Anybody ever sprain an ankle? I have questions

[donheld]

How long did you stay off it?
How long afterward did you have problems with the ankle?

I sprained it almost 5 weeks ago and still there are times when it starts to hurt. It doesn't help that I have to get in and out of a bus 12 or more times a day. Not to mention walking and working out. Should it still be bothering me?

[MajorChode]

1. You should go get it checked out

The same thing happened to me and I later found out I had broken my ankle. It took two surgeries to repair it.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. I'm not a bit surprised it's still bothering you...

That's way too much activity!

Have you seen a doctor?

You need to...

You should stay off it at least a week!

Here's the rules:

Rest

Ice

Compression

Elevation.

RICE.

Good luck!

:hi:

[donheld]

6. I did that for 5 days

Saw the Doctor. The xrays said it wasn't broken, but I know sometimes they get it wrong. Worst thing for it was, the day I did it, I didn't know it how bad it was so I worked all day on it. I may have to call the Dr again.

[av8rdave]

3. I did when I was a kid

Took about a month to feel normal. That ankle is still larger than the other.

[old mark]

4. Should see a doc. They can really persist, and you may need an xray

to determine if you have a fracture.
There are a lot of variables with ankle stuff - if you can, take it easy on walking and working out for a few more days, but see a doc.

Good luck.
FWIW, I once broke my right ankle in 6 places, which is all the places there is.

mark

[alarimer]

5. It took months.

Even with physical therapy. I had an aircast on it, so I wasn't really off it at all. But the bruising didn't fade for a couple of months and it was 3-4 months before it felt strong enough to run on.

I would say ask your doctor if you have any questions. I would guess that 5 weeks is too soon for serious workouts (other than maybe walking).

[texanwitch]

7. Are you still wearing some sort of ankle brace.

I had to wear one on both ankles for at least two months before all the pain left.

CVS sells sports type braces that I wore.

The brace just supports your ankle.

You may need to use a cane for awhile, I did.

[donheld]

14. I wear one sometimes yet.

The sports type feels the best except it feels too small for my foot.

[texanwitch]

16. I used the velco type, you can adjust it to fit.

My right ankle took forever to heal, it is fine now.

I stepped in a hole.

I only wear high top shoes now.

And I watch for holes.

I really watch were I walk now.

[Tom Kitten]

8. Yes

I had the mother of all ankle sprains awhile ago, playing pickup basketball! It was a double sprain, was put in a cast, walked on crutches three weeks, the day they removed the cast it hurt so bad! Torn ligaments, I had to do exercises, I was taking the bus sometimes and had to clutch the handrail at all times because sometimes it would give and go sideways! Depending on how bad your sprain is, it might take up to a year. Of course, I had a really bad one...my Mom was a nurse at the hospitel I want to and the doctor who treated me said it was the worst sprain he had ever seen...would have been better if I had just broken it!

But yeah, it's gonna hurt for awhile...that's what I meant to say, but it will get better eventually, just do the therapy!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

9. I sprained mine badly about ten years ago

and I made the dumb mistake of not having it treated properly. I came down off a curb and turned it under, and it hurt like hell, but there were a bunch of errands I just had to finish, so I limped along for another couple of hours. By the time I got home it was all swollen up and purple and it REALLY hurt by then. I should have gone home and iced it right away, but I didn't. Anyhow, I found some old Tylenol III and knocked myself out with that, but the next day I had to go to work so I just kept limping around. It took at least a year before it felt halfway normal again, and even now it sometimes isn't quite right.

By the time I saw a doctor about it (I had no health insurance at the time), it was too late to do much about it. I was told that a sprain can be slower to heal than a broken bone. It wouldn't be at all unusual for a sprained ankle to still hurt after five weeks.

[DeepBlueC]

10. Do what I did not do...

Get yourself an air cast. It's just plastic & styrofoam and velcro but it supports your foot and gives all those stretched and injured tendons and ligaments a chance to regain their integrity. What happened to me after a bad sprain was that I kept re-injuring it, less dramatically, but often and the end result is that that foot is wrecked years later. I have tendonitis all the time. I have to wear orthotics IN MY SLIPPERS. That's what I think is happening, you could be re-injuring it and laying down a lot of scar tissue. Wear it for 2 or 3 weeks at least, longer of you can, and see if things improve with it on. We never really give the soft tissues a good enough opportunity to heal properly after a sprain.

[Chan790]

11. Honestly...(and I've had multiple sprains)

I don't know that there is a right answer. I've had sprains where I've limped it off within 5 minutes and ones that were killing me months later. Both of my ankles are completely shot though at this point, I have dainty little ankles and I'm overweight...it's not at all unlike the tenuous delicate balance of the lower legs of horses.

My non-professional advice would be to get a brace and wear it all the time until the pain goes away because you're probably constantly aggravating the injury. If it becomes constant or gets worse, go to the doctor. Mention it the next time you're at the doctor in any case. Was there any bruising or discoloration at the time of injury? That's usually an indicator of a break or joint or ligament damage. In that case, disregard my previous advice and go to the doctor ASAP...if if you had a serious injury and it's started to heal, you're going to be worse off the longer you wait...nothing hurts like a re-break to set a bone correctly.

[XemaSab]

12. Go see a doctor

There are tendons, ligaments, and bones in there that can hurt for a LONG time.

[lbrtbell]

13. I sprained my ankle and broke my foot in 2 places

The breaks healed up faster than the sprain, for me. It was about 5-6 months before I was finally back to normal.

But then I heal slowly. If in doubt, a return visit to your doctor might be in order.

Sorry to hear about your injury. Nasty stuff, when you can't walk around normally. :(

[donheld]

15. Thanks guys

I'll live I just wanted all you're imput. I'm not sure what I'll do, but I'll survive :hi:.

[RebelOne]

17. As someone who has sprained an ankle many times,

I can guarantee it will bother you longer than just 5 weeks. It will take time. Try to stay off it as much as possible.

[Orrex]

18. I concur

I've never had a sprain, but I torqued my ankle pretty seriously a few years back. It hurt for several months, and for months after that I still had occasional twinges if I stepped wrong.

Good times!

[AirmensMom]

19. Two years ago.

I still have trouble with it. I stayed off it for several days, put ice on it, kept it compressed and elevated. But a sprained ankle can take a very long time to heal and you can get arthritis in it, which is probably what happened to me.

Then I fell on the same foot last fall. Hurt it in a different place, but now the original sprain bothers me more.

I've heard that sprains are worse than breaks because they do take so long to heal. I hope yours gets better, but 5 weeks is really not that long ... from what I've read and my own experience.

[dembotoz]

20. have it checked out-make sure nothing stupid is going on

and then SLOWLY rebuild it.

When able, walk lots and lots and lots

always watch were you step

always use a railing

I had very bad ankles when i was younger, now they are better.
I am still careful, but they are much better.

[leftyclimber]

21. I'm going on 10 months now.

Mind you, it was a pretty serious sprain -- managed to tear every ligament surrounding the ankle (moral of story: don't step in a hole while playing soccer ... or any other time, for that matter).

The PT for the ligaments went pretty well, but I developed tendonitis and still have range-of-motion problems. The tendonitis is taking FOREVER to go away, and I'm doing everything I can to avoid a cortisone shot.

I'm not allowed to to much load-bearing stuff still, and driving is murder, even with the brace I have. We've (me and the PT) have gotten me up to riding the bike for a whopping 6 minutes before I start having pain, but my cardio has suffered and I've gained a lot of weight. x(

If it's a really bad sprain, it's going to take a lot of time to get better. I can't recomment physical therapy enough if it's in your budget.

[davsand]

22. I blew my ankle out last year right about this time, in fact.

Nothing too glamorous--I was walking down the front steps on the way to my office. My husband went to kiss me goodbye, I stepped down one step, and my ankle rolled. I sat on the front step to call the doctor--who directed me to go to the ER directly.

Five Xrays later they determined it was not broken and they sent me home with an air cast and a set of crutches. No good drugs or anything--just directions to take Advil as needed. They told me at the ER that it was probably gonna take 6 months for it to heal.

Six months later, I was still having fair amount of pain in that ankle and I had more Xrays taken. Still no indications of anything broken, but now (oh happy days!) they are saying that I have arthritis in that ankle.

My Doc says it is possible that ankle will never be 100%.


Laura

[applegrove]

23. My brother's ancle has been sprained for that long. He thinks he reinjured

it when he was doing excercises. I sprained both my ancles playing basketball. I couldn't skate on them after that. I guess my ligaments are too far gone.

[Inchworm]

24. I used to smoke weed and do ludes under this bridge

Was just fun because I was a kid. We'd skooch between the beams and party on the top of the columns. Then.. one day.. after rolling up some sale joints for Spring Breakers.. I wanted to skooch back to shore...

Weeeee! I fell to the square platform under the column at water level (behind white car far left). I swam to shore and was sure glad to get there. Then... I tried to walk... then.. I fell in pain.

I self-medicated for a few weeks on a cane.

Never went to doc. It never really got better. My ankle just hurt less sometimes.

Moral of my stupidity...

Get thee to a doctor.

Hope it gets better.

:hug: