncomfatable to say the least but bareable.. But the pain is getting worse, and there is still swelling around my ankle bbut noware else, also have bruises arounds ankle, down my foot and across base of my toes, thing is I have now been getting intense stabbing pain in my ankle when foot is raised and even more painful wen I put foot on the floor.. Sometimes it happends sometimes it doesn't.. :/ not sure if I beleave x-rays and doctor.. How long should I have off work? And should I rly b driving on it? :(
Chrisc88 - Your foot sure does sound like its in an awful state. The pain and swelling/bruising you describe sounds like the same symptoms I had with my torn ligaments. Did the doctors give you a diagnosis? If not, go back to them, don't let them brush you aside. A torn ligament is a lot harder for them to assess and with few treatments they do seem to take a dismissive attitude but the fact remains that if you aren't given proper care advice you can easily cause your foot further damage. They should have told you to stay off of the foot, given you a sick note (or its equivalent in your area of the world) so that the time off work shouldn't hurt your position with your employer. If the work problems remain even with a doctors permission to take the time off, would your employer allow you to do tasks where you can sit down? By wearing a brace on the ankle, getting any help with driving and such, and being allowed to do your work sat down, could at least minimise the chances of you over doing it and exacerbating and already serious injury. I hope you can get things worked out soon so that you can give that foot a break to heal! :)
The. Pain is much much worse today, at times I can't stand up on it so the fun begins in goin back to the hospital :( as for work there isn't any sit down jobs coz I'm a chef and 2moz I'm ment to be working 14hr shifts rushed around on my feet. Hope they sort something out this time coz there advice was poor lol far more help from you! Few ppl think it might be a small break or a fracture especially because of the pain.. Ill write back on here again once I no :( cheers for the advice again!!
I tore 2 out of 3 of my ankle ligaments almost 2 years ago.... The dr that sent me for mri advised that it is best if i dun go for ankle ligament recinstruction. Now I still feel a lot of pain on my ankle and also I am not able to resume doing what i like most i.e. running. Btw hope yr ankle has fully recicered.
min - sorry to hear that you are still having problems after so much time! Has your doctor kept an eye on that ankle over this time? I ask because it seems like they should be monitoring it and hopefully working out why its not healing properly :(
Sadly no. I have been trying to get a referral letter to see an Orthopedic Specialist but all I get was "Your ankle is fine" from the GP... Why I need a referral letter is due to the fact that the specialist feels that my ankle has recovered and need not be seen anymore. So in order to see a specialist, I have to be referred... thats how the system work in my country...
I stepped off a curb on June 23rd, and my ankle went completey sideways toward the inside. My foot swelled up immediatly and I could not walk at all. I went to the ER and they did an xray and said it wasn't broken. I then went to an Orthepedic doctor and he said that I sprained it real bad and in a case like mine, he recommends a cast for 6 weeks. After 3 weeks in a cast, the doctor re-evaluated my ankle and put on another cast. I have 4 more days to go till I see my doctor again. For the past 6 weeks, my ankle swells unless I elevate it. It has been hurting on both sides and I still have problems walking. I'm afraid that I will have to have surgery on it.
min - You must feel so frustrated and the hoops you have to jump through to get the help you need. I hope you can get a specialist to have a look and do something. I can get so frustrated with the medical system sometimes! Gah!
mommy03 - OUCH!!!! It sounds like you did a really bad number on that ankle. I hope you can avoid surgery, maybe those casts will have helped protect it enough to do some significant healing, I have my fingers crossed for you!
Thank you for the information I think I've torn a ligament in my ankle I did it about 2 weeks ago now. I did it when opening my front door my dog jumped at me in excitement an knocked me backwards of the door step, an I turned an twisted my ankle an cracked it of the step. It hurt it was like a sharp burning pain an it swelled up straight away I've been putting deep heat on it but some days it's better then I'll use my foot then it hurt again. :(
Thanks for your information 2 weeks ago i had a bad fall at work and still have brusing and swelling that wont go away even after them giving me ibprofen i can barely walk with out the crutches and now i need to start physical therapy, the worst part is that when i fractured my knee in 7 places it hurt a million times worse and when i dislocated my knee it was worse too. Being a medical assistant i try not to wonder if there treating me wrong.. hope your feeling better
hello, saw every1 sharing stories similar 2 mine, thought i would share as well,i have twisted my ankle before but never hurt this much... i was walking on grass and didnt see a dip in the grass and twisted my ankle very bad, i heard a pop are sumin and my ears felt liked i couldnt hear for a bit,took me awhile to get up, anyways i went to my dr and sent me for xrays at hospital, they said it wasnt broken and sent me home. i went to emergency a week later in alot of pain, they took xrays and said it wasnt broken, dr said it might be a torn ligament and wrapped it and sent me home. i could not put any weight or walk on it yet. i elavated my foot, iced it, stayed off it. but was in alot of pain. so i went back to dr 3mths later said i couldnt walk and i was in alot of pain yet.they sent me specialist which took few weeks to book, he saw me for 5min said to get ct scan on my foot, that took 3 weeks to book, i finally went ct scan, have to wait a week for results now. just hope they find out what wrong its been over 4mths since this happened, im going crazy. but was reading alot of the stories on here,very helpful, getting more answer then from the dr lol.. i have been doing the exercise to try move my leg more, it still hurts and i use crutches to get around. i will be so happy to walk again. i will keep you posted on results on the ct scan..wish me luck.
Hi, Nearly 6 months ago I hurt my ankle at netball. Several ligaments and muscles were torn and a tear in the cartilage at the front in ankle joint. Had MRI and was told it was only a small tear in cartilage and should heal by itself. Have had fairly intensive physio for the past 5 months. I have had break for the past month to rest it but it's not improving. I get pain at the front where the tear was/is and a lot of stiffness. Am I a slow healer or could there be a problem?
Me - It sounds like you did not ankle a lot of damage! You could be a slow healer but it could also just be the fact that it was so traumatically damaged (with muscles and catilage torn as well as sever ligaments, I would say that sounds REALLY bad) that it is going to take a VERY long time to heal completely. Are you still in touch with the doctors over this? I imagine they should be keeping an eye on how quickly its healing.
well i went specialist today,for ct scan results.. he said my foot wasnt broken. i told him i cant walk on it yet, i asked what is wrong with my foot..he said "i dont know?" he told me to go back when the pain stops, then he will examine my foot...well still no answers yet, he told me go back in a month if the pain stops.... so am i just a slow healer??? or i dont know what is wrong with my foot n calf muscles??? i know its not broken i told him..
Thanks Kirsten. I'll be seeing the physio again next week to start strengthening exercises so I'll see what he says. Soft tissue damage is hard to diagnose and deal with. You cant always see it like a fracture in an x-ray and everyone is different and reacts and heals in different ways. I'll check in again after my physio appointment to let you know how things go.
hope to walk soon - You must feel so frustrated! I know I would be in your situation. I am surprised they haven't considered a torn ligament or other tissue damage, it wouldn't show in an x-ray and seems the most likely reason for your pain. At least if they were considering it as the problem you could have some sort of answer for whats wrong (even i it is a vague diagnosis).
yes it is frustrating Kirsten, seems like no one listening to me, i was talking to the specialist, telling him everything and he just walks out of office..im like ok was i done talking??? i told him i was the muscles or ligiments, it didnt feel like the bone..its going on 5mths now, and my friend broke her leg 3mth ago, her cast off, she walking around..i cant walk very far, if i go shopping i have to use wheelchair. im 41old female...im goin to make another appt with my dr..see if sum1 can help me...are tell me sumthing..thanks for listening Kirsten :)
I broke my ankle on Jan;25;2011 on the job I wnet to the doctor and he told me that I had to be out for 4to6 weeks I was out for 11 weeks and I am still going on with the pain today its ben 8 months and now the doctor is saying that it is torn ligaments. I still have pain
Hurt my ankle at volleyball 3 weeks ago.. Had a X-ray but had to wait 14 days to have another as they couldn't rule out a break due to swelling.. But now know there is no break, just torn ligaments ( I agree, worse then a break) have had a plaster back slab and crutchers since I did it. Btw when I hurt it I did hear a popping sound which was scary! I'm allowed to take the plaster off to shower now but have noticed the bruising is getting worse but also that my ankle is getting itchy... Any help or information you can provide? Ty
Hi Grace, Just wanted to let you know that when I did my ankle (torn ligs and muscles)I heard a loud pop sound too, not nice. My ankle also began to itch generally where the bruising was.
Also Kirsten, went back to physio after my month off and he said we will see how I progress over the next couple of weeks. If I don't improve he will send me to specialist for possible op on damaged cartilage.
it is sore
Grace - Oh man, the itch your having, I had that! With my foot still swollen and bruised with purple toes it was really weird, and kinda drove me nuts! I was so careful when I did scratch it, was as gentle as I could be, almost was using a feather to scratch with just to be as gentle as possible! I was told by my doc that I could take something like benydral for the itching, I think she said that any anti-histamine (what she could prescribe or what I could just buy over the counter) should help. I did not in the end try it because I hate taking pills and with the other pills I was taking I thought it wasn't worth it. If you do try it and it helps I would love to know :)
hi i did sprang my ankle on the 6/08/11 wen to the E.R at the Local Hospital and XR was taken, and was told there was not a broken, but an sprang ankle. I was send home to rest lift up my leg and see and Orthophedic Doc. 10 days later and told to wear a BOOT(?) and star walking by then I was using crutchers but to go to the toilet only I had spend most of those 10 days resting without stressing my injured ankle. As soon as I ahd the Boot fitted The nurse ask me to walk without using the crutches, I just could not, so I told her I wish to continue with the crutches. as per the description I still can not tell the degree of my injured neithr can the Docs. but I can tell that my foot looked horrible, big and like a rainbow adding the black colour,I did went back to work on the 29/08/11 since been almost on my foot tempted my to resume my household duties when no one was around thougth at work I'm told what to do and spend 3/4 of the day sitting with my leg "up" under my bench my only problem is that still wearing that boot; which is giving me a lot of suppot; but I forget to remove the straps while sitting, and if I do i forget to strap it back and then auchh it hurts. Its been 6 weeks since I first injured my ankle and still does not look good specially around it is sweell and black and it feels so thigth if I want to semi rotate it. I do not know what to do. I been refered to my local Doct. and he just look at my foot and ask me to be patient he was not agree with me going back to work other than that is nothing he can do. I'm still wearing the boot and resting as much as I can but I'm getting bit depressing. Any sugestions? Thanks for listenning.:(
sarah vensa - Sadly I cannot advise anything more then your doc is advising, take it easy on that foot. I know how stir crazy one can get being stuck and unable to even move about, the internet saw a lot of me when I was stuck :D
Hi, Christen, helpful info you have offered.
Feel happy for ur full recovery.
My story differs a bit.
Wheel rolled on my right ankle while I was getting off the car in May. Not run over it completely. I felt much pressure from the wheel. Screamed and car backed. Iced afterwards,swell starts slowly and bruise. I rested the next day. it got much better on the 3rd day.Not much pain.Though behind the ankle bone there is a hard zone,might be soft tissue gore. I walked slowly. Even had a biz trip to other city. But then it swell again and bruise bad ,much pain when press it. Went to 2 hospitals, doc not so much help. Said maybe soft tissue damage or ligament or achilles's tendon tear. Not sure if there is a break. I had herbal med applied and rest at home , got crutch online . STill not well after 40days, I started soaking my foot in hot herbal med every night which recommended by another doc. Worked well, the hard tissue softened. Now already 117 days(2808hrs), Although I can walk slowly. it still have twist feelings sometimes, and slight pain like sth.dragging in one point. Wonder when I can get a complete heal. Do u think I might have hairline break that I didn't realize? Now it is too late. Worried much.
micoz - Ouch! I am not sure of all the potential injuries your foot could have had from being run over. I am surprised you didn't get it checked out with an x-ray when or shortly after it happened. I think its a possibility that a hair line fracture could have happened but without an x-ray its impossible to say for sure. My mother in law had a hair line fracture years and years ago that she didn't get treated, she didn't realize she had it, and to this day she gets sore ankles and generally has problems. I think it would be a good idea to get a proper x-ray, even this late on, because if there is something that can be done there might not be a lot of time to do it before it simply heals badly. That said, I can understand your not going to the hospital straight away, I hate going to the doctors and hospitals! My niece a few years ago whacked her ankle really badly and my MIL used a homeopathy remedy called arnica and I am still impressed with how my niece responded to it and will be trying it should I ever get a bad sudden trauma like being hit or half run over but it seems it needs to be taken right away, at the point the injury first occurs.
Not much pain at the beginning, and was planning on having a baby soon, that's why did not do x-ray. Doc also said better not do MRI, which turned out to be a wrong suggestion. Besides doc said even if there is a fracture now , they can do nothing. I use red flower oil massage it at night, all the herbs I have been using are good for blood circulation.
i tore my ligaments in my foot when i was in the 4th grade by sitting on the handle bars of my brothers bicycle and my foor got caught in the spokes of the wheel i am now 22 and a couple months ago i was in the store an went to grab a bottle of pinesol off a high shelf and it ended up fallin and landing on the foot where i had torn my ligaments ever since then my foot has hurt and is getting worse first it would just hurt when i woke up in the morning and walk on it now it hurts sometimes during the day any suggestions on what i should do i do alot of walking since im in college
bechelli - Have you had a doctor look at your foot yet? If not that is the first thing I would suggest, especially if there is any bruising or swelling visible. You can also try wearing a brace or one of those tube bandages to support the ankle when you have to be on your feet a lot. At least then the joint is getting support since it sounds like it needs the chance to recover again.
just have one wish. Wish us all can heal over completely soon.
I fell over on my ankle 7 days ago at my dance class. I heard a popping sound, which was followed by the most excruciating pain. My ankle swelled up immediately - it actually looked like an aliens limb! I was taken to the hospital by ambulance and xrayed (which really hurt as i had to place my foot in four different positions on the table). They told me that "there were no obvious breaks but to come back in 5 days once the swelling has gone down to make sure". My ankle was bandaged and I was given crutches. I stayed off it all week, iced it and kept it elevated. I was given no painkillers so stuck with paracetamol and nurofen. I went back on friday - foot still very very swollen, tender and extremely bruised. They removed the bandage, took my crutches and told me to walk. No second xray, and they hardly touched my ankle. They have refered me to physio.
It's been 2 days now. I spend the weekend with it elevated again. I can walk, albeit lopsided. It's still so swollen I can't get my trainer on my foot. I'm so frustrated!
The worst thing is is that they didn't tell me what was wrong. I asked them if it was torn ligaments and they told me that they don't know.
:( feeling rather sorry for myself!
Siobhan - Sorry to take so long to reply, the email notice of your comment got lost I think. Ouch! Your foot sounds really banged up! I can share your frustration, they really don't seem to know what to do with these soft tissue damage injuries. I felt sorry for myself for over a month while sitting on the couch with it elevated watching TV or working on the laptop! It was another month or more limping (not proper walking) and trying to get the strength back so I didn't go down on it again. It was a total nightmare! I wish you all the best!
I went through hell 7 years ago with my left ankle when playing a softball game and I rolled it on a base. I heard a pop, it swelled up fierce, and turned purple in and around the back. Made it through the night but had to get it looked at. Xrays showed no signs of a fracture. Got referred to a specialist after making a visit to urgent care. Many appointments later, got an MRI, cortizone shots, and some PT sessions. I never regained full mobility, but learned to live with it. It took several months for the swelling to completely disappear and a full year before I could run, jump, or carry more than my body weight on it.
Fast forward to 1/21/12 and I am playing basketball...jumped up for a rebound and landed on someone's foot. My same left ankle explodes into pain and immediately begins to swell up. Two days later after RICE and no noticeable improvement, I go to urgent care. Just got back and the xrays show no signs of a fracture. Making an appointment to see a specialist tomorrow. Sigh...here we go all over again! At 35, I have officially retired from weekend sports
Hello Kirstenblog. I realize your injury occurred a couple of years ago, but I would love to know how well you healed. Recently (in January) I fractured my ankle, the tibia, fibula, and talus as well as tearing my ligament. I required surgery and now have a whole lot of hardware holding my ankle in place. Yes, it is a maddening recovery process. I have a checkup soon and I think I will be able to start weight-bearing on my foot. I found your hub very helpful. I too wrote a hub re: my broken bones if you are interested. Thank you for the info.
KaisMom, I would say my ankle recovered to about 99.9999%. When we last had a really bad cold snap I did find the ankle got somewhat tender and sore but it wasn't that bad. I just made sure to take it easy walking on slippery surfaces.
Your injury does sound pretty bad! Much worse then mine was. I didn't have broken bones as well, I imagine that really complicates matters. I will be sure to check out your hub and if you wanted you could leave a link here, might be helpful to readers who land here :)
I will do that. Just an FYI, my doctor said a torn ligament heals much slower than a broken bone. I am glad to hear you have made such a good recovery. http://kaismom.hubpages.com/hub/Broken-Ankles-101
Green Lotus Level 6 Commenter 2 years ago
Very helpful information Kirstenblog!..especially the alternating cold and hot treatments which I believe is great for keeping things moving and healing. I'm happy you are on the mend. I did this to myself twice over a 5 year period and I really feel for you! Unfortunately I didn't have Hubpages to keep me sane at the time and it was hell. I could move my toes and even my ankle (a bit) but the bruising and swelling was horrendous.
You mentioned that one might not have suffered a break if there was a lack of bruising. Now I'm wondering if I actually did break something! Could it be that one can break a tiny bone and not even know about it?