hurt ankle / can't move toes

[sheppeyescapee]

Sorry if this is in another thread, I'm posting from my phone and it is hard to navigate the site on it.

During the night I managed to do something to my ankle. I woke up in a heck of a lot of pain. Now I can barely put any weight on that foot and it is still really painful! When I went to move this morning it made an almighty crunch sound!

I've got a tubigrip bandage on it, used iubprofen gel on it and taken co-codamol and nothing is even taking the edge off the pain. There is some swelling around the ankle. I've tried heat and ice too. Getting pins and needles in my toes too, the foot is throbbing also.

Do you think I should get it looked at?

[Chloe♥]

Yes.

Pins and needles suggest that something's out of place and compressing a nerve.
Even if it's more simple than that, better safe than sorry.

[sheppeyescapee]

Ok, thanks. Am just waiting to be seen at the minor injuries unit. Will update later.

[sheppeyescapee]

Back from the hospital. Got a cast on my leg. Have an appointment at the fracture clinic tomorrow morning.. Ankle still managed to come out again in the cast! Was shocking and amazing the nurse at the hospital

[meggy.nut]

Hi everyone.
I've been having a lot of trouble with my left ankle lately. About two weeks ago my orthopedist said I tore the ATFL ligament - the one from your tibula to your foot. Since then the top of my foot from the leg to the second and third toe has started to be swollen and very painful. In addition, I can barely move my big toe on that foot, and have reduced movement (but better than the big toe) in the 2nd and 3rd toes. Flexing my foot has also become very . . . problematic.
The doctor I saw yesterday said to keep wearing the splint the ER gave me last week, take naproxyn, and keep my foot elevated. If it still hurts by Monday, she said she'll order an MRI but right now the foot/ankle is too inflamed for them to see much.

My question to all of you is: Has anything like this happened to you? Any thoughts on what is going on?
Thanks for your help!

[paw]

I have had so many ankle/foot injuries since the fracture so this sounds so familiar even if my causes were a little different. My toes would turn dark blue because there was too much swelling and it would hurt to bend the toes.

They told me to wrap the foot, no weight bearing at all, take NSAIDs (I can't have them anymore), elevate the foot and use ice. I suspect that you need to do that too, especially the "no weight bearing" part. You could make the injury a lot worse by trying to walk on it even a little bit.

After the fracture they had to wait a few days to let some of the swelling go down before they could do the surgery. I think that hypermobile people injure more severely than the doctors suspect at first and I know it took a lot longer for me to heal and I still reinjure that ankle very easily even 20 years later. Just be very careful so you don't do more damage.

[sheppeyescapee]

Few weeks on and still getting a reasonable amount of pain in left ankle. Turned out I'd dislocated it and also hurt some tendons too. How long do you think it should take to recover from such a thing?

[paw]

Sheppy, this is just my experience but allow a couple of months for the ankle to heal. Ligaments and tendons get stretched or torn and it takes time to heal. The more often you injure that ankle, the harder it is to recover because even normal walking puts you at risk for another sprain/strain.

Make sure you get a good support so you can prevent as many as possible of those new injuries. I was standing the other day and my ankle rolled completely so the actual ankle bone was touching the ground and the bottom of the foot faced to the side. It was also turned in with the toes pointed to the side. If I had weight on that foot it surely would have broken. I am always aware of my ankles and I try to make sure the foot is properly positioned before I let too much weight go on it. It is just something I learned to do because having a broken ankle truly sucks!

[sheppeyescapee]

Thanks, will phone OT see if I can get some kind of support for the ankle. The ankle turns a lot when I put weight on the left ankle, I don't do a whole lot of walking just a little around the house. Everywhere else I use my chair. Wife says I keep hyperextending it in my sleep along with other joints.

[meggy.nut]

Thanks Paw.
I've been keeping it elevated and wrapped (to secure it to the splint) and using occasional ice. Unfortunately sometimes I have to walk a little around the house as my shoulders can't deal with pushing my wheelchair over carpet; and the doctor did not give me crutches. My hubby (when home) will carry me from place to place but I'm on my own when he's at work. I think I might try crawling tomorrow...
It's still bothering me a lot although the swelling has gone down. I'm going to call and ask for an MRI tomorrow, fingers crossed.

[Stone]

Don't try and hop around!

Go on, ask me why I know...

Stone

[paw]

A walker is much better on the shoulders/wrists/hands than crutches are. A walker won't be any use if you have stairs in your home though. Crutches just destroy my shoulder so I really try hard to avoid them no matter how messed up my hip or ankle are.

If you don't have a walker Meggy.nut you should check thrift stores. I find things like that for a few dollars. I got my Mom one when she hurt her knee.

I hope all the ankle injuries calm down soon everyone.

[meggy.nut]

I'm still trying to get in touch with my doctor so she can order the MRI. My parents have some crutches, so I plan on trying those. Hopefully my shoulders will tolerate it.

Stone - why do you say not to hop around? (Just had to ask ). I tried that before your post, but luckily my hubby was there and caught me before I fell when my good leg gave out.

Paw - thanks for the idea. If the crutches don't work out I'll definitely look for a walker.

sheppeyescapee - How's your ankle doing?

Thanks everyone and hope you all feel better soon!

[sheppeyescapee]

My ankle is doing better than it was. It does seem to be getting looser each time I injure it though Both sides are giving way on a regular basis, even more than before. I injure one side, try not to put too much weight on the injured side but injure the other side in the process so it's alternating sides, with one side or the other being injured.

[Stone]

Stone - why do you say not to hop around? (Just had to ask ). I tried that before your post, but luckily my hubby was there and caught me before I fell when my good leg gave out.

Because even if your other leg seems ok, poor balance / unfamiliar movement / floppy ankles combine and you end up in a heap! (or heaps of pain, neither fun!) I got caught out hopping when I thought I could dodge the inevitable - using banisters for support while hopping, I popped wrist and elbow

sheppeyescapee: glad it's healing up. Slow and steady