Ankle injury

[BingIsWhyIdrink]

I'd like to preface this by saying I know in the grand scheme of things this is incredibly trivial - but WWYD...?

14 weeks ago I turned my ankle walking along the local high street (remember those days?!). I stayed standing - it wasn't catastrophic but I felt something snap/bang/pop and immediately struggled to bear weight. It was very swollen by the time I got home and became increasingly bruised over the next few days. The pain was at the bottom and slightly behind my fibula - I don't think it was my Achilles...

CV was ramping up at the time and I'm hyper mobile and have very unstable ankles so have had similar injuries before. I assumed a nasty sprain, (also assumed the hospital/go would say the same and send me home without x ray) rested it a few days and started to bear weight gradually and try to go about life without bothering my GP or local hospital.
However it's still painful. Not unbearable but I'm constantly aware of it - there are shooting pains up the outside of my leg from ankle to knee after even minor activity and a constant ache - it's also still tender to the touch. Since lockdown I've been able to rest it but when I do anything much (walking the dogs, running around after the kids or going on anything other than level pathways) the swelling comes back, it looks a little bruised and the pain ramps up.
I phoned my GP for advice - i.e. is it normal for a sprain to take this long? She advised it wasn't and that I should self refer to my local physio. The physio team have today sent a letter back saying it's a sprain and they're not interested.

Given it's been so long Is this just life now? Obviously with the current crisis I'm not expecting any/much treatment but when lockdown is eased would you push for further investigation or just leave it and take painkillers when needed? Would I be wasting money to consider a private appointment/imaging as I'm sure the NHS will just be a keep alive service for the foreseeable? I can't exercise as it's painful - there's even a sharp pain when I angle my foot into my trainers/shoes and there are loads of day to day things that still hurt.

Would you consider a private appointment for maybe an MRI? Go back to GP? Or leave it and accept it'll take a bit longer and may always be sore?

[lydia7986]

Do you have a walk in minor injuries unit near you? That would be my first choice.

If not, then I’d go back to your GP and try to get referred for a scan.

It’s clearly more than a strain if you’ve had it for 14 weeks.

[lydia7986]

*sprain

[DoorbellsSleighbellsSchnitzel]

Same thing happened to me around 9 months ago (Aug. 2019). I had an x-ray at the time but it was clear.

Right up until around 6 months post injury I was being told "these things take time, especially if it were a bad sprain" ...I was having some private physio before Christmas, and had intended to look at getting a private MRI but after much procrastination this all kicked off, and we were in lockdown.

I'm still having pain now, but it has improved in the last 6-8 weeks, and I'm able to do stuff like walk downstairs more easily; probably as I've had time to do strengthening exercises more often, and have been going out walking more regularly. Still very sore by the end of a shortish walk. Anything more than 40 mins and it's exhaustingly painful, and swollen when I get back.

I'm not sure whether to return to physio once lockdown eases, or to just keep trying to strengthen my ankle. It's so frustrating.

[fallfallfall]

It’s probably an avulsion with a bone chip and probably would have benefitted from being immobilized. Of course you need and deserve an X-ray.