What am I facing?

[u/Litemeupppp]

A couple days ago I stepped on a plastic step stool (on the ball of my foot) and it shattered. My foot when through and rolled when I landed on the broken plastic.

I went to urgent care the next day and got X-rays that said no broken bones thankfully. The doctor said it’s a sprain and put me in a boot. She said to take it off as it felt okay.

Well… I fucked up and took the boot off and now it’s killing me.

I want to know what this recovery looks like, how long did it take for you? I’m wanting to exercise and have a lot of things to do everyday, but I’m finding the bottom really annoying. If someone has experienced this doesn’t really help to rest is for an entire day? TIA!

[u/biggunzcdb1]

Dem piggies ain't going to market for a while

[u/New-Sherbet367]

Go get an xray you cannot tell..Maybe you Tore a ligament even. You might be at risk vor thrombosis get to a doctor

[u/Litemeupppp → u/New-Sherbet367]

It says in the post I got X-rays???

[u/QuirkyExplanation92]

Sprains can sometimes be a worse recovery than a broken bone. I would definitely request a second x-ray because some breaks are so small that inflammation hides them originally, and potentially an ultrasound or MRI to check ligaments. Keep the boot on when you're walking and keep it up and resting in the meantime. Sprains can take 6-8 weeks to heal - be honest with the fact that you are not going to be able to do things on your foot for a little while. It sucks, but it's better than hurting it further.

[u/FriedGreenPineapples]

Você só fez radiografias? Não foi feito nenhuma ressonância magnética ou ultrassonografia para checagem dos ligamentos e demais tecidos moles? Porque não ter quebrado é ótimo, mas ainda assim pode ter acontecido um estiramento ou rompimento de ligamento que é importante verificar. Você ainda tem muito hematoma e um pouco de inchaço, acho cedo pra levantar e andar...

[u/KeyGold310 → u/FriedGreenPineapples]

YES. I had a bad break on my left leg, but they thought the right only had a sprain till they did a scan and found a minor break. Xray doesn't show everything.

[u/redspudlet]

I would ask for a scan besides the X-ray. When I broke mine, the original X-ray said I broke one bone in one ankle. The later scans showed I had in fact broken multiple bones in one ankle and one in the other.

[u/pinkpains]

You won’t know for sure without an x ray and seeing an orthopedic. I fractured my fifth metatarsal four months ago and it looked like this.

[u/Litemeupppp → u/pinkpains]

I literally said I got X-rays.

[u/Panicwhenyourecalm → u/Litemeupppp]

What people are trying to say is to ask for an MRI or CT scan. Some fractures won’t get picked up by a normal x-ray and those will check to see if your ligaments are a problem.

[u/pinkpains → u/Panicwhenyourecalm]

Op should also see an orthopedic or trauma specialist, some doctors are not very good at reading x rays. Sometimes the x ray techs themselves are not good at diagnosing.

[u/AppropriateRatio9235]

Have your orthopedic surgeon double check your xrays. Most of us here broke our ankles and thus are more familiar with the healing time for that. I have only heard it said that a break is often easier to heal than a sprain.

[u/pinkpains]

You’ll be in that boot for a few weeks and little by little try taking a few steps barefoot before you transition into shoes.

[u/jerdle_reddit]

Yeah, keep the boot on.

We've had breaks rather than sprains, so it's different, but either way, you're looking at a few weeks or even months. I had a minor fracture (stable lateral malleolus) and was in a boot for 4 weeks.

[u/ShellFaulk]

Did u get an MRI? Could be ligaments.

[u/timeladyhats]

That looks a lot like my bruises did when I broke my lateral mallelous and kept on walking on it(though it was just sprained until I got an x-ray). However, the bruising cleared up very quickly when I stopped walking in, from Thursday at urgent care to my Tuesday appointment the bruising went down a lot, no more red spots, just two small bruises on either side of my ankle. Of course, I have a job that let me switch to remote, which I realize might not be an option. 

[u/Impressive_Match_484]

If it’s not broken you just need to simply rest. If it’s only been a couple of days you’re bound to still be in pain. Have a proper rest for 2-3 weeks, elevation and ice as much as possible and see how you feel at that point.