Ankle injuries

[FlorenceB19]

Just following up on previous ankle sprains!!

I rolled my ankle in December 23 after an accident at work! (7 months ago)

A&E suggested a snapped & tear to ligaments. No X-ray required!

Told to RICE & no weight bearing for 72 hrs! Which tbh I couldn't weight bear for approx 6 wks. I was provided crutches (albeit the nurse/dr had them misaligned)
she was going to provide me with a boot but then declared they no longer provide them & I could get a support bandage off Amazon)

After 12 weeks still struggling & continued limping with reduced mobility within the ankle joint.

GP told me I was over protective of my ankle & just needed to rebuild confidence using it!! (It was still painful to fully weight bear) my protection was to minimise pain! Bearing in mind, I do have a high pain threshold)

Due to frustration & lack of improvement, I therefore decided to have private physio treatment & after 6 sessions she referred me to a chiropractor who specialises in lower limbs as there was a section of the ankle joint that was stuck & and she could not reach it within her physio techniques.

The chiropractor stated the injury was a 9/10 & that it was misaligned within the joint. (After 4 sessions I visited a MSK clinic & he told me it's unlikely to be misaligned as it would have been detected in A&E) !! (I felt dismissed yet again)

I have had 5 sessions with chiropractor since June & still have lack of mobility within a section of the ankle joint!

I would say it's 80% improved but due to my job role (prison officer) I am deemed unfit for role until full mobility has improved. I am therefore on half pay & still playing the waiting game to regain full ankle functions.

Just looking for other suggestions or advice on how to improve full recovery or expectations??? Or is it possible that it was a different injury to a sprain? Or do these injuries really take months-1 year or so to reach full recovery??

Kind regards

I’m sorry you have had such a difficult journey with your ankle! Can you describe where the centre of your pain was initially and where you feel it’s stuck now?

I would try to get into the msk nhs system, it’s likely you’ll need an MRI to see what’s happening. Regular ankle sprains are usually better within 6 months, some high ankle sprains can take longer, but there should be gradual improvement until it’s completely settled.

Do you have occupational health physio at work?
is it the walking capacity which is keeping you off work? What is the limitation there? Swelling or pain? Or something else.

Hi, thank you for your response.

Initially it appeared to be within the talus area?? I think! (The section of where the shin meets the foot) It's where my leg & knee apparently also twisted at impact & the ankle joint did not slide back in properly, therefore it appears like it's jammed against the bone. If that makes sense?? (Although I didn't have any knee pain or injuries to it, however at the time of the accident, I felt something pop in my ankle (yuk... I can still hear that sound with just the thought of it!) & the ankle swelled in an instant, I also had bruising that continued to develop days after, half way up the outside of my leg & right down to my toes)

The treatment I have had has managed to unstick the talus area but now it's moved more towards the outside area of the ankle right by the side ankle bone!

The pain & swelling has subsided, however, my ankle sticks (feels jammed stuck) when trying to raise the foot & trying to turn it inwards?? (I can flex my foot with no problem but still struggle in the dorsal position!)

The mobility has improved, yet still feels jammed whenever I try to get more movement. The problem being at work with a dodgy ankle, could potentially put myself or others at risk, should I need to respond quickly to volatile incidents, where control & restraints may also be required.

At times my ankle feels that it could potentially snap the bone if it's pushed beyond the limitations it presently shows!

Occupational health/employment does not have physio & they have refused to cover my costs for treatment. However, I believe the treatment has helped considerably & without it, my ankle would not of improved to the capacity it has to date.

Can complexed sprains take this long to heal? Or will I never regain full mobility? (I'm 50 yrs old!!) 🫣

ok, thanks for more info, if it was anterior initially then it may involve an osteochrondral lesion. The bruising that was higher than the ankle may indicate sydesmosis involvement too, and both of these mean that it takes longer to heal than a more straightforward lateral ankle sprain only involving the lateral ligaments. It’s good sign that you have managed to regain most of the movement but the ‘sticking’/‘catching’ especially if this is in the anterior ankle mortise may indicate cartilage tear that needs surgically tidying up to prevent the catching.
you’ll need an MRI to really understand what happened during the injury. These can happen at any age, you have done well so far but MRI would be my next step.

Also, as this was an accident at work this may give you extra pay protection. Did you register the incident on your work system at the time? Keep pushing with HR, involve occ health and see if they will reinstate your full pay as it happened at work.

Hi really curious as to how you are doing. I had a netball injury in June this year. Got an MRI a few months after and had partially torn 3 ligaments including the deep deltoid, and bone bruising on the talas bone. it's been 4 months and it swells alot, cant walk far and any impact even a very gentle jog hurts and leads to limping....(I tried to jog across the road to avoid getting run over and it was a big mistake). I'm doing physio and know it's a long haul but would love to hear if your improving....misery loves company right 😂

Hi 🤗

Oops!! I'm so sorry to hear that you are experiencing long term difficulties with your ankle injury! 😔🤯🫣

They really are complicated injuries! & from my experience extremely frustrating & extremely slow to recover from! 🤦🏽‍♀️
🤯😖🥴😔

So after my accident (rolling the ankle completely (left to right!) & into a deep water gully. The hospital stated a snapped ligament to the outside & a tear to the inside! (Apparently No X-ray required!)

After 12 weeks still not much improvement with mobility of the ankle. (It felt stuck/locked in certain positions & had very limited range of movement) so I had 6 physio treatments (£55 a session) before being referred to a chiropractor, I had 8 sessions (£47 for a 20 min session!!) 🫣

Although, the treatments were worth every penny as they helped ease lots of the movement initially, but sadly never fully. I have regained 75-80% range of movement 💪🏼

However, 9 months after the injury, I requested an X-ray to rule out anything that could have been missed or causing the locked talus area!

Luckily last month everything came back with no abnormalities, so the remaining 20-25% of lack of movement will more than likely be soft tissue damage & apparently that could still take months or even years to repair 🥴🤯😵‍💫

I have been lucky as I haven't suffered swelling etc, but I do continue to twinge it at times when walking on uneven surfaces!! Ouch!! But thankfully no further lasting effects. Although, I've noticed that I am more conscious & quite cautious whenever I'm out walking! As for running... I still don't feel comfortable putting too much pressure on my ankle as there is definitely a weakness there. 😔

Unfortunately. I wasn't given a MRI either so I can only go by the original diagnosis!

I am hoping to finally return to my job next month, as now that no concerns had shown up on the X-ray, I feel more comfortable to carry out my duties without the added worry of causing further damage to my ankle. (working within the prison service, I need to be able to respond & complete control & restraining techniques)! Hence my delay in returning to work!)

I wish you all the best with your recovery, but please don't expect any miracles within the coming weeks/months! & please don't be too hard on yourself either, I felt like a complete failure as I wasn't recovering within the so say internet/nhs guidelines of ligament damage! 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯 as they tend to state 6-8 weeks! & it wasn't until my last appointment with another physiotherapist, she informed me, that these kind of injuries quite often can take years to repair !!! 😵‍💫

Please keep me updated 🫶🏼 & I wish you all the best 🤗