Sprain or broken?

[Slagertha]

At 8 this morning I fell over and couldn't stand up..luckily I wasn't alone and two friends lifted me and got me into their car...its been over 12 hours and its still swollen around my outer ankle and I can't walk on it without help or using some crutches I had in the house. I don't want to go to hospital for a sprain but I'm worried as I've not had one before and can't tell if it really needs looking at...I can move it but not very well and can't put weight on it..I can wiggle my toes so assuming it is actually a sprain but looking for opinion on whether I should see how I go overnight or whether I need to go in?

Being able or not able to wiggle your toes isn’t an indicator of whether you’ve broken your ankle, same with fingers, you can have a broken ankle and still be able to move your toes.

The only way to find out is to have an X-ray.

Minor injuries tomorrow. It will swell either way , only an xray will tell. Try to mobilise it while keeping weight off, drawing figures of 8 and letters in the air with your toes.

It's worth getting an x-ray to be sure I reckon. I suffered a v bad ankle sprain just before lockdown and honestly, it's still not 100% right. I had it x-rayed the night I did it and the doctor said a break would be better as they'd put a cast on and it would heal. Sprains are a bugger.
Try rest, ice, compress and elevate and ibuprofen to help ease the swelling. And physio as soon as you you can bear it. I couldn't access any due to lockdown and I think it would've made a difference.

Definitely get an Xray. Nobody will think you're wasting their time

I broke my ankle recently and before going to hospital swung between "it's broken" to "actually, it's not that bad/I can move it".

It was broken but healed remarkably quickly with a fracture boot for a few weeks and physio.

There are lots of different types of fracture , some more serious than others, but even the more straightforward ones need to be identified and treated appropriately.

imho, am not medically qualified, It's ok to wait for tomorrow to go in. You won't make it worse by waiting another 12 hours.

if you still can't put weight on it tomorrow -- I'd go ask what is it.

Soft tissue injuries can be far worse than breaks, btw. Worse = more painful ,take longer to heal. You may need a diagnosis, anyway to know how to get it better.

How are you, @Slagertha ?