Quick history lesson: about a year and a half ago I sprained my right angle pretty badly. At the time I was going to an extended GT program in Arkansas and the resident nurse thought it would be broken (it was at a left angle and I couldn't put any weight on it) and took me to a clinic where I got it x-rayed and stuff. It was a nasty sprain, but nothing broken. I was on crutches for about a week, limped around for a little while after that, and went on with my normal life.
Fast forward to the present: Last Friday morning I skipped a step on the HFAC stairs and fell hard on this same ankle (identical to how I sprained it 1.5 years earlier, go figure). I could put weight on it, so it wasn't as bad as before. Being the trooper I am, I still walked (gimped, morerather) to the rest of my classes in various areas of the vast BYU campus. When I got home I realized that it was pretty swollen, so I kept ice on it and got an ACE bandage to wrap it up. It was a three day weekend, so I did as little walking as possible, and by Monday I could walk like a normal person with a deathly fear of stairs. Everything was all good.
But today, I was walking on campus, on level ground, and tripped on my own stupidity. I wasn't wearing my wrap, but instead I had a Pro-lite minibrace (it's a relic of my old injury: a tight sort of sock with the toe cut off). I suppose this wasn't good enough; it aggravated my sprain and now I'm back to gimping around (luckily, this was at the end of the day, so I only gimped home after it happened).
So, here's what I'm wondering: is it time to go to the doctor? Instead of being only slightly sore, it actually hurts to walk on it (this wasn't the case with the friday injury). Three ibprophen seem to help, but I have no desire to move it or walk on it. I called my parents, and they suggested waiting to see how it was in the morning before scheduling a visit to the health center. I know the RICE protocol for sprains (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation), so I don't think I need a doctor to tell me this, but is there reason to worry about a break? Should I just get an x-ray so I can be sure either way? Or is my history reason enough to assume that this ankle is just siceptable (sp) to these things?
[ January 22, 2004, 12:23 AM: Message edited by: sarcasticmuppet ]
Posted by Slash the Berzerker (Member # 556) on :
I think you're going to die.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
I got a stress fracture in my wrist once from a combination of falling off a skateboard and tripping and catching myself. I don't think either injury alone would have done it. But I guess the area was inflamed after the first fall, so the stuff around the bones weren't supporting them properly when I fell again. But I'm not a medical type dude.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
I concur, Slash, but aren't we all?
Posted by Hobbes (Member # 433) on :
Pooka, you skateboard? O_o I would've never suspected.
Hobbes Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
Not very well. And this was back in the Carter administration, I think. Or close thereto.
Posted by Slash the Berzerker (Member # 556) on :
Pooka:
You're next.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
My only ankle knowledge comes from my own.
I think I told you about the time I zapped my ankle badly enough that I was sofa-bound for two days? (It DID hurt to walk on it, but since I could move it without much pain, was pretty sure it was just sprained.) About two (three?) weeks later, after I was fully recovered, a slippery floor caused me to reinjure it. Susceptibility lasts a LONG time; in fact, unless you do exercises to strengthen your ankle after you're recovered, you can expect this to happen every 6-12 months, a physical therapist told me.
How swollen is it? Is it any funny colors? Can you move it at all? What is the pain like (stabbing? achy? um, running out of adjectives here . . .)? Does it seem to be at a normal angle?
How difficult would it be to arrange to see a doctor in the morning? If it's fairly doable, seems like a good idea, no matter how likely it is to be a sprain (and I have no idea what the odds are).
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
sarcasticmuppet, I'd go with RICE and a good ankle wrap. 600 mg (3 tablets) ibuprofen up to every 6 hours (apparently, the adult ortho docs do this even every 4 hours -- thanks for the heads-up, Belle!) is fine for people with no kidney or blood clotting problems. Stay well-hydrated, though, as ibuprofen is hard on the kidneys. You should be urinating at least every 3 hours.
If you have insurance, by all means get it checked out in the morning. Even with no insurance, I'd get it checked if you are unable to bear weight on it. Lack of point tenderness -- i.e., exquisite tenderness at a very precise single point when you press on bone, as opposed to soreness in the soft tissue -- makes a break less likely. Even with a break, it's okay to wait until morning. Keep it elevated.
The most well-substantiated criteria for evaluating ankles are the Ottawa ankle rules. I can help interpret the medical lingo if you're interested.
pooka is, of course, right. Once injured, the tissue is more likely to be reinjured, and the effects can be cumulative.
Slash is, of course, wrong. Well, you are going to die, just not right now. He's only hoping. Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
quote:Susceptibility lasts a LONG time; in fact, unless you do exercises to strengthen your ankle after you're recovered, you can expect this to happen every 6-12 months, a physical therapist told me.
Exactly. What would a sports med doc do? Likely an Xray to rule out fracture, give you crutches to help with walking, encourage RICE and weight-bearing as soon as do-able, and eventual strengthening excercises. They are big on strengthening the surrounding soft tissue architecture to stabilize and protect the joint.
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
I like saying it.
"Slash is, of course, wrong."
It is so wickedly dangerous. I expect to be eaten soon.
"Slash is, of course, wrong."
Yeah. Posted by Slash the Berzerker (Member # 556) on :
Don't sports doctors usually just bolt everything back together?
CT, since you are around right now, email me and tell me your valves are ok.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
*repeatedly points and flexes feet*
Thanks for the link, CT! It's bookmarked -- that way I'll never need it. Like umbrellas. Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
*sticking-out-tonguing
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
Cool.
Slash, I will email you as soon as I finish taunting you. Posted by Slash the Berzerker (Member # 556) on :
*Eats CT*
I swear to god, I blush even typing that.
CT, I'm glad you use your powers over me only for evil, and never for good.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
EEWWWWWWW!
CT, I think you just licked my feet! Point that thing somewhere else!
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
*laughing
Heh. Cool. I needed that.
Slash, will email in few hours -- twins delivering. Gotta run. Be back later. I'm fine. Want to know you are too.
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
Slash, it's great to know you care.
Rivka, I'll have to look into some of those ankle strengthening excercises in a few weeks. The swelling has gone down since Friday, and I have some slight bruising on the swelling itself and a lot darker bruise-type coloration just under it. I knew that would happen from my last adventure.
It's very straight right now; I can flex it very well, point it not so well, and turn it around not very well at all. It doesn't hurt, just pretends like it isn't designed to go that way. Pain is currently achy/sore in the general ankle area.
CT, I'm glad I keep a steady supply of bottled water in my dormfridge. With the help of this, I was able to get a general clue of what to look for, but what is a malleolus, lateral or otherwise?
Thanks for the help, everyone. CT, have fun with the twins.
[ January 22, 2004, 01:42 AM: Message edited by: sarcasticmuppet ]
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
Malleolus = the bony pointy part of the ankle on the sides (one on the inside (medial) and one on the outside (lateral))
More pictures of Ottawa Ankle Evaluation. (Just to note: Ottawa is the capital of Canada, and they set the standards for orthopedic ankle evaluation. Must be all the skiing. )
More specific picture of malleoli in the emedicine article, just above the x-rays.
PS: Twins are doing fine.
[ January 22, 2004, 02:36 AM: Message edited by: ClaudiaTherese ]
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
quote: about a year and a half ago I sprained my right angle pretty badly.
That may hurt, but it's awfully acute. Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
*rimshot
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
Speed
Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
Marathon training might help you greatly. It'll strengthen your ankle and have you ready for anything!
Posted by aka (Member # 139) on :
After I sprained my right ankle it took nine months until it was totally good again. I kept reinjuring it, even when I was just walking on level ground in tennis shoes.
The thing that actually fixed it was paddling gently around all day long in the lake floating on a boat cushion.
I would suggest wrapping it every night before you go to sleep for a good long while, even after it gets well enough that you don't need to wrap it during the day. Also definitely do the exercises. One that particularly felt good to me was writing the alphabet in the air with my toe. It seemed to gently exercise it in every possible direction while not being so strenuous that it would make it hurt or get worse.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
I have broken the same toe 3 times. I guess susceptibility really does figure.
Poor little toe is crooked now.
I also tore cartilage in my knee when I was a teenager - and it still gives me trouble. I think joint injuries like ankles and knees are very hard to heal.
If you want strong ankles you could take a ballet class. Or just learn to do releves (sp?) My daughter had ankles that could only hold her in a pointe position for about 3 seconds at the start of the dance year, and now she's up to 30 seconds, all by doing releves each day.
For releve think standing flat footed and then going up to stand tip toe using only your ankles to pull you up.
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Speed
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