Sprained ankle - still hurting after 2 years

[Eve]

2 years ago I was stepping down out of a horse box my foot went into a bit of a hole I lost balance fell forward and heard something snap in my ankle.

Kind paramedics at the event strapped me up and told me it was a bad sprain and no point going to A &E and to ice, compress etc.

That foot went black! And I borrowed a crutch to hobble around for a good few weeks.

2 years later it regularly throbs and aches! Today I have been for a walk with DH and it’s really hurting tonight - not enough for painkillers but aching.

Is it worth getting it seen to? (I know there are bigger issues in the world right now?) Could anything be done now or is it just a case of allowing more time?

I'm following this with interest as I'm in the same boat. Fell 5 1/2 years ago in the garden and dropped a trailer on my ankle, didn't go to A&E because I'd have had to wake baby DS so iced it and raised it. It went black, I hobbled for weeks and couldn't drive for weeks. It now aches and throbs every day. Sometimes I use ibuprofen gel and ankle supports to try and help.

Yes go and get it looked at. It’s been 2 years, not sure why you’ve not been already?!

@Onthetrain75

Yes go and get it looked at. It’s been 2 years, not sure why you’ve not been already?!

..because the paramedics at the time told me not to.

Just wondering now if it’s normal to take this long to heal and even if I go now can anything apart help.

Yesterday I discovered my spine is fractured. I've been (attempting to) walk on, for nearly four years.

Similar happened to my parent. They had to have several operations.

You could be doing more damage to it over time, it could have fractured somewhere and not healed properly.

I had a sprained ankle which took two years to heal. Not only was it painful but it looked awful. Black, blue, swollen ... it would go down .. and then I'd take my sock off at night and it would be swollen up like a football again. The irony is I have no idea how I injured it in the first place.

I eventually went to the doctor and burst into tears and he explained to me how a bad sprain is far worse than a fracture. You have tendons, ligaments, muscles, veins, and depending on the severity of the sprain they can be damaged, torn and to use his words 'mangled'.

People assume a sprain is a minor injury but it can be anything but. You carry on as normal and all you are doing is inflicting damage on damage - again to use my GP's words 'respraining' it.

You have to take a sprain seriously. RICE - rest, ice, compression, elevation. Don't go charging around, walk by all means but don't do any marathons. Wear an ankle support all the time and when relaxing, elevate the ankle and use ice packs.

You need to do this for as long as it takes. You have to really nurse a bad sprain, there is no quick fix. It was only when I started to do this that it began to improve.

When I tell people I had a sprained ankle that took two years to heal they look at me like this.

Good osteopath

A physio could want an xray to confirm it isn't a badly healed fracture. The paramedics probably didn't give you the best advice at the time IMO - an xray would have been much more useful. DD walked around on a base metatarsal fracture for a week because no xray was done (not UK). The swelling hadn't gone down so we went back to the medical centre, they did an xray and found the fracture and was in a cast for 6 weeks. A few years later she sprained her ankle at gymnastics- resting was difficult but she did for a few weeks. There is still a weakness now. If she stands on one leg with her eyes closed she falls over. Exercises and time is required to strengthen. A sprain is like an over stretched elastic band.