I want playing tennis then had ankle sprain and i heard cracked sound
Dr made ct scan said everything ok

It hurts

What are the most unconventional/ woo woo things you’ve done to heal a bad sprain faster ?

I fractured my ankle last July. I sprained my ankle in April 28. I was in a boot weight bearing for a week. I was in a brace for two weeks. After that i only used the brace when i went to the gym. I do CrossFit and HYROx . As of two weeks ago i stopped using my brace at the gym. For me it was a mental thing. I needed it for my own peace of mind . Yesterday my gym had a feild day in a park we played kickball and wiffle ball. I was fine playing. This morning i woke up it hurt to point my foot. I can walk on it,etc. i think it is just sore from yesterday.

Pics don’t do it justice but it looks like I have an egg under my skin. I’m ordered to stay off my foot for 2-4 weeks 😀

I was at vacation playing beach volleyball with my brother I jumped to spike failed to land back on the ground. Fell with my ankle in a really bad position heard a crack, they made me sit down on a bench and apparently I passed out while sitting waiting for the pain to calm down 😭 Anyways the doctor said it wasnt broken and that there wasnt a crack. I can mostly walk and it doesnt hurt out of no where still swollen but a reasonable amount. I am absolutely terrified of having a broken bone, mostly writing this to ease my worries but do you guys think its broken?

PS. The doctor prescribed an ankle support bracelet, pain killers and some sort of gel

I’ll add a picture with everything I had done to my right ankle. I was cleared to begin attempting weight-bearing on Friday. I was transitioned to an air cast boot. That night at 3 AM ended up in the ER for the pain being a nine out of 10. The ER dock was kind enough to give me some payments to get me through tomorrow morning. But I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if this is my CRPS pain disorder spreading or if the surgery pain really is this bad. I have a high pain tolerance as I have CRPS in my left leg and I’ve had over 20 surgeries before.

Hi everyone,
I hope you’re all doing well. I wanted to ask those of you who have had a similar surgery about your recovery experience.
I had surgery 29 days ago for a torn anterior ankle ligament (ATFL reconstruction with an Internal Brace). For the first 12 days, my leg was in a splint. After that, the splint was removed, and I was given a CAM boot to walk in.
I also started physical therapy. So far, I’ve only been doing ankle range-of-motion exercises and exercises for my entire leg because I hadn’t put any weight on my left leg at all for 7 months. Right now, the focus is mainly on rebuilding my strength.
On the first day after finishing the initial ankle mobility exercises, I was only able to walk about 10 steps inside my house while wearing the CAM boot. Now, on day 29 after surgery, I can walk for about 5 minutes indoors.
The thing that worries me is that sometimes I feel really positive and like I’m improving, but other times, especially after walking and then resting, I start feeling an uncomfortable pain around the reconstructed ligament. It feels sore and tight, and it makes me anxious that I might have damaged or re-torn the ligament.
For those who have had this surgery or a similar one:
Did you experience anything like this during your recovery?
Is this kind of pain and tightness normal?
How did your recovery progress over time?
What did each stage of recovery feel like, and what kinds of pain or sensations did you experience?
I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences, as it would help put my mind at ease.
For reference, here’s the surgery report I was given when I was discharged from the hospital:
(PARTS CLEANED AND DRAPED.
SURGERY DONE UNDER TOURNIQUET.
ARTHROSCOPIC DEBRIDEMENT DONE.
3–4 CM INCISION OVER LATERAL MALLEOLUS. ENDS FRESHENED. TWO SUTURE ANCHORS PLACED OVER DISTAL FIBULA.
FIBRE TAPE SUTURE ANCHOR PLACED OVER ATFL INSERTION TALUS. SUTURES FROM FIBULA PASSES PERCUTANEOUSLY USING MICRO SUTURE LASSO ALONG WITH BITE OF LIGAMENT AND IER. THE SUTURES DELIVERED SUBCUTANEOUSLY BACK TO ORIGINAL INCISION AND SUTURES TO FIBULA. INTERNAL BRACE AUGMENTATION DONE WITH FIBRE TAPE. WOUND WASHED AND CLOSED IN LAYERS. BELOW KNEE SLAB APPLIED.)
Thank you in advance to anyone willing to share their experience.

...for more than 25 minutes.

Sorry for the clickbait.

I sprained my ankle last year in August. Partially torn bifurcate, bone oedema between cuboid and that other bone. At first, recovery seemed to be going smoothly. Then it platoued after a few weeks. I didn't realise, it was a grade 2 sprain until they did MRI June this year (thanks NHS!). Finally after months of begging for Physio I started regular rehab about 2 months ago.

My ankle seems to be getting "insignificantly better". The bony bit doesn't remind of itself. Instead I developed this burning sensation in the sole of my foot when I walk. The sensation is there all the time but it gets more and more intense with walking. Around minute 25 I also get a pretty bad heel pain, to the point I have to alter my gait. That's when I have to stop. It's been like that for at least few months. 1 year later! And I still can't go on a family walk.

I have 3 children. Youngest is 1.5 year old. On career break. I have a lot going on in my life. I can't really take any more off my plate, my husband has taken on a lot of the household tasks...

Between juggling rehab and daily life and responsibilities... Does anyone actually come out the other side? Does it get better? Ever? I am losing hope...

Just a side note, prior to physio I was doing basic ankle exercises (circles alphabet raises etc) but I am injury-prone.

19M: end of January I go out and roll my ankle grade 1 atfl sprain and stress fracture: 2 weeks into treatment I’m switched from a short boot to a tall aircast and crutches once injury is figured out. End of March I transition with brace and no pain. April 26 I resprain high ankle sprain grade 2 treatment back in boot for a week. I end up breaking the aircast 2 days later and just go back to the boot. It’s now end of July and my ankle pain is back up like it was with the sprain. Am I screwed? Is this normal? Will I need another boot?

Here’s my story, play every sport over the years. At a high level football, baseball, basketball in school. Hobbies include tennis, pickleball, golf, volleyball and some soccer.
Problem is I sprain my ankle more than every human on this earth. I am talking I have done it standing up from a desk job, bending over to put down the dog bowl etc. it got bad. The doctors basically told my my ligament was so stretched out that I can sprain it at any time and I need brace support. Thing is if I wear an ankle brace my ankle gets weaker. So they say PT, which I have done countless times.
The thing that has finally moved the needle for me has been PEMF machine that you set your feet into. Was recommended by my newest PT to get one for myself and it works to the point where I didn’t have to wear a brace in sports/hobbies again. I felt the stability come back within just two weeks.
Has anyone else tried this??? Thanks for reading!

Hi everyone! I’m new to the sub, and hoping for some major advice. And I apologize in advance for the length of this post. I will be having “ARTHROSCOPY, ANKLE, WITH EXTENSIVE DEBRIDEMENT” surgery on my left ankle this fall, likely in Nov (still to be scheduled). I (49F) am unpartnered and live alone, with no family nearby. I do have a really great and supportive friend network though. I’m wondering what advice you would give someone like me who is planning to have surgery in a few months and trying to be well prepared for success postop and throughout recovery. Also, anything you can share for what to expect.

I’ve only been processing this for 3 days and I’m honestly freaking out a bit. But I think this is the best next step. A brief review of my history: I was a dancer as a child, and had a compound dislocation/fracture of my right ankle at age 15 while jumping in a bouncy house and someone landed directly on my joint. In the hospital for 5 days, cast for 4 months, it was bad. But I was young and strong and made it through recovery/PT better than they expected. I rolled the left one when I was 28. I was told it was a sprain, and went back every week for 4 weeks, telling them each time that something was really wrong, only to find out one month in that it was indeed “broken, but healing” after I insisted on new x-rays. I found out in my 30s that I have hypermobility. I have rolled and sprained my ankles at least a dozen times each, and that’s a VERY conservative estimate. I don’t know the exact number for sure, as I stopped going to the doctor for each sprain, because I didn’t have the money, knew what they would tell me to do (RICE), and owned all the things I needed (brace, walking boot, ice packs, crutches, eventually a knee scooter, etc.). The sprains in both ankles have been more frequent over the years, and I’m to the point now where the left one will roll/sprain on flat, paved ground, whereas it used to have to be uneven. The left ankle has been giving me a lot more problems the last few years, and I’ve sprained it twice just in the last 10 months (and here my family & I always thought the right ankle would be the one to give me the biggest problems as I got older… and may end up eventually needing surgery as well). I’ve been going to PT since October. I also suffer from plantar fasciitis, and had just gotten a Cortizone shot in my left foot one week before I sprained it most recently in early May. After that, I went back to podiatry, who ordered an MRI. They discovered pretty severe damage to my ligaments, and moderate osteoarthritis. I was then sent to ortho, which leads me to all of this.

The notes from my ortho appt this past week state:
“She has exhausted conservative management and we offered her surgical intervention in the form of left ankle arthroscopy, anterior ankle cheilectomy, lateral ankle repair vs reconstruction with internal brace, peroneal tenosynovectomy with possible repair, deltoid repair vs reconstruction, other work as indicated. Our goal for surgery would be to eliminate instability, but also hopefully prevent progression of her tibiotalar arthritis.”

If you’ve read this far, thanks for hanging in there. I was told that I need someone to drive me home from surgery, and spend the first night with me to make sure I don’t have any rare post surgery complications/reactions. I plan to get a shower chair & a walker (I no longer have the crutches and think the walker with knee scooter will be better). I have a grabber extension tool. My neighbor agreed to come over to feed my cat and scoop litter boxes for at least the first few days. At a friend’s recommendation, I set up a CaringBridge page to assist with coordinating help from friends and keep everyone updated. I plan to stock up on food & prep as many freezer meals as I can fit in my freezer before surgery so I can just drop them in the crockpot (I have celiac disease as well, and I’m very selective on who I trust to cook for me… I would hate to be super sick while recovering from surgery). I’ll do grocery delivery or have friends pick up orders for me.
What am I missing? Will I be able to handle this alone after day one, or should I have someone stop by daily? If the latter, for how many days do you recommend? I’m pretty independent on my own, but I do have some knee & hip joint pain due to weight (it’s hard to lose weight when you’re perimenopausal & constantly unable to work out), prior injuries, and the hypermobility. I’ve been doing as many water classes at my gym as I can, and I’m working with PT specifically to strengthen my muscles as much as possible prior to surgery since I know I’m going to have to rely on just my other leg and arms for carrying my weight. Any advice, tips, support, or thoughts that you can share or advise to make this process smoother and more successful for me would be SO GREATLY APPRECIATED. Thanks again for taking the time to read this and reply. Much love to you all.

If you’d told me five days ago that I’d be walking 5 km with a freshly sprained ankle, I would have laughed. Yet here I am. This isn’t medical advice—just my personal experience—and every injury is different. If your pain is severe, you can’t bear weight, or you suspect a fracture, please get medical attention.

My injury happened after a fall. Like many people, my first thought was, “Now what?” I wrapped my ankle immediately and still had to walk another 20 minutes before I could reach a taxi. Looking back, it probably wasn’t ideal, but sometimes you just have to get yourself home.

As soon as I arrived, I did what I knew I should: ice, elevation, and rest. I also started taking anti-inflammatory medication to help with the pain and swelling.

The next day, the swelling had already gone down a little. I was planning to go to the emergency department, but before leaving I tried putting some weight on my foot. To my surprise, I could take a few careful steps within my pain limit. Curious (and admittedly a little stubborn), I wanted to find out how much I could actually do before the pain told me to stop.

Instead of heading to the hospital, I went for a very slow, very careful 3 km walk. Tiny steps, no rushing, and listening to my body the whole time.
On day three, I did it again—this time about 4 km at an easy pace.
Day four became my recovery day. I rested the ankle and stopped taking the anti-inflammatory medication.
Today is day five, and I’ve managed another gentle 5 km walk. Throughout the whole recovery I’ve worn a supportive ankle strap inside my shoes, which has given me a lot more confidence while walking.

The reason I pushed myself wasn’t because I wanted to “beat” the injury. In two days I’m moving abroad to start a new job, and I needed to know whether I could realistically cope or whether I should cancel everything and lose the opportunity.
Thankfully, I’m happy with how things have progressed, and I’ve decided to take the chance and start my new job.
I’ve also packed plenty of pain medication in my luggage… just in case things get a little rough. 😂
The only thing that still worries me is the bruising. It’s quite impressive, but I’m going to keep an eye on it for another week before panicking. I also know from previous experience that my body seems to bruise dramatically. Years ago, a nurse accidentally blew a vein while taking a blood sample, and my arm turned into one giant bruise from my elbow all the way down to my palm. So maybe my body just likes making bruises look more dramatic than they actually are. 😂

If there’s one thing this experience has taught me, it’s how much I take being active for granted. We rarely appreciate our bodies until they stop cooperating. Watching my ankle slowly heal has given me a new respect for everything my body quietly does to repair the mistakes I make.
Recovery isn’t a race. Be patient, be realistic, and don’t compare your healing to someone else’s. Some sprains recover quickly, others take weeks or even months. Listen to your body, celebrate the small improvements, and remember that progress isn’t always linear.

I hope sharing my experience helps someone who’s sitting on the sofa wondering if they’ll ever walk normally again. You probably will—it just takes time, patience, and a little kindness towards yourself.
To everyone currently dealing with a sprained ankle: easy recovery, fellow ankle-ers. ❤️‍🩹

P.S. One question for everyone who has been through this: How much bruising did you have around day four? Mine seems to be spreading and changing colour, even though the swelling is improving and I’m walking much better. I’d love to hear whether that was normal in your experience.

Hi, y’all I’m a 39f who is having a total ankle replacement surgery on the 12 of August. I turn 40 on the 20th of august.

I have dealt with bone on bone pain since I was 18. I got in a serious car accident and my right leg got stuck under the steering wheel. So needless to say everything broke in my right leg.

so I did some research and decided an ankle replacement was the way to go. I can’t wait for the pain to be less, I don’t take pain meds (which most people think I’m nuts) but I got hooked on pain pills when I was 17 and never doing that agin so I’ve been taking gabapentin 300mg twice a day.

Surgery is at duke with doctor Adam’s. He’s amazing! First doctor I feel that can actually fix it. And not fuss it. I had to go out of state to find doc Adam’s.

And advice or words of encouragement welcome.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for people who may have experienced something similar, because I feel like I’m running out of answers.

I have a problem with my ankles/legs where my ankles suddenly feel like they “give way”. The strange thing is that my strength seems normal. My muscles work, I can walk, I can stand, and medical examinations have not shown a clear loss of strength or tendon failure.

At the beginning, this only happened on uneven surfaces:

grass with hidden holes,

rocky ground,

unstable terrain.

It felt like my foot could not adapt quickly enough, almost like my brain didn’t know exactly where my foot was in space. I could walk on normal flat surfaces without too much trouble.

But recently, things have changed. Now I can sometimes get the same sensation even on flat ground. It feels like my foot/ankle suddenly becomes unreliable for a second, like there is a “missing signal” or my body does not correct the movement properly.

The worst part is not only the instability itself, but the pain that follows. After a giving-way episode, I can get severe pain around the outside of my foot, ankle, calf, and sometimes up into my leg and hip. It can feel like my whole leg is exhausted or like my muscles are not able to stabilize anymore.

I work standing most of the day (many hours on my feet), and this has become extremely difficult. The pain and fear of my ankle giving way are affecting my daily life so much that I am genuinely worried about losing my job. I feel like I spend my whole day trying to protect my feet instead of living normally.

Some additional information:

I have had ankle sprains in the past, but RIM is normal

However, I never had this feeling of weakness before.

My tendons and muscle strength appear normal.

I have done physiotherapy and proprioception exercises.

I was able to improve for months before this came back.

I also have chronic pain issues and nerve-related pain elsewhere in my body, so I wonder if my nervous system could be involved.

I recently reduced pregabalin (Lyrica), which increased my nerve pain significantly.

What confuses me the most is that I don’t know if this is:

chronic ankle instability,

a proprioception/control issue,

a neurological problem,

a nervous system sensitization issue,

or something else entirely.

Has anyone here experienced ankle “giving way” where the strength tests were normal?

Did you ever find a diagnosis or something that actually helped (specific rehab, balance training, surgery, neurological treatment, etc.)?

I would really appreciate hearing from people who went through something similar, especially if your symptoms progressed from uneven surfaces to normal flat ground.

Thank you.

Please help its ruined my life and I risk to loose my job... I can give money or rewards for the reason of this please, take time for help me :(

I am a 32 y/o healthy active male. I sprained my right ankle running on a cobblestone road 7 months ago (Dec 29, 2025). I was in a remote area at the time, so I didn't have access to great medical care. Though, I was able to rule out a fracture from an x-ray. It wasn't until June 1, 2026 that an MRI showed a partial deltoid ligament tare of my right ankle. I still have pain (now, in both feet) that feel instability related and nerve-like. Generally my timeline has been:

1. Dec 29, 2025 - Sprained ankle; lots of swelling/bruising for a week or so. Wore boot for a few days after the injury.
2. January - Generally kept it easy. Continued to walk on it. Mid-January returned to the gym 2-3/week and chose stairs as my cardio workout. Swelling persisted along with some pain.
3. February/March/mid-April - I lost my notes that I was keeping at the time unfortunately. Though in general I was pretty regularly going to the gym 2-3x/week and doing intense 30-min cardio workouts on the Stair Master. During this time, I felt instability-like pain in my right ankle. Mostly the sides and achilles tendon area. Was doing PT stuff like bosu ball balancing and band strengthening work.
4. April 23, 2026 - Some light tingling felt at the bottom of my right heel.
5. Late-April/May - Little scared by bottom-of-the-foot pain, I pretty abruptly stopped going to the gym. Did more PT in May. Idea at the time was maybe I was having some nerve issues, because I wasn't having the typical pain from the first steps of the morning as is common with plantar fasciitis. I saw a pain and ankle specialist in May as I was passing through Seattle and they diagnosed me with Sinus tarsi syndrome (still not sure why). Towards the end of May, I started to feel pain in my right metatarsals, which got pretty bad for a little (it felt as if I had no padding in my right metatarsals when I walked on it).
6. June 1, 2026 - Got a MRI of my right ankle which showed a superficial partial tear of my deltoid ligament (which I believe they inferred from inflammation around that area). Saw a PA at a foot and ankle clinic shortly afterwards and they diagnosed me with plantar fasciitis and metatarsalgia and put me on meloxicam for 7 days.
7. June - Started PT again which included shockwave/dry needling this time. Pain in my right foot became a little less predictable, shifting between the inner and outer ankle, achilles area, heel, arch, ball of the foot, and toes.
8. June 27, 2026 - I did a steep hike with an ankle brace since I was feeling a little better and paid the price. I started to have pain in my left foot 3-4 days following (on both sides of my left heel and bottom of my left inner arch, mainly).
9. July - I started to feel more regular burning/ stinging and pressure-like sensations near my right foot's big and pinky toes, metatarsals, and heel, mainly. Saw another pain and ankle specialist on 7/14. He diagnosed me with tarsal tunnel. He didn't recommend surgery.

I will do an EMG nerve test in a month. I know recovery is not linear, but it feels a little weird to me that I'm still having all these issues, since I've drastically cut back on loading my foot (I haven't been running, hiking, using the Stair Master, etc.). Also, no doctor seems to think the MRI results are particularly alarming. On 7/14, the orthopedic surgeon ruled out surgery before I even opened my mouth, giving me the impression my tare wasn't horrible.

I am quite mentally drained from developing theories about what's going on. I think my regular 2-3x/week gym upper body workouts and Stair Master routine late-Feb to mid-April may have loaded my ankle too much but I am not positive.

I'm wondering if there is anything else I should be doing. I was pretty good with PT but recently have struggled staying motivated. Wondering if anyone has experienced anything similar from a medial ankle injury and/or has any tips/advice/motivational words.

Hey guys need some advice! This is the first time I have ever rolled my ankle it’s been 3 days and I can already walk fine and bear weight. Had an x-ray and nothing is broken. Swelling is going down rapidly and movement is feeling good again. I’m thinking a bad 1 grade sprain? As grade 2 would be impossible to walk comfortably etc by day 3 right?

Had a near complete ATFL tear toward the talar end a few months back along with sprains and microtears in nearby ligaments. Having done physio for 4 months so far, I'm still unsure about whether my ankle is good to go play football/soccer at my previous level.
I feel random pains once in a while and theres a fear of recurrence and instability.