my 5 yr old daughter has a sprained ankle--doc says no pe for 8 to 10 weeks!?

[anonymous4now]

Took my daughter to doc's yesterday as she was limping with a painful ankle. I was concerned as there was no evidence of her falling or anything and obviously was concerned that she had an "unexplained limp". Anyway, after a very thorough examination, he assured me that she had a sprained ankle and then went into a speech about tissues and ligaments which-unfortunately- went completely over my head! However, he told me that she must rest her ankle and she musn't do any p e or running around the playground for at least 6 to 8 weeks-i thought he was going to say days and actually asked him to repeat himself! Today-thankfully-she seems much better and wants to walk around etc. but i'm unsure now what to let her do. Anyone know anything for certain?

It does sound excessive tbh. Did you get any ankle support/bandaging etc. If it is swollen she needs to rest it and follow RICE - Rest/Ice/Compression/Elevation - but if she can bear weight it is best to use it gently and flex the ankle so it doesn't stiffen up. It may be fairly painful until any bruising comes through -arnica gel will help the healing process. I'm surprised that of the gp was that worried about it you weren't sent for an Xray to check for a fracture. It may be vulnerable to further injury as the ligaments take time to knit back together for a few weeks, but 6-8 still sounds a lot.

Hi Lizs! I have a fair amount of confidence in this doctor - at least with bones- as he knew straight away when I had broken my foot a couple of years ago. (i've a feeling he has done a fair amount with bones in the past). He told me that he didn't want to put a support on her leg but that she must wear her boots-she was wearing them when he saw her-rather than trainers or shoes. Apparently, it was too risky for her to run around too much on it as this could cause more damage so I asked if it was ok for her to ride her bike to which he replied, "Yes as this is not going to "turn" her ankle like running around could." I must admit though, I was very surprised when he mentioned the pe thing. I told her teacher who was also pretty surprised. Trouble is, although i'm sure i'm not going to have much say in what she wants to do...!, I've got to make sure that I do as the doctor says incase there are any repercussions.

A sprain can take as long or longer than a fracture to heal.

HenniPenni. Take it you know something about this. Does his advice seem right to you then?

Used to be a staff nurse in adult A & E, not paeds but it does seem about right if it is a bad sprain, although getting a five year old to rest their ankle is a tough one!

Meant to add we wouldn't advocate complete rest as this would cause the joint to stiffen but to mobilise gently.

You're right there, Hennipenni! It was fine yesterday when she could use her brother's "gameboy" without him shouting at her. However, now that he's given her "permission" to use it whilst he's in school,she's bored. Thank goodness for "tiny pop" on satellite....!