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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:
poppym12 · 15/08/2023 22:23

I did but only for a week. I realised that the hobbling and swollen area wasn't getting any better so went to MIU. I then spent 7 weeks in a boot. It was painful even when lying in bed but I really didn't think I could have broken it because of how it happened.

GrandTheftWalrus · 15/08/2023 22:25

poppym12 · 15/08/2023 22:23

I did but only for a week. I realised that the hobbling and swollen area wasn't getting any better so went to MIU. I then spent 7 weeks in a boot. It was painful even when lying in bed but I really didn't think I could have broken it because of how it happened.

I burst out laughing when they told me it was broken! I mean who breaks an ankle putting on trainers??

CornishGem1975 · 15/08/2023 22:27

Yes you can. My DH has broke his a few times now and he just carries on Confused

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Maddy70 · 15/08/2023 22:29

Go and get it x rayed. I walked with a broken leg

GrandTheftWalrus · 15/08/2023 22:32

CornishGem1975 · 15/08/2023 22:27

Yes you can. My DH has broke his a few times now and he just carries on Confused

Christ how high is his pain threshold? It took me 2 hours to get to bed after I broke mine.

CornishGem1975 · 15/08/2023 22:34

@GrandTheftWalrus I actually think the more it's broken the less it hurts maybe? It's basically like glass now, needs surgery at some point. It does clearly hurt him but he's a stubborn git at times.

Serenity45 · 15/08/2023 22:34

Glad you're getting it looked at OP. I had what felt like a minor but painful slip over on a muddy slope last year (wearing hiking boots). Really bruised and swollen but could hobble on it so assumed a bad sprain.

2 days later in minor injuries after triage nurse said unlikely to be broken...sends a wheelchair to reception as I'd broken it and shouldn't have been able to walk on it at all (apparently radiographer was most impressed I'd walked in).

Hope you get it sorted quickly.

poppym12 · 15/08/2023 22:35

That's impressive @GrandTheftWalrus Grin

CornishGem1975 · 15/08/2023 22:35

Maddy70 · 15/08/2023 22:29

Go and get it x rayed. I walked with a broken leg

My friends daughter walked for nearly a week on a broken leg after falling off a trampoline. They thought she was just hamming it up Shock

GrandTheftWalrus · 15/08/2023 22:39

@CornishGem1975 that makes sense actually.

@poppym12 I honestly still can't believe it and I'm going to dine out on this story for years!

grunttheterrible · 15/08/2023 22:55

I couldn't, but I really messed up all the bones south of my knee so maybe another one stopped me walking but it was pain unlike I've ever had before. I couldn't stop retching for hours

GlasgowGal82 · 15/08/2023 23:02

I don't know about an ankle, but I walked about on a broken foot for about six weeks when I was a child, and my SIL did it for a couple of days as an adult. If it still hurts after this long you should definitely go and get it x-rayed.

Bonfire23 · 15/08/2023 23:03

Yep. Broke my foot and ankle (still don't know how) and walked on it for a week including bar work and going out clubbing

NumberFortyNorhamGardens · 15/08/2023 23:09

I used to go over on my ankles quite regularly when I was a kid. They’ve never been the strongest or most stable and I sometimes wonder if the ligaments are permanently out of shape.

LibertyLily · 15/08/2023 23:34

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).

Same here (although I never did get it checked out), but I'm certain it was a sprain.

I fell part way down the stairs and was in a lot of pain. Limped for three and a half months and I'm still experiencing pain/soreness four and a half months on from when I fell. Also lots of stinging/tingling which I understand is probably nerve damage.

With the benefit of hindsight, I should have got it checked out but didn't want to waste the NHS's time, but in your position I would @weekfour.

spiderlight · 15/08/2023 23:35

My aunt walked round for three weeks on an ankle that turned out to be so badly broken that it needed surgery to pin it back together. She was adamant it was just a sprain.

DifficultBloodyWoman · 15/08/2023 23:37

From personal experience - Yes.

allhellcantstopusnow · 16/08/2023 07:33

I walked on a broken foot. It took over a year and a lot of exercises to stop it hurting every day.

Alondra · 16/08/2023 09:02

Get an x-ray. You can have a hairline fracture, or fracture a small chip of one of the bones and you will still walk on it but with pain.

After 8 weeks, you really need to see your GP.

Munchyseeds2 · 16/08/2023 10:04

Just go to A&E??
I know you say you don't have time but really?

thecatsthecats · 16/08/2023 10:09

Yes, you can. I took a hockey ball to the ankle and limped around the Edinburgh festival the next day. We only went to the GP weeks later, and he was clear that it was pointless to scan it now, but a break was incredibly likely.

I've since developed a systematic weakness of the same ankle based on multiple twists and strains on the same point. It's developed into a bone growth that requires surgery, and until I get it, there's going to be continued weakness in the area.

Original poster
weekfour · 20/08/2023 10:14

I'm currently at a&e and have had an x-ray.

OP posts:
Original poster
weekfour · 20/08/2023 10:46

Well guys, I've been walking around on a broken ankle!

Thank you all for making me go to get an X-ray. The nurse did ask me why now and I said Mumsnet made me come to which she laughed. I reckon she was a mumsnetter too.

OP posts:
megletthesecond · 20/08/2023 11:55

Bless you. At least you know now. Are you getting a boot or do they need to operate?

DifficultBloodyWoman · 20/08/2023 13:23

We told you so! 😜

Hope it heals well and soon, OP. 💐