To buy a fracture boot to try?

[Babyboristhefirst]

Ds injured his ankle playing football. A&E xrayed and it isn't broken. After that they weren't very interested.

3 weeks later he still can walk on it without lots of pain, can't sleep and is very fed up.

We were given crutches but told to walk on it as much as possible by A&E nurse. We saw the GP last week as I was concerned about the amount of pain. GP thinks ligament damage and told DS to rest and ice the foot and walk depending on pain. Problem is pain is stopping him walking at all.

AIBU to buy a fracture boot to try? To see if it enables him to get around without so much pain? I can't face another stint waiting in A&E or minor injuries

I wouldn’t if the doctor doesn’t think he needs it, it could make the issue worse. If it’s ligament damage then 3 week isn’t a ridiculously long time.

Agree with PP. I would get some proper advice as there may be something to help him but a fracture boot might not be it.

See a physiotherapist, NHS or private.

They can assess him, request a copy of his x-ray and give appropriate advice.

Fracture boots don't help with pain.

Personal experience.

If he's injured the soft tissues it could easily take months to heal. Also personal experience.

See a physio. My DD once suffered a knee injury. X-rayed at A&E and no break so discharged with advice to see a physio privately as NHS had a waiting list. No treatment otherwise. Saw physio who was appalled DD was walking unaided and demanded crutches from the hospital (which were provided). No weight bearing for 3 weeks and 3 months of physio later, she'd made a full recovery but physio said while it's important to gain movement and retain strength as soon as possible, you MUST first let the initial inflammation go down and rest/control use of the affected area.

Hope he recovers quickly.

See a physio and have it assessed now.

I had the above but was just told to rest it and it would take a few months to recover fully. So I hobbled around on it and thought no more of it.
I've now 3 yrs later developed all kinds of ankle and foot problems when I started exercising post Covid and following months of treatment I'm being referred on for scans.

Ok thanks looks like physio would be a good bet.

Lots of teenage angst and he can't play sport, coupled with pain he's understandabley moody

A fracture boot used incorrectly could easily make the problem worse

If medics have told him to keep it mobile then it's best to try where possible to do that. I broke a number of bones in my hand and fingers a few years ago. By far the worst and most long lasting pain/damage was actually caused by it being in a cast for several weeks and not being able to move my fingers. The muscles/tendons/ligaments seized and I had to have 6 months physio and a night splint to get them to be able to fully straighten and fully bend. One finger is still crooked.

Google your hospital trust and the words 'self refer physio', lots of trusts have implemented this now so you don't need to go through your GP to get booked in.

I have personal experience of two young people in the last year who have ‘sprained’ their ankles and been told by A and E to rest for a fortnight then walk on it. Both turned out after three months of pain to be broken and require surgery and a further six month rehab. So I would have a very low threshold for going back to the doctor if it doesn’t heal.

From personal experience I would recommend physio, also what worked for me were hiking boots.

I'd fallen downstairs and sprained it really badly and it was swollen and painful but I had two year old twins.

I wore compression bandages (I believe they don't recommend them now) and hiking boots for months.

Also alternate ibuprofen and paracetamol for the pain. If it gets really bad you can buy paracetamol with codeine.

It should be rested though - walking on it will make the pain significantly worse.

I wonder if some ankle straps /ankle supports would help him? I found them useful when I sprained my ankle badly about six months ago
(I got them on Amazon- of course)

I agree with pp about seeing a physio. When I had physio for my ankle they helped me recover from my injury in stages. First on crutches and not put weight on my foot. Then walking with the aid of crutches. Then exercises that they determined that I could do based on their assessment. Some of the exercises used equipment that they have and some were exercises that I could do at home. One of the exercises was to sit in a chair, raise my foot off the floor and draw the letters of the alphabet in the air with my toes to move my ankle gently in different directions.

Also, initially I had a stretchy tube of fabric they got me to wear to provide support. It helped a lot. It reduced pain but still allowed movement. The problem with a fracture boot is that it immobilises the ankle and that could cause problems for recovery and regaining strength and movement.

I hope your son recovers soon.

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