To go back to the hospital again?

[Bellemere]

I fell off a step 3 weeks ago. I watched my foot blow up like a balloon and went straight to A&E. The pain was so bad I thought I was dying but X-ray revealed no fracture.

I've been determinedly resting, icing and elevating it. They said they don't compress with a bandage anymore.

I went back after 3 days and was told it was an ankle sprain. I went back 8 days after that and was xrayed again, definitely not broken, just a sprain, take painkillers and start walking on it.

I cannot put any weight on it at all. It took a week to even be able to rest it on the floor. Surely this isn't right? Surely I should be able to at least limp or something? Or stand up?

It's not an ankle sprain - my ankle is fine. It's my midfoot that remains swollen and incredibly painful.

A nasty sprain can be harder to heal than a minor fracture.
It might be worth asking your GP if they can refer you to the fracture clinic where you would see an orthopaedic surgeon for some expert advice.

Ouch. You poor thing. That sounds horrible. I did a similar thing falling off one deep step last summer. X ray showed no fracture and they didn't strap it up and just said rest, ice and pain killers. It took 6 weeks to be able to put much weight on it. After 3 weeks it was definitely easier than when I first did it though. If it's nearly as bad as it was initially, I would agree with someday and go to the GP. You could have ligament/tendon damage which can take a while to mend. It maybe that a cast or brace might be helpful. I've broken an arm, but what I did to my foot last year was way more painful than that. Hope it soon begins to ease off.

I've had a similar thing happen. 3 weeks ago I fell down the stairs and my ankle was absolute agony. I was certain it was broken and so was the nurse. No fracture showed up on the X-ray though. Long story short, I couldn't weight bear for 2 weeks and I've just started to be able to walk up and down the stairs slowly instead of crawling. I am still limping and can't go anywhere fast. I agree that you ought to see the gp and they may recommend physio or exercises. Ligament or tendon damage can take longer to heal that a fracture.

have you been to a and e three times? go to your gp for goodness sake

Soft tissue damage can be worse than breaks, unfortunately. However, 3 weeks is a long time, and whilst I would be confident from 2 sets of x rays that there isn't a fracture, you may have damaged ligaments or tendons in your foot. Your GP could refer you for other types of scans (CT scan?) that could identify soft tissue injuries.

Also, if you see your GP, maybe you could get a referral for physio. After injuring my ankle some years ago, after a month it was still swollen and painful, but I found physio really helped.

Could be ligaments, you need to see GP to get referral to the soft tissue specialists. They don't work in A&E.

Thanks all. I'll try the GP. I'd avoided them as they're newly qualified and useless with even basic things so assumed they would just fob me off to be honest. At least I can go and ask for a specific referral now.

Cathy - no. A&E once, minor injuries twice.

Took me 8 weeks to fully recover from a similar injury. Might want to check you've not ruptured a tendon

I tore ligaments in my foot which took longer to heal and was more painful than when I broke right through the bone. It was excruciating and healed badly. Ask your GP for a physio referral.

I fell down some steps 4 months ago and sustained a serious ankle sprain and ligament injury. I am just starting to walk without a limp, but will be having physio until the end of September. The physio told me I would have probably been discharged last week had it been a simple break... My GP got me a fast referral for physio which has been really helpful and a scan to check on the ligaments. If I've pushed myself my ankle still swells up by the evening.

Did similar two days before my 3 year old broke his arm. His plaster cast came off last week , me I still hobble if not bandaged!