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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Would you go to a&e if you thought you had sprained your ankle?

213 replies

Awarethebear · 02/03/2022 13:51

Hi, I ended up twisting my ankle whilst stepping off of a large step and onto unbeknownst to me slippy mud on the school run yesterday afternoon, it hurt straightaway but I was able to walk the twenty minute journey after ( in pain and with a limp). When I arrived home I noticed my ankle was swollen and after a couple of hours the bruising began. It's really painful to walk on almost 24 hours later, I'm wondering is it just sprained or could it be broken. Would you go to the hospital if this was you?

OP posts:

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Ffion85 · 02/03/2022 14:35

@Awarethebear

I did the same thing about 5 years ago, managed to walk fine immediately after the fall. Overnight the pain and bruising got worse and it turned out I had broken the tip of my tibia near the ankle and was in a cast for 3 months 😬

Blueberryflavour · 02/03/2022 14:35

I’ve been unlucky enough to break a bone in my foot and then years later very badly sprain my ankle ( I did come down with my whole weight on top of my twisted ankle though) frankly the twisted ankle was worse. I put off going to A & E with a broken bone but there was no way I was going to put off going to A & E with what turned out to be a sprain. My ankle and half way up my leg swelled up and bruised hugely with the sprain and only bruised a little with the break so you really can’t tell and neither could the A & E staff till I got x-rayed. With both I was unable to walk straight away.

AliceS1994 · 02/03/2022 14:39

No. Go to minor injuries, because you have a minor injury...

SliceOfCakeCupOfTea · 02/03/2022 14:40

What did it feel like in your ankle?

If it was a popping sensation then it's a sprain. Snapping would be more serious.

Rest, ice on and off, elevate and pain med/anti-inflammatories.

QuizzicalEyebrows · 02/03/2022 14:44

Yes because it's probably fractured or broken so do go in esp as it's still swollen and hurts

RedWingBoots · 02/03/2022 14:55

so I would go to urgent care rather than a and e.

OP just go to the nearest place to you that does emergency/walk-in x-rays.

Where I live the A&E department is less than a mile away there is the minor injuries clinic is 6 miles away. There is no urgent care unit. This is deliberate as the minor injuries clinic was set up to cover the population that isn't near an A&E department.

RedWingBoots · 02/03/2022 15:01

@QuizzicalEyebrows

Yes because it's probably fractured or broken so do go in esp as it's still swollen and hurts

That's what happens if you have a sprained ankle with minor ligament involvement. If you have more ligaments involved or even tear them it hurts like f*.

Once the swelling goes down and you can weight bear you need physio which depending where you live may be nearly impossible to get on the NHS.

pussycatunpickingcrossesagain · 02/03/2022 15:03

OP it is possible to walk (limp) on a broken ankle.

I'm glad you've decided to check it out at A&E - it does need an xray.

ikeepseeingit · 02/03/2022 15:06

I would get it seen in minor injuries if you have one but A&E when you can if you don’t have one. No shame in getting medical treatment that’s what the NHS is here for! Don’t feel bad about needing treatment.

Martianworld · 02/03/2022 15:07

No.

MedusasBadHairDay · 02/03/2022 15:11

I broke my ankle couple of months back. I could walk on it (hurt like hell though) and it was barely swollen. No harm in getting it checked.

NotImpossible · 02/03/2022 15:13

Yes. You've had an accident and will probably need an x-ray - it's what A&E is for.

Bentley123 · 02/03/2022 15:22

Go to a minor injuries unit- they can do X-rays if needed and assess it.

LowlandLucky · 02/03/2022 15:25

There is no need to xray, if you could walk for20 mins after the injury you haven't broken your ankle. Elevate it, strap it and use ice. Yes it will bruise and yes it will hurt.

SamphiretheStickerist · 02/03/2022 15:25

I have. It was bloody awful and, even though we all suspected it was sprained, it was x-rayed and checked thoroughly.

I was given a pot and told that I'm the long term I would wish it had fractured as the ligament damage was severe.

30 years on and it is only as good is it is now because I had that advice and the pot, for about a week.

JustLyra · 02/03/2022 15:25

I’m just watching to see how many people tell the OP to go to minor injuries even though she said over an hour ago they don’t have them where she lives.

It’s not even like there’s 20 pages to trawl through…

Whatelsecouldibecalled · 02/03/2022 15:26

I would go to minor injuries

SamphiretheStickerist · 02/03/2022 15:27

@LowlandLucky

There is no need to xray, if you could walk for20 mins after the injury you haven't broken your ankle. Elevate it, strap it and use ice. Yes it will bruise and yes it will hurt.

Please. Don't anyone take this as sendible advice.

I've had students walk on all sorts of broken leg, ankle and foot bones.

Zilla1 · 02/03/2022 15:29

Unlike some PPs', I wouldn't fixate on whether it is broken. Some soft tissue injuries if not treated properly can lead to long-term impairment. Depending on the magnitude of the pain and movement issues, a proper diagnosis might be helpful.

Ethelswith · 02/03/2022 15:31

I wouid go to the nearest place which can x-ray it for you.

I did this (and during the pandemic!) when I hobbled up without ringing ahead, saying that I'd gone over badly on my ankle the day before, it was very painful and I wasn't weight bearing, and should it be checked to see if it could be broken. Immediate 'yes'

Turned out to be an avulsion fracture and I left in a fracture boot with instructions that I would be rung some time the following morning from a doctor from the virtual fracture clinic.

The clunkiest part BTW was getting a prescription for strong pain killers (as it was painful enough to impede sleep) as A&E don't hand them out (to discourage addicts from seeking them) even when there's obvious cause. So I had to see the hospitals drop in GP for that separately, and then find a chemist that was still open.

EthelTheAardvark · 02/03/2022 15:36

@SpiderVersed

Ice it and strap it, see how it goes.

It you had broken it, from experience I’d say you wouldn’t be walking.

Depends on what has been broken and how. Some people are able to walk with broken ankles.

limitedperiodonly · 02/03/2022 15:36

Of course. I went to A&E when I thought I'd broken my wrist. It turned out to be a sprain. I apologised to the doctor for wasting his time - as you do - and he told me that was what he was there for.

He'd thought it was broken too. He was glad it wasn't because at my advanced age - late 40s - he said breaks don't heal easily and wrist breaks can be extremely debilitating because the joint is complicated. Like ankles, I suppose. But the sooner you come in the less damage you'll do by being a martyr.

TwuntyFriend · 02/03/2022 15:41

Another one saying go to A&E.

I had an accident whilst playing sport. I strapped it up and carried on for the rest of the game - it was painful but not excruciating.
Afterwards I went to A&E (thinking just a sprain). I had a displaced fracture which needed surgery.
Clearly adrenalin had kept me going - but the pain set in after 24 hours or so.

TwuntyFriend · 02/03/2022 15:43

@LowlandLucky

There is no need to xray, if you could walk for20 mins after the injury you haven't broken your ankle. Elevate it, strap it and use ice. Yes it will bruise and yes it will hurt.

Completely not true. I played 45 mins of sport on a displaced fracture. Adrenalin had kept me going.

MajorCarolDanvers · 02/03/2022 15:45

Minor injuries unit would be more appropriate than A&E or even a pharmacist.

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