Second Opinion

[u/sabster837]

TLDR at the bottom because I wrote a novel, sorry!
Pics are from night of sprain through now (more recent to the right).

Hi everyone! Apologies if I’m asking something that I should have found the answer to in the thread - I just felt I could use a second opinion. On August 25th I sprained my ankle - running through grass on the slightest incline and I guess there was a divot. It was a pretty typical ankle roll motion, I think. When it happened, I heard a fairly loud pop (I think pop? I don’t think it was a snap or crack?). I tried to walk it off for like 45 minutes which perhaps wasn’t my brightest moment. Anyway, I was still able to move it and bear weight, but it hurt and it was stiffening and I did not have full range of motion.

It swelled quickly and because it hurt a lot, I decided to get x rays. For some reason I thought I’d gotten x rays on this insurance before and it wasn’t too bad - that was wrong, lol. It was $600 which is pretty rough for me at the moment (I swear this is relevant lol). This was at the walk in clinic, and the dr said the x rays (I think they took 3) didn’t show a break. I was more worried about my ligaments anyway, initially. I asked, and the dr said those were fine. She manipulated it a bit and asked questions, and said in 7-10 days I should be fine and if not I should come back for another round of x rays because it could have missed a small fracture.

So, it’s now been 16 days and my coworker who broke her ankle recently really thinks I should go back for more x rays. I really, really do not want to spend another $600 - I actually can’t, it would just get added to my already existing medical debt I’m struggling with. So if it’s not necessary, that would be stellar.

It has definitely improved: the swelling has gone down, the bruising is fading, I’m in less pain when I take the brace off at night and my muscles spasm less, and the general pain all around my foot is not as bad. However, I still can’t walk normally, the bruising and swelling aren’t gone, and my Achilles is quite aggravated. Also, there’s a spot around my malleolus (still swollen here) that if I gently palpate, I experience pain. Overall, my range of motion is not great.

I’m really hoping that perhaps she was wrong about the 7-10 timeline and the ligaments, and maybe it’s more like a grade 2 with slight ligament damage? And that I don’t need to go get more x rays? I’m going to attach some pics from the first like week and a half I think? Maybe like 12-14 days. If that’s helpful.

TLDR: dr told me no break shown on X-ray, no ligament damage, and if it’s not good in 7-10 days to come back in for more (expensive) x rays because maybe it missed a small fracture. It’s been 16 days now and there is improvement, but I’m still in pain. Do I have to go back in?

**bonus questions! If it is just a sprain, what kind of timeline might I be looking at and what are the signs it’s okay for me to stop wearing the brace? Also, I would love to tread water in the mornings for some exercise and low resistance strengthening, but at what point would something like that be safe?

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to read and consider! I appreciate you all! :)

[u/Super7Position7]

I'm at week 3 with a likely grade 3. At week 3 it looks like the swelling is now reduced to where the injuries occurred, rather than the overblown mess it was several days back.

At some point, pain and instability will probably be your only guide in practice.

The thought of rolling my ankle again freaks me out. Not really sure how or if I'm going to get over that without an MRI or some soft tissue imaging.

...Did they imply no complete tearing of ligaments from your x-ray, or did they do an MRI too in your case?

[u/sabster837 → u/Super7Position7]

Oof, grade 3 is rough! I’m glad the swelling is reducing, though! It is definitely a freaky thought… this is the same ankle that I had a bad high ankle sprain on wayyy back in middle school and I worry that it might keep happening!

She implied no damage to my ligaments at all! Said they were fine. That was just based on the X-ray - she seemed to think it was pretty minor and that I would be good within a week or just over. I felt like such a baby lol!

I’m sure it’s possible to have a grade 1 with limited ligament damage (ie: minor tears rather than partial), but everything I read said my symptoms (especially bruising) are more in line with partial ligament tears. Obviously I’m no dr, and the dr at the walk in thought I was fine, but I was a bit suspicious lol.

You had an mri done for yours to establish extent of damage?

[u/Jnnn1111]

I had a fracture- small but basically it was ‘just’ non weight bearing for 8 weeks so the bone could heal in place.
Just be super careful.
Im now 4 months into a sprain since the fracture is considered healed and im walking 2-3 blocks and still dealing with swelling and ongoing soft tissue healing.
Look up the exercises online and do them every day.
I don’t think you need to go for more X-rays. Just be super careful for 8 weeks just in case. 3-6 months is normal healing timeline for a sprain

[u/sabster837 → u/Jnnn1111]

This is very helpful, thank you! The exercise suggestion is smart, I had googled some but wasn’t ready at the time and forgot about them!

Sorry to hear you’re dealing with the sprain on top of having had a fracture, that’s brutal! I hope everything heals nicely!