Does this need an X-ray or fine to just ice and strap it up?

[RandomUserName11]

16 year old fell when playing football in the garage - we have vinyl tiled floors and he was just in his socks 😒🤷‍♀️

He says he felt possibly a crunch but isn't actually sure . It's painful but he's got it elevated with ice and is playing Xbox just fine now

Thoughts? It's the left ankle btw

My bruising didn't really get going until over 24hrs after my small fracture. Same goes for the swelling. I've just checked the photos. Swelling was actually worse by day 4. I was in a boot 3hrs after the injury, for 6 long weeks.

get him to stand up and see how it feels if it crunched I reckon it’s broke
I had no bruising when I snapped my wrist bone
i heard it snap and no pain unless I moved it

I'd get an x-ray. If it's not broken it could be badly sprained, and looking after sprains is just as important as looking after a break.

Checked him again - the first pic is his right ankle and the second pic is the left - damaged - one

He got up off his bed and tried some walking about but he just can't seem to weight bear on it. Kept hopping until I told him to actually try a very gentle step but he said it's just too painful. Not painful when sat down and not moving it

He has college and then his part time job in the evening tomorrow so this is all pretty inconvenient but we've agreed to see how it is on the morning as he'd like to make a decision on it then.

He now says he can't remember what it felt like or if it made a sound when he fell over so who knows?

I think it's just a sprain but if he still can't bear any weight tomorrow we will go to the minor injuries unit

Definitely get him seen. Round here (south wales) we need appointments at minor injuries so I’d be calling 111 now to get an appointment for first thing tomorrow

let us know how he gets on

If he can’t put weight on it then I’d definitely be getting it seen to.

not much they can do until the swelling goes down a bit though.

definitely go to minor injuries in the morning,

I’d get it checked tomorrow regardless of how it looks or feels… in my experience young men are chronic under-raters of pain and injury. I’ve seen them downplay the most awful injuries - and my own tough little mother suffered multiple years of complications from lack of proper treatment for a foot injury.

Minor injuries if practical, otherwise A&E. That in my opinion is obvious if you can't put weight on it. Even if you can weight bear, I'll second the many reports that untreated foot and ankle injuries can have long term impacts and sometimes a bad injury doesn't hurt much.

And there's no "just" about sprains. A severely torn ligament can be as debilitating and slow to heal as a bone fracture, if not worse.

I 100% walked around for weeks on a broken foot. It wasn't pleasant but it wasn't 'agony'.

The danger of waiting is that if it IS broken, it can make things a whole lot worse if he tries to put weight on it. A fracture where the bones are still in alignment will just need a boot and will heal fairly quickly. If the bones get out of alignment it might need an operation. I broke my ankle in two places. It didn't hurt until I tried to touch my foot to the floor. Get it looked at, and no more trying to walk on it until it's been x-rayed.

Yes get him seen! I had a serious sprain and didn't get it looked at because I 'had' to work. I should have been casted and NWB (talar done fracture). 18 years later I have had 3 surgeries on it and now need an ankle replacement!

Definitely get it looked at and x rayed.

If it is broken, trying to bear weight on it or move it will make it worse- DH 'hurt' his ankle just walking in the street. But he then tried to walk on it - resulting in a bimalleolar fracture (aka a bad one that needs surgery, plates and pins).

He definitely needs an X ray
He can't weight bear and to my eye his ankle looks misshapen
I walked around on a broken foot for a week thinking I'd just bruised it so you can never be sure otherwise

My sister fell in August & thought she had a "bad sprain." Hobbled around for a week till friends made her go to A&E.

Ankle had multiple fractures and ligaments were torn. 10 days later after swelking subsided, surgery under general anesthesia; surgeon told me she picked out "shards" and installed a plate. Three long incisions in ankle/calf to fix ligaments.

All that walking around after the initial injury really fucked things up. She still is in a non-weight-bearing cast. Her future mobility is compromised.

Just get it X rayed.

Definitely needs an x-ray. No way to tell if it’s fractured otherwise. Without an x-ray everything is speculation.

@RandomUserName11 how is he today? Did you take him for an x-ray?