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General health

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Original poster

sprained, bruised, fractured or broken? pic included

38 replies

unicornwonders · 27/10/2022 08:20

so yesterday i fell over a curb i didn’t see(stupid i know but a box box was blocking my view) i limped back to the car in extreme pain, it’s quit swollen, i can’t put weight on it so i’m limping about, it’s a big swollen lump we’re the sticking out bit of the ankle is, not sure due to swelling but think the ankle bone may have moved. I don’t want to sit in hospital if it’s something minor. Any advice welcome as i’m not sure what’s wrong with it or how to treat it other than elevate it

OP posts:

JuneOsborne · 27/10/2022 08:22

Rest, ice, compression, elevation.

But you should get it checked. No minor injuries type places to save the whole A&E wait?

hairycabbage · 27/10/2022 08:22

Impossible to say without getting it checked properly. You should probably go to A and E/ MIU

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 27/10/2022 08:24

You need to get it x-rayed.

Original poster

unicornwonders · 27/10/2022 08:24

if i call 111 will they send me to a&e or minor injuries? is that less of a wait?

OP posts:

DollyBantry · 27/10/2022 08:29

I would go to Minor Injuries if you have one near enough. Take food, drink, book etc and be prepared to wait. Avoid A&E.
I’ve had a fracture and a bad sprain in the last 12 months and Minor Injuries dealt with both. It just took a while (5 hrs ish)

Original poster

unicornwonders · 27/10/2022 08:30

@DollyBantry with the fracture could you put weight on it?

OP posts:

ChardonnaysBeastlyCat · 27/10/2022 08:31

No one can tell you from a photo.

You have to have an x ray.

SoupDragon · 27/10/2022 08:33

You need to get it x-rayed.

DS had an ankle injury he couldn't weight bear on and it wasn't broken, a friend had a broken ankle requiring surgery and could. You simply can't tell.

Hoardasurass · 27/10/2022 08:33

Depends on your area for treatment times and best place as some MIUs don't have x-ray facilities, but just a heads up that you might not get an x-ray due to the swelling and have to come back at a later date. If you can see a gp they can give you an x-ray prescription and then you can just go straight to the x-ray department and bypass a&e

LIZS · 27/10/2022 08:33

Go to minor injuries.

PremsDhaba · 27/10/2022 08:39

You need to go to a&e/minor injuries to get it checked out and x-rayed. No one here can tell you how long the wait will be. Don't waste 111's time and just take yourself there!

Fractured and broken is the same thing by the way.

DollyBantry · 27/10/2022 09:31

Fracture no, definitely not.
Sprain, yes - a bit.
The fracture was more swollen.

I hope you get the treatment you need without too much wait. Best wishes.

Buteverythingsfine · 27/10/2022 09:33

I would ring your minor injuries unit and ask if they do X rays and arrange to go there if yes. If not, go to A and E as only way to X ray otherwise and that will answer the question. you cannot tell off pain/look of it always as I now know!

GonnaGetGoingReturns · 27/10/2022 10:37

Get it x-rayed. Years ago I broke a couple of small bones in my foot, doctor thought it was a bad sprain but they didn't x ray then. Turned up months later when I fell on it again and was x rayed.

glassfully · 27/10/2022 11:09

My DH went to a pharmacy for advice a day after falling on his ankle during football . His was a little more colourful than yours. She told him to go to A&E because it's impossible to tell without an x-ray (we don't have minor injuries service here). It wasn't a fracture, just a bad sprain but he was seen within a couple of hours. We ordered crutches from Amazon to help him get about while it healed. It took a week for him to be able to put weight on it and it was a couple of months before he was able to run again.

Meezer2 · 27/10/2022 11:19

I injured mine the same way a week ago. Fracture missed on X-ray by a and e doctor but picked up by an orthopaedic surgeon I work with 6 days after I did it. I'm now off for 4 to 6 weeks. I can weight bare although it is painful. I have a boot and crutches. I knew mine wasn't right as it was getting more painful and not less hence getting it looked at again. Good luck

gamechangling · 28/10/2022 08:16

Hi @unicornwonders how did you get on?

Hope all is well

RudsyFarmer · 28/10/2022 08:17

Looking at it it looks like my sprain from 30 years ago. My ankle still looks like that would you believe.

LadyGardenersQuestionTime · 28/10/2022 08:20

Minor injuries if you have one (check opening times and X-ray facility); if not A&E. definitely that kind of injury. Take a book and a fully charged phone.

LadyGardenersQuestionTime · 28/10/2022 08:21

Look up Ottawa Ankle Rules too.

MikeWozniaksMohawk · 28/10/2022 08:28

I injured my ankle in a similar way. It was technically fractured as the ligament damage I had done had pulled a fragment of bone away. I was in a boot for a few weeks. I struggled to weight bear on it when I did it. Conversely I did walk on a broken foot for several weeks. I’m afraid you need an X-ray.

Original poster

unicornwonders · 28/10/2022 08:31

@gamechangling i didn’t get to the hospital yesterday due to work so i’m hoping to go over the weekend still very swollen and painful unfortunately

OP posts:

greenacrylicpaint · 28/10/2022 08:33

no one can tell from pictures.
yes, people walk on broken feet/ankles.

check is your local minor injuries deals with broken bones. 111 might be able to point you in the right directionz

whereever you go you will need to wait. hopefully not too long.

good luck!

TomTraubertsBlues · 28/10/2022 08:33

And the award for the silliest question of the day goes to....

Seriously - no one can tell from a picture. Go and get it x-rayed.

vdbfamily · 28/10/2022 08:34

You cannot tell by looking really unless an obvious displaced fracture.
My husband Wales on a broken able for 48 hours before going to A&E and having an x-ray.
A doctor will try and move ankle through a range and see where the pain is and device from there whether to x-ray.

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