Sprained ankle
Discussion
nick heppinstall said:
Just missed the bottom step and stuffed my ankle ! OWWWW !!
It's now doing an impression of a football. I can move my toes.
Anyone think it's worth going to Cas ? Don't want to really.
Definitely.
I did exactly the same 5 years ago and like you debated whether or not to bother going to hospital.
Mrs SMP dragged me there and it turned out I'd broken my foot !
Ended up with my leg in plaster for 4 weeks.
Sorry to be the potential bearer of bad news (you've probably just sprained it) but get yourself to A & E and get it checked tonight.
Simon
Absolutely get it checked out.
I had a bit of a mishap 6 weeks ago. Fell over, thought I had dislocated my kneecap. Thought, no prob, just get it shoved back, bit of a bandage, sorted in a week.
Er - no. pulled the ligaments from my patella - 4 weeks in plaster, 4 weeks in a brace and shedloads of physio for months to come.
Still, could have been worse, could have fallen on my nads!
Get it checked, better in the long run. Plus, you'll be able to relax and chill in the quiet and comforting environs of A&E, the place where time stands still.
I had a bit of a mishap 6 weeks ago. Fell over, thought I had dislocated my kneecap. Thought, no prob, just get it shoved back, bit of a bandage, sorted in a week.
Er - no. pulled the ligaments from my patella - 4 weeks in plaster, 4 weeks in a brace and shedloads of physio for months to come.
Still, could have been worse, could have fallen on my nads!
Get it checked, better in the long run. Plus, you'll be able to relax and chill in the quiet and comforting environs of A&E, the place where time stands still.
Ouch. Casualty, but they will keep you waiting. Docs in the morning if you cannot be bothered tonight. Hope it doesnt hurt you too much
I did this a few years ago whilst walking my dog, the dog just ran right into me (perfect youve been framed shot) I was a mile from home, and it was getting dark and I was alone, so i hobbled home by the time I got there it was swollen to twice the size. Put feet up and spent a sleepless night on sofa watching DVD. No-one at home to fuss me
Was extremely painful to walk on, felt dizzy when I did. By morning swelling was reducing, bruising started so went to Docs, nurse put a support on it and I was walking fine by the next day. The whole foot bruised, took about a month for bruising to go and about 9 months for the swelling to go and could wear normal shoes again!
I did this a few years ago whilst walking my dog, the dog just ran right into me (perfect youve been framed shot) I was a mile from home, and it was getting dark and I was alone, so i hobbled home by the time I got there it was swollen to twice the size. Put feet up and spent a sleepless night on sofa watching DVD. No-one at home to fuss me
Was extremely painful to walk on, felt dizzy when I did. By morning swelling was reducing, bruising started so went to Docs, nurse put a support on it and I was walking fine by the next day. The whole foot bruised, took about a month for bruising to go and about 9 months for the swelling to go and could wear normal shoes again!
R.I.C.E.
Rest
Ice
Compression
Elevation
Best thing to help reduce swelling.
Without seeing it it's hard to tell, do you know anyone medical who may be able to have a look?
If the pain is bareable when you move it then I'd wait and see for now as you may find it sorts itself out with all the previous advice. If, however, the pain is really really bad and even worse on movement you're better getting in seen sooner rather than later and there are a variety of complication that can be caused by leaving it.
Rest
Ice
Compression
Elevation
Best thing to help reduce swelling.
Without seeing it it's hard to tell, do you know anyone medical who may be able to have a look?
If the pain is bareable when you move it then I'd wait and see for now as you may find it sorts itself out with all the previous advice. If, however, the pain is really really bad and even worse on movement you're better getting in seen sooner rather than later and there are a variety of complication that can be caused by leaving it.
BliarOut said:
OK, if it's swollen, Ibuprofen as already mentioned. Keep your ankle above your knee above your hip.... Which means get off the computer and lay down.... That will help to keep the swelling to a minimum.
Let the missus help in your hour of need
I'm laid on the sofa with the laptop so thats OK.
My missus did this last year when I was at Le Mans. She fell out of our back door and tore a ligament in her right foot. She left it for two weeks and hobbled around until deciding it wasn't gonna get better on it's own. At the hospital they told her if she had come in straight away they could have identified the problem and sorted it then. She was in pain with it for 3 or 4 months so get it looked at straight away!
Did same as you on holiday ( a San Miguel induced injury coming down some stairs), hobbled around the rest of the holiday in some discomfort and got absolutely no sympathy from either my family or my mates family who we were sharing the villa with. Two weeks of " hurry up hopalong" and "come here skippy" !! My mate, a SRN, strapped my ankle up and after a month or so it started getting better.
4 months later I took my father to hospital and as I had lots of time to wait till he came out of his clinic I went along to the A&E clinic. Turned out I had broken a bone in my foot, a la Beckham, which had almost set itself but nor perfectly. As it had started the healing process all the Docs could do was strap it up again and give some more painkillers.
Moral of this very boring story....Get down the A&E tomorrow and get it checked out with an X ray , dont just assume that as the swellings going down everything will be OK. My broken bone now aches if I spend too much time on my feet.
Cheers,
Tony
4 months later I took my father to hospital and as I had lots of time to wait till he came out of his clinic I went along to the A&E clinic. Turned out I had broken a bone in my foot, a la Beckham, which had almost set itself but nor perfectly. As it had started the healing process all the Docs could do was strap it up again and give some more painkillers.
Moral of this very boring story....Get down the A&E tomorrow and get it checked out with an X ray , dont just assume that as the swellings going down everything will be OK. My broken bone now aches if I spend too much time on my feet.
Cheers,
Tony
I went to casualty last week with a swollen ankle after I tripped up on a pothole in a Maltese street (not difficult to do......
....) on holiday..
Luckily it wasn't broken, but had swelled up the size of a tennis ball...
They put a LONG tubigrip on it, told me to try to keep it elevated, and wrap an ice pack in a towel and rest it against the swelling four times a day for ten minutes at a time...
Do NOT leave the tubigrip on when you go to bed though, and take painkillers as necessary.......
My ankle is still fairly swollen, although going a lot smaller, and still painful two weeks after the incident.........
Think I will contact claims'r us and sue the Maltese government for £250,000,000,000.......
....) on holiday.. Luckily it wasn't broken, but had swelled up the size of a tennis ball...
They put a LONG tubigrip on it, told me to try to keep it elevated, and wrap an ice pack in a towel and rest it against the swelling four times a day for ten minutes at a time...
Do NOT leave the tubigrip on when you go to bed though, and take painkillers as necessary.......
My ankle is still fairly swollen, although going a lot smaller, and still painful two weeks after the incident.........
Think I will contact claims'r us and sue the Maltese government for £250,000,000,000.......
As an A&E doctor I see a lot of ankle injuries. In my experience I reckon about 90% are sprains the other 10% are fractured.
A couple of things that may point towards it being a fracture rather than a sprain are;
did it swell almost immediately?
are you unable to put any weight on it at all?
A lot of sprains I diagnose clinically (ie. I don't even get an X-Ray unless I have a high index of suspicion that it may be fractured).
As has been stated earlier, rest, elevation, ice and pain killers should be enough to sort it, however I do state to my patients that if there is no improvement at all in 3 days then to return to A&E for an X-Ray.
A couple of things that may point towards it being a fracture rather than a sprain are;
did it swell almost immediately?
are you unable to put any weight on it at all?
A lot of sprains I diagnose clinically (ie. I don't even get an X-Ray unless I have a high index of suspicion that it may be fractured).
As has been stated earlier, rest, elevation, ice and pain killers should be enough to sort it, however I do state to my patients that if there is no improvement at all in 3 days then to return to A&E for an X-Ray.
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