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Original poster

Can you walk on a broken ankle

54 replies

weekfour · 15/08/2023 20:40

I fell down the stairs nearly 8 weeks ago wearing some heavy platform doc marten sandals. It hurt. A lot. So much that I wondered at the time if I'd broken it. I kind of rolled my ankle and the shoes were so heavy that my foot went with them.

The intense pain went off relatively quickly so I came to the conclusion that I'd just bruised it very badly. I didn't want to waste the doctors time so just thought ice and time would make it better.

8 weeks on and it's not bruised any more but it still hurts every single day when I'm walking. Sometimes even just sitting at my desk. Is it possible that it could be broken? I always thought you wouldn't be able to walk if it was broken but is that true? It hurts and I've not been able to run or do much cardio at all. Interestingly I can ride my bike fine- that motion doesn't touch it at all.

Help me. What do I need to do?

OP posts:
Heyhoherewegoagain · 15/08/2023 20:42

I certainly wasn’t able to-but I guess it depends on where and how broken-mine was quite a complex fracture.
it’s not unusual for ligament damage and pain to go on for months

2023issucky · 15/08/2023 20:46

Sort of, I could just about weight bare but was very painful. There's lots of different types of breaks. Would be tempted to get it checked

BitOutOfPractice · 15/08/2023 20:48

It could be ligament damage?

and yes, there’s lots of different types of breaks, not just a bone snapping.

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General health
RecklessBlackberries · 15/08/2023 20:51

I can't speak for broken ankles, but when I sprained my ankle it really hurt for about four months. For the first two months, I was properly limping walking more than a few steps. And then another six months or so it was slowly decreasing from pain to soreness. Even now (a year later), it's still weaker than before and gets sore easier.

(It was definitely just a sprain, I took myself to A&E a week in because it hurt so much but it wasn't broken).

Verite1 · 15/08/2023 20:53

I have walked on a broken foot before (for 6 weeks). Also, I have badly torn ligaments in my ankle and that took well over 6 months to heal.

LookingForPurpose · 15/08/2023 20:55

Ligament damage can take a full two years to resolve!

StevenB1 · 15/08/2023 20:56

Sort of.

I fell down a manhole at work and broke my ankle..I continued to work on it for another 8 hours that day. When I got home and took my boot off I nearly passed out from the rush of pain and it swelled up instantly. I went to the hospital the next day (was 11pm when I finished work)

Got a moon boot and was told to take 12 weeks off work, could only afford 6 weeks off, went back, still wasn't right and it's never been right since. Clicks constantly and gets stiff easy when it's cold.

I wouldn't advise walking on it for the longer term, not worth what comes after.

papasmurfdontpreach · 15/08/2023 20:56

Yeah years ago my friend rolled hers while wearing platform shoes and stayed out all night drinking and dancing. She ended up getting it checked after a few more days and it was broken. Get it checked out OP!

branchesonthegrounds · 15/08/2023 20:57

When I broke my ankle I walked on it for almost 24hours before I went to a & e. It broke it on my wedding day so not sure if it was the adrenaline. When I did it it was very painful and I felt sick, it swelled up and was bruised.
You could always go and get checked out just to be on the safe side

Firkinhavinalaugh · 15/08/2023 20:57

I had mine X-ray’d this weekend after a period of time and for a similar accident to you.

when I went into see the nurse she said that it was quite common for women to walk around on a broken ankle - especially those with children (too many things to do and not enough time….)
luckily it’s not broken but it is incredibly sore and likely to be a torn ligament (me) but rest and raise and ibroprufen was suggested.

Good luck!

cherryassam · 15/08/2023 20:58

I could walk on a broken ankle in a boot.

On a different occasion did ligament damage and I think that actually hurt more and for longer. Hurt for weeks whenever I moved it, whether I was putting weight on it or not. Still isn’t 100% right several years later and hurts often.

Xrays · 15/08/2023 20:59

I fell down some stone steps when I was 11 trying to walk home from my friends house. I was so worried about being late that I just picked myself up and walked the 2 miles home on it. It hurt but didn’t feel hugely different to when I’d twisted it. When I got home my Gran was horrified, I think it was quite swollen by then, and took me to a and e and it was fractured in two places, one quite badly and I spent 6-8 weeks in plaster and physio.

I would go and get it checked / x rayed.

ElWantsACuggle · 15/08/2023 21:06

Yes, I went over on my ankle whilst on a family day out and, after I stopped crying, hobbled along to catch everyone up and then hobbled back to the car later that day. I thought I had a bad sprain and was in pain for ages, grunting every time I had to drop the clutch and change gear.

Found out about 5 years later, during an X-ray, that it had been broken quite badly and got told off by the nurse for not getting it checked at the time.

So yeah, go get it checked, some people have higher pain thresholds than others.

ChocHotolate · 15/08/2023 21:12

Yes.
I've seen quite a few people at work who have walked on broken bones for many weeks.
Go and get it checked, def worth it

Eminybob · 15/08/2023 21:12

I went over on my ankle years ago, it swelled up like a balloon and was black. I was on holiday and not wanting to be inconvenienced (like an idiot), just laid up in the hotel for a couple of days then went back to walking (very painfully) on it, sightseeing and all the rest.

Years later I went over on the same ankle (happens regularly now, I must have weakened it) at work and they insisted on carting me off to be xrayed even though it wasn't that bad. The nurse said it wasn't broken, but she could see where it had been broken previously. Defo must have been the time on holiday.

So yes, to answer your question it is possible to walk on a broken ankle and eventually it will heal, but you may be forever cursed with a weak ankle (I went over on it again a couple of weeks ago and it's still stiff)
Go and get seen.

MyYoniSaysNoni · 15/08/2023 21:18

Yep. I discovered this earlier in the year. My ds tripped at school, but bounced straight back up again. Made no fuss. He was limping a bit when he came out of school but seemed fine. He told me he'd sprained it. But managed to walk entire way home. Next day was limping, but walked to school and back home again.

After a few days he was unhappy with putting socks on, taking them off and was still complaining it hurt. So i took him to minor injuries thinking I'd get it strapped properly. They did an xray and i felt like worst mother in the world when they came out to tell us it was broken.

Bookish88 · 15/08/2023 21:22

DH managed to walk around on a broken ankle for a couple of days. He has quite a high pain threshold, but it was obviously bothering him quite a lot so I encouraged him to go and get it checked. He was convinced there'd be nothing on the X-ray/just a sprain, but it was actually quite a bad break.

HelpMeUnpickThis · 15/08/2023 21:24

I walked on mine for 2 days because I didn’t want want to make a fuss.

Finally gave into the pain and got an x ray and it was indeed broken. Also lots of ligament damage.

I would not recommend this method - seek medical help.

megletthesecond · 15/08/2023 21:30

Quite possibly. I fractured mine 10 weeks ago (went to hospital immediately) and wore a boot for 5 weeks night and day. It's nearly mended now and doesn't hurt to walk a few miles.

Go and get your ankle checked out. Do not muck about with your health.

RichardPranceonthePiano · 15/08/2023 21:40

It is definitely possible. DP used to sleepwalk. He slept walked one night, woke up on the floor, vomited with pain and then when back to bed. His ankle was swollen in the morning and he assumed it was just a sprain and kept it elevated for a few days. Two years later he had a bone spur in his foot, and his foot was x-rayed. They asked him when he had broken his ankle. He had absolutely no idea he'd broken it then and had been walking around all that time. He ended up having surgery and pins in it!

upinaballoon · 15/08/2023 21:45

A lovely young doctor at A and E told me that I had a bad sprain but hadn't broken anything. There was a lump like a small apple on my ankle. They did give me some crutches and sent me away. It sure hurt but I half crutched, half walked on it for four days. After the bank holiday weekend (!) the hospital rang me to say they thought I might have broken it and could I get in. So, yes, you can walk on a broken ankle and for hundreds and thousands of years people must have done, but in 2023 it's best to get it checked out, preferably by a doctor who has some experience at looking at X-rays. I know trainee doctors have to learn but it's good when a more experienced doctor is there to check!

Cowlover89 · 15/08/2023 21:53

Definitely get it checked

Original poster
weekfour · 15/08/2023 22:01

Ok. You've convinced me. I'll ring the GP tomorrow and see what they say. I don't have time for this!

OP posts:
Wavingnotdrown1ng · 15/08/2023 22:15

I’ve twice walked on a broken ankle. The first time, the radiographer recalled me after checking the x-ray after four days. The second time, after ten weeks, when it still hurt, I went back to the dr, got referred for x-rays and later, a consultant told me it had been broken and healed as well as it would have done with a boot. However, the worst pain was from a soft tissue injury a few years ago and that took over a year to recover and only really stopped swelling in the summer after I lost weight.

GrandTheftWalrus · 15/08/2023 22:22

I was putting my trainers on 2 weeks ago and went over on my ankle. With painkillers I was able to weight bear but went to a&e the following day. It was broken. I'm now going for surgery on Thursday to fix it properly and I've not been able to weight bear on it since.

So yes get it seen to.

And is it bear or bare?