Ok, so I stepped wrong in a hole in the barn, and really hurt my ankle. How do I tell if I've sprained it?
I can put some weight on it, and it's not swollen, but it hurts to move.
Ni!
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
I sprained my ankle, and I had to crawl home. I don't think you'd be able to put weight on it.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
If it is sprained, it will swell. Ice it immediately, and keep it elevated above your heart. Do not walk on it until it is x-rayed. If it is a bad sprain, you should walk with crutches for a few days, then get an air cast.
Did you twist it? Which way? Any bruising?
There is no such thing as "just a sprain." They hurt like nobody's business. i am still having trouble with my ankle from a sprain three years ago!
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
If I understand correctly, "sprain" is a pretty broad term. They can vary from a mild twist that gets better in a week to a severe tear that will permanently trash your ligaments. I've had about the whole range.
Stay off of it, ice it, and watch it closely. If there's swelling or bruising or if it's not better in a couple of days, I'd suggest going to a podiatrist.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Jon Boy is right - big range. My last sprain is still not completely healed. I can still feel weakness in the ankle, and pain at times. It's what, more than two months? My doctor told me my type of sprain, this latest severe one can take up to six months to heal.
Previous sprains I've had were very mild and were better in a matter of days. It just depends on how much damage you've done to the joint.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Belle,
I am(was) a soccer player. I have sprained my ankle badly, but two weeks later, taped up, I was back on the field.
This last time, I was taking out the garbage. I had just returned from Walk #1 of my new exercise plan. I was psyched.
I took one step, and crack. There went my ankle. I limped on it for about a week. No, I am embarrassed to say, more. When I finally went to the doc, and got an aircast, it was such a relief. I went to therapy for it, and I don't do the exercises as much as I should. it is still very weak.
So, take a sprain seriously, because the effects of a bad sprain can far outlast those of a break.
Liz
Posted by CaySedai (Member # 6459) on :
I once was walking down stairs, stepped too wide and fell, landing so that I was sitting on my right foot. The stairs were dark and I thought I was stepping on the landing.
I went immediately to the doctor and my injury was diagnosed as a sprain.
Years later, I had an x-ray done since I was having problems with that foot. I found that I had broken a bone in my ankle. The incident I mentioned was the only one that comes to mind as a cause.
So, I would definitely get it checked out.
Posted by kwsni (Member # 1831) on :
::sigh::
I've had it elevated all night, and there doesn't seem to be any swelling, but it's really tender. I don't have any ice, because I don't have a fridge. I also don't have anything to wrap it up in. My doctor is also a hundred miles away.
I also can't keep off it much, because I have my last two classes this week, and I have to work at the barn. I'm not going anywhere near that hay room again, though.
Thanks for the help, though. It's good to know that it's not as bad as I thought.
Ni!
Posted by Zevlag (Member # 1405) on :
Becky, do be careful!
We really wouldn't want you to be hurting than you already are.
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
A friend once decided to slide-while-standing down an icy ski-lift off-ramp shortly before the season began. At the end of the ramp, he somehow landed harder than expected. Thinking he had a minor ankle-twist, we walked down to his car, with him leaning on my shoulder, and he drove us back home. Much later that night, he decided to have it looked at in the emergency clinic. Turned out that he had broken his ankle. His boot was the only thing that held his ankle together enough to have allowed him to walk back to his car. And his walking and driving, then limping around his home had splintered the bones, which in turn damaged the ligaments. A rather serious bit of osteopathic surgery was performed to correct the damage.
In other words, take your injury very seriously. Don't take up work that will further stress your ankle until 1) you've been x-rayed and examined by a physician, or 2) if you are fairly certain it is just a strain or minor sprain, your ankle feels back up to full strength. In the event that you think you can choose 2), be careful. Always remember that your ankle is weaker now than it should be. The next ankle-twisting could cause a major sprain, or even break your ankle joint.