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Original poster

Come and tell me about your bad ‘sprains’ ( pic included)

45 replies

Wrongwayround · 03/09/2020 21:38

Stepped off the stairs thinking I was stepping on to the floor only I was three stairs up. Was thinking about what I needed to clean the air frier with.

I actually head a snap!

Pain was so bad I had to lie back on the floor as I felt like I was going to pass out and felt sick.

Had an X-ray and as I got back to the waiting room the doctor was ready for me saying it was just a bad ‘sprain’ - who could he have meticulously examined it the X-ray in the space of three mins!

I’m not mard. I can’t take pain. But wholly shot this is a deep hurt in my bones going up my shin 😩

Tell me about your bad sprains where you thought you was losing your limb but it was just a sprain

Come and tell me about your bad ‘sprains’ ( pic included)
OP posts:
Original poster
Wrongwayround · 03/09/2020 21:40

Can take pain!**

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DismantleMe · 03/09/2020 21:45

I had very similar, I fell from a few steps up and also heard a snap. I was physically sick from the pain, but no break! 4 years on I still have swelling and discomfort so make sure you look after it as I think I did too much too soon, as soon as I could weight bare I went back to normal.

frogsareflyinginfromthewest · 03/09/2020 21:48

I did something like that 8 weeks ago, slipped down wet concrete steps, heard a crack, went to A&E but was told it was just a bad sprain.

Its taken a full eight weeks to get anywhere near feeling normal.

You have my total sympathy, its agonizingly painfulFlowers

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Em3978 · 03/09/2020 21:52

I've been there too. Got the x-rays and knackered ankles to prove it. The worst one I couldn't put to the floor for 2 weeks, never mind weight bear. It looked like I had a cricket ball stuck in my ankle bone, the swelling was impressive. Eventual bruises went from just under my knee to the second knuckle of my toes. All the colours of the rainbow.
It takes 4-6 months or more to heal enough from that level of 'just a sprain' to function properly again.
A break can heal in a few weeks.

But my ankles still work, my feet are still attached. I do all the physio I'm offered to strengthen them.

Pombearbuffet · 03/09/2020 21:52

Omg that’s massive!

I sprained mine and it was so painful I couldn’t let anything touch it. It did take a long time to feel back to normal.

TorysSuckRevokeArticle50 · 03/09/2020 21:53

Been there and it hurt like a bitch.

Make sure you follow any instructions and ice and elevation but also make sure you move it regularly,nothing major just little bends and rotations, whatever you can manage. I always find with a sprain it hurts worse and longer if I let it stiffen up.

www.ouh.nhs.uk/patient-guide/leaflets/files/12384Pankle.pdf

BearSoFair · 03/09/2020 21:53

I did very similar in 2014, stepped down 2 stairs. I stupidly convinced myself it would be ok on it's own and hobbled/hopped around for 2/3 days before finally caving and going to A&E...I got such a bollocking for leaving it so long! Ended up on crutches for 8 weeks Shock I think it was 14 weeks before it really felt close to normal again afterwards.

Original poster
Wrongwayround · 03/09/2020 21:55

Oh no both both of yours took ages to heal 😩

Have you both got a limp?

OP posts:
Original poster
Wrongwayround · 03/09/2020 21:56

@BearSoFair

I did very similar in 2014, stepped down 2 stairs. I stupidly convinced myself it would be ok on it's own and hobbled/hopped around for 2/3 days before finally caving and going to A&E...I got such a bollocking for leaving it so long! Ended up on crutches for 8 weeks Shock I think it was 14 weeks before it really felt close to normal again afterwards.
Noooooo. So long to heal! Awful isn’t it Sad
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Original poster
Wrongwayround · 03/09/2020 21:57

[quote TorysSuckRevokeArticle50]Been there and it hurt like a bitch.

Make sure you follow any instructions and ice and elevation but also make sure you move it regularly,nothing major just little bends and rotations, whatever you can manage. I always find with a sprain it hurts worse and longer if I let it stiffen up.

www.ouh.nhs.uk/patient-guide/leaflets/files/12384Pankle.pdf[/quote]
Thank you for the link. I’ve got a bag of peas on it now. The brave they give me is doing nothing

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Thimbleberries · 03/09/2020 21:59

Had an awful sprain, immense pain, but they said keep walking on it, it'll do it good, so I did.

6 or so weeks later, GP sent me for another x-ray as it wasn't getting better. Fractured. Had been all along, but was very hard to see on the first x-ray.

Maybe worth getting it checked again..? It's hard to push back when they just say sprained, though.

Original poster
Wrongwayround · 03/09/2020 22:00

@Em3978

I've been there too. Got the x-rays and knackered ankles to prove it. The worst one I couldn't put to the floor for 2 weeks, never mind weight bear. It looked like I had a cricket ball stuck in my ankle bone, the swelling was impressive. Eventual bruises went from just under my knee to the second knuckle of my toes. All the colours of the rainbow. It takes 4-6 months or more to heal enough from that level of 'just a sprain' to function properly again. A break can heal in a few weeks.

But my ankles still work, my feet are still attached. I do all the physio I'm offered to strengthen them.

Shock that was a bad sprain.

Sprain sounds so wimpy bit takes so much longer to heal!

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ReceptacleForTheRespectable · 03/09/2020 22:02

A bad sprain is worse than a break, and will take longer to heal than a break.

My advice is to see a physio early on, and keep seeing them, building exercises as you are able to. Don't be me and ignore it and carry on hobbling around - I spent a much longer time (years) getting it fit again because I didn't do the right thing at the start.

hastingsmua1 · 03/09/2020 22:03

My foot was ran over by a CAR. This absolute cunt was reversing and not paying attention !

At first I was walking around as normal and giving him a piece of my mind, but within 10 minutes the pain became unbearable - I couldn’t move my foot at all without my eyes (involuntary) tearing up. The pain was unreal, co-codamol wouldn’t ease it.

Luckily nothing was broken, just a sprain but still took about 3 months to return to normal. The worst of the pain was over within a month but any sort of high top shoes or accidental twist of my ankle would trigger it. I couldn’t even sleep in bed properly as could never rest my foot at a comfortable angle.

ReceptacleForTheRespectable · 03/09/2020 22:03

There is no 'just' about a sprain at all

TorysSuckRevokeArticle50 · 03/09/2020 22:04

I always prefer a tubigrip compression tube bandage thing but hospital seems to have gone off them so not sure if they are out of favour now.

Not for the first couple of days but once the swelling starts to go down they just add a bit of support and make it feel easier to walk.

I'm a clumsy cow and have a tendency to miss stairs or trip on potholes and such ALOT! To the point I assume any injury is a sprain which lead to me ignoring a broken hand a couple of years ago for a week, then ending up needing a screw putting in.

jollybobs89 · 03/09/2020 22:04

Done the same stepped off a kerb in Thailand a high curb and went over on my ankle heard it pop can still remember the pain made me want to vomit! Was ligament damage which looks like would be the same in your case! My ankle never been the same again! Mine swelled up like yours also did they not say could be ligament damage? They say that this is sometimes worse than a break!

mnahmnah · 03/09/2020 22:05

I’ve done exactly the same as you, your picture looks the same as mine. But it was stepping off a curb on Sunday for me. I’ve had ice on it the last three nights because it coincided with my return to work! I’m trying to keep it elevated but really hard at work.

jollybobs89 · 03/09/2020 22:05

I'm so clumsy too! Broken my little toe on the same foot twice by kicking the door frame when walking round the house who even manages that?! Must be my size 8 boat feet!!!

evilharpy · 03/09/2020 22:05

I sprained my ankle at the start of March, just before lockdown, while out for a run and tripped over a pothole. It was enormous and went dark purple and I couldn't walk without crutches for a couple of weeks. It was 11 weeks before I was able to run again. Seems fine now though. I was quite diligent with icing it etc.

museumum · 03/09/2020 22:07

It sounds like a full tendon rupture :(
I did that many years ago and it took about a year to recover fully.
I cannot stress enough how much I’d recommend that you see a private physio. It should be about £45 a session and you won’t need loads of sessions but it honestly makes all the difference. I didn’t see one till after 6mo had passed and it was a big mistake.

Original poster
Wrongwayround · 03/09/2020 22:17

@jollybobs89

I'm so clumsy too! Broken my little toe on the same foot twice by kicking the door frame when walking round the house who even manages that?! Must be my size 8 boat feet!!!
I’d say I’ve broken several toes doing this. If I knock one slightly .. the pain! Shock
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MacavityTheDentistsCat · 03/09/2020 22:19

Did they not do an MRI as well, OP? The swelling is so high I would have thought they would have been concerned about the distal syndesmosis (I think that's what it's called - the ligament that holds the tibia and fibula together).

Anyway .... my advice is to rest, rest, rest as much as you can for as long as you can. I did something similar to you last August (i.e. 2019) and it was March before I could even weight the foot again properly and June before it really felt half way "normal". The doctor who treated me at the time cheerily informed me that I was looking at a year's recovery Shock and that a "clean break" would have been much better.

Original poster
Wrongwayround · 03/09/2020 22:21

I’ll have to get physio. I’m on my feet all day at work. I cannot have a gammy foot!

OP posts:
Original poster
Wrongwayround · 03/09/2020 22:23

@MacavityTheDentistsCat

Did they not do an MRI as well, OP? The swelling is so high I would have thought they would have been concerned about the distal syndesmosis (I think that's what it's called - the ligament that holds the tibia and fibula together).

Anyway .... my advice is to rest, rest, rest as much as you can for as long as you can. I did something similar to you last August (i.e. 2019) and it was March before I could even weight the foot again properly and June before it really felt half way "normal". The doctor who treated me at the time cheerily informed me that I was looking at a year's recovery Shock and that a "clean break" would have been much better.

No. They just whisked me in for an X-ray and was given crutches and foot brace within minutes of coming out the X-ray room. Honestly wasn’t in there 30 mins. Place was empty.
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