Most athletes, high-heel shoe addicts, and the chronically clumsy have encountered ankle sprains. The swelling and pain that result from turning one’s ankle can last for months and be very limiting in the short term.
What most people do not address, however, are the long-term effects of ankle sprains. I have seen patients with lower back pain, hip bursitis, and knee pain that are a direct result of an ankle sprain that occurred years ago. There are also plenty of people who will re-sprain the same ankle because the original injury is not managed properly.
Here are two things to consider when dealing with even a mild ankle sprain.
1. Ankle sprains (and ankle fractures), if not treated, will result in a loss of “dorsiflexion,” or flexing of the ankle. Take a look at the photo above where a patient was asked to flex the ankle as far as possible. It is subtle, but notice how the right ankle has lost a slight amount of this range of motion.
This loss of ankle motion will cause a slight change in how the body moves during walking. The gluteus maximus, or buttock muscles, on the sprained side will have a harder time contracting normally because the heel leaves the ground a fraction of a second earlier that it is supposed to. In order for the gluteus maximus to contract, solid heel contact is needed as a base.
2. Ligaments are similar to the plastic that surrounds a six-pack of beer. When ligaments are forcibly stretched out from a sprain, they do not go back to their original length. This makes it more likely that the same type of injury will re-occur, as the stretched out ligaments no longer provide the same physical support to the ankle.
It is also worth noting that ligaments send messages to the brain that serve to tell us what position our joints are in. Sprained ligaments no longer do this as efficiently as normal ligaments. Walking on an uneven surface or playing a sport becomes increasingly dangerous, because the brain is less efficient at telling our body how to make small adjustments to avoid re-spraining.
Rehabilitation of an ankle sprain should always address the two issues listed above. Ankle stretching into the lost range of motion of dorsiflexion is a good idea. (Ankle exercise #7: soleus stretch) In many cases it is also a good idea to have the ankle physically worked on by a professional in order to restore ideal joint motions.
Swede-O Ankle Brace
It is also a great idea to perform single-legged balance training in order to strengthen the supporting muscles around the foot and ankle as well as to re-train the central nervous system to function with the ligaments at a new length. I always recommend that balance training be performed barefoot to more completely work all of the surrounding muscles. (See ankle exercise #4)
I also recommend that competitive athletes wear a lace-up style ankle brace to provide extra support. I have seen basketball and soccer players who will re-sprain despite proper rehabilitation if they do not take this extra preventative step. “Swede-O” is a company that makes satisfactory ankle stability braces.
Read next: Ankle Sprains and Hip Strength
I was reading on your website about there being long-term effects of ankle sprains when not addressed. One thing in particular that caught my attention to consider when dealing with even a mild ankle sprain.
1. Ankle sprains, if not treated, will result in a loss of “dorsiflexion,” or flexing of the ankle. I was thinking if this happens how long could that take for the loss of dorsiflexion or flexing of the ankle to happen after a sprain or a torn ligament in the ankle. What can a person do to correct this issue if they get that loss of dorsiflexion and flexing the ankle? I think I may have gotten this issue. Please respond to me as soon as possible.
Priscilla
It can happen relatively quickly (within a month or two) and it can last essentially forever if it is not addressed. If your sprain happened a while ago, talk to a physical therapist and get some stretches. It is a good idea to use a PT because you want to be sure that you are doing them correctly. I will usually use the “soleus stretch” on my website, under ankle exercises. The password to get in to the exercises is “patient”.
Dan
Michael you may have lost a bit of range of motion in the ankle from the sprain which may be effecting how you walk. I would see a physical therapist to have it evaluated. There is a lot of stretching and strengthening that you can do: Since I cannot see your ankle I cannot tell you exactly what the issue is.
Hi Dr Baumstark
I am a 20 year old female. I suffered a sprained ankle about 3 years back and there is a lump on my right ankle that has been present since.
The lump gets larger and more noticeable when I point my toes down. From my view, the ankle looks like a camel’s hump with two lumps. When I bend my ankle forcefully, I am able to hear a dull crack too. Can you please advise on the phenomenon and the underlying cause? Thank you so much!
Maggie it might be a bit of scar tissue that resulted from the inflammation associated with spraining the ankle. If it is scar tissue it isn’t a big deal as long as it is not interfering with your ankle movement. I would get it checked out by a PT or doctor and see how the mobility of the ankle feels.
I am a huge fan of using single leg balance to strengthen the ankle, all the more reason to have a PT show you how to do that safely.
Thank you for the prompt reply, Dr Baumstark! :)
i fractured my outer ankle 4 weeks ago and pushed the tenden past the bone, they have me in a cast, my i started having sever hip pain 2 days ago so sever i cant walk or move in my seat , i cant touch the were it hurts and that hurts to touch, knee aches but nothing like the hip , could this be from the ankle fracture and what do i do for it, im from a small town just a post office and gas station, SO DOCTORS HERE MAKE YA KEEP GUESSING THERE IDEAS NOT SAYING HE IS BAD JUST NOT SURE IF HE HAS HAD MUCH EXPERIENCE WITH THIS, PLEASE PLEASE REPLY SOON, IM A 50 YR OLD FEMALE
Judy I am guessing that you are walking very differently because of the cast. You are probably over-using some of the muscles in your hip to compensate. Lay of the walking for a few days and let the hip rest. Another thing that you could do would be to change the assistive device that you are using. If you are using crutches, maybe you could ask the doctor for one of those big “moon boots” that protects the foot. You might find it easier to get around with less pain.
Your knee pain could very easily be related to your ankle. Get your ortho to prescribe some physical therapy. Find a good, experienced PT who has manual therapy training. Ask around.
The bone on the outside of your shin (the fibula) will sometimes go slightly out of place with a severe sprain. The top of the fibula also goes up to the outer portion of the knee joint, which is where you are reporting pain.
Mariana it might be possible that the bad ankle sprain has fed in to all of your problems. You may have lost range of motion in your ankle, and this will very often effect how well you contract your buttock muscles when you are walking. The result can be weakness up the chain into the hip.
I would find a really good PT and have him / her work extensively on regaining any lost motion in your ankle. Get the ankle moving better and then start to work on regaining strength in your buttock muscles.
Hi. My ankle was dislocated last month when I was playing futsal (it’s like football but with smaller field and fewer players), with the talus was bend inwards to almost 90 degrees. After it was back to normal location, theX-ray shown no fracture, but my orthopedist said that there is a small ligament rupture that will be filled given time and rest. My doctor only gave me analgesic and anti inflammatory medicine.
Couple of days ago i went back to my orthoped and he said the joint is pretty stable, although I still feel some pain while he was examining it. I wanted to do MRI but my doctor doesn’t recommend it. After that I was directly went to do some physical therapy, but there’s pain and stiffness related dorsiflexion. My question is, is it possible to regain maximum mobility like I used to before the injury? How long would it approximately takes? And could you please direct me to some video of home-therapy that I can do myself? Thank you.
Desi it is going to take several more months for the pain associated with that to subside. With a dislocation like that, I would get a lace up brace for playing sports in the future. If you look at our products link, there is an ankle brace there that you might find useful.
It would probably also be a good idea to continue with the PT for a bit to work on the dorsiflexion.
I would have the doc check it out who did the surgery if he or she is still around. You could try a compression sleeve like the type you find at the drugstore in the mean time. Some people also have success with ace-wrap.
Hi Dr. Baumstrack
I sprained my left ankle 12-15 years ago i believe, close to my inner ankle bone has bump and now I always have pain and difficulty in walking if I do more that 7 hours of long walking at work. I’m suffering this pain but i never did seek proper medical attention but now i really need some serious help. I called podiatrist/orthopedic appointment next week is that correct or should i called PT instead? I don’t know pls help me
Nids I think that you are doing the right thing by starting with the orthopedist. It sounds like getting an x-ray is a good idea for the ankle. The orthopedist will be able to do that. If he or she feels that PT would be a good idea, you can easily get a prescription from the orthopedist.
Make sure that you write down any questions that you might have prior to your appointment because the time will go by quickly. It would be a good idea to bring up physical therapy with the doc to get his opinion.
I had a scooter (about 300 pounds)fall on my right ankle 5 years ago.i has a xray at the time of the injury that was negative for breaks.my ankle has been swollen ever since.i have a pocket of fluid above and behind my ankle bone.it hasnt bothered me too much until lately.it really burns.i forgot to mention that last December i had a bunion ectomy and a hammer toe fixed on my left foot.im sure i favored the right foot alot during the healing process of the left foot.ive recently been to physical thearpy for it with no improvent.Help!
Did the therapist actually work on your ankle, or were you just doing a series of supervised exercises? If you were only doing exercises I would find a PT who does “hand on”, or manual work. I would bet that your ankle joints are stiff, and it is difficult for the swelling to go down when there isn’t good movement in the ankle joints.
I would see a physical therapist to get an assessment. The lower back pain might be effected by the lack of mobility in the ankle.
Thank you so much for your help. I ended up with a bad sprain on my outter left ankle back in April. I walked on it for about a month until the pain became unbearable. I went to see a doctor and got xrays, and was told nothing was broken. I was told it woukd take a few months to heal and to stay off of my foot, which is hard to do because I stand all day for my job. After a few months the sprained seemed to heal thanks to my boss letting me sit on the job. My problem now is after a few weeks of feeling great the sprain is now returned, but on the opposite side of my ankle in the same area as the outside! I feek like this will never end. I have been very careful. The only reason I can see this being caused is because I never fully let the original sprain heal correctly. I walk up stairs daily and still walked around sometimes at work to help customers. What should I do now?
I would see a physical therapist. Lots of ankle sprains cause stiffness in certain joints of the foot and ankle. I would try to find a PT who performs a lot of “manual therapy”. Someone needs to put their hands on your ankle and get a feel for what is moving well and what is not.
Thank you so much!
I just moved into a mobile home and was walking down the front steps to take out the trash and didn’t know that the last step to the ground was 4″ longer than the space between each step. I fell and rolled both ankles and cut the front of my calves on the cement. My ankles swelled up immediately (the left worse than the right). I went to the ER and got X-Rays and they said both ankles were badly sprained. I wore a boot that they gave me on the left foot because it was ankle with the worse sprain. Two weeks later I followed up with a foot doctor. They took a second set of x-Rays due to the amout of pain I was having along with the bruising and swelling. Again they said they were just badly sprained. It’s now been a month since the accident and my whole body hurts in addition to my ankles. I haven’t had to work because I’m on social security disability for chronic migraines and chronic Epstein Barr virus and other chronic pain issues so I’ve been able to rest my ankles. Now I’m still having a ton of pain in my ankles despite being on strong pain killers. The bottom of my feet also hurt, my calves hurt and I’m also having pain in my back. My whole body feels stiff. I’m not sure what to do to help things heal quicker and to fix the stiffness and pain I’m getting in my back, calves and feet. Any idea why I’m experiencing so much pain since the accident in parts of my body besides just my ankles? I’m desperate!
Wylie get a prescription from the doc and see if you can get some physical therapy. What happened to you sounds awful. Social security / disability should cover most of the PT cost. It sounds like you need it.
Sometimes in my opinion the ankle ligaments will actually slightly pull the fibular bone forward during the sprain motion. This can cause sustained swelling, sometimes for many months. Your swelling may very well just go down with time, but if it does not I would visit a PT. You can get some manual therapy to help make sure that the fibular bone is aligned well in addition to getting some exercises to strengthen things up.
Hello,
I sprained my ankle about 6 weeks ago playing basketball. I believe it was a lateral sprain because there was a good deal of swelling on the outside of my ankle. There was also a good deal of tenderness in the inside of my ankle as well. The doctor ordered an x ray and ruled out a fracture. I was in a walking boot for a few days and then back to work walking gingerly on the ankle. The swelling has since gone down and I am able to walk pain free. There is however still a good amount of tenderness on the inner ankle area to the touch. It also looks like the bone is protruding a little bit in that area. Is this cause for concern? I am considering asking my doctor to refer me to Ortho. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!
It does sound like a lateral ankle sprain Dustin. Sometimes with a lateral ankle sprain (if it goes far enough) the bones of the inner portion of the ankle will actually compress together. This opposite side of the ankle will sometimes develop a bone bruise, which takes months to get better.
An x-ray would confirm this.
Hello, I sprained my ankle one month ago. It was a grade two high ankle sprain. It was very bruised and very swollen after. I hurt it real badly. I have been seeing a PT for three weeks now And The swelling has gone down but it’s still swollen and there is a lump on the outer right side of my right ankle … I am wondering if the lump will ever go away? Is it scar tissue? Or just swollen? Also, the range of motion in my ankle is still very poor… Will that ever get better or am I dumed for life?
Thanks so much!
High ankle sprains are tough. They take on average many months to heal. The swelling will likely go down, but it will take a while. I would stay the course and work on slowly strengthening the ankle. I would have the PT manually work on your ankle to make sure the the subtalar joint and the fibula are moving correctly as well.
Grace this requires having someone look at it. Find a manually trained PT who has lots of experience (at least 10-15 years). It sounds like the ankle is weak and certain joints in the ankle are stiff.
Hello, I sprained my ankle playing basketball a little over a year ago(it was first degree sprain, so it wasn’t that bad), and i had to stop playing while I recovered, it took like 4-5 months to be fully recovered, but I finished secondary school so I’m not playing as often as I used to anymore.
and every now and then when I play I tend to bend my ankle again, it hurts for some minutes and then it’s fine.
I rarely play now, and I’m in pretty bad shape (compared to last year, I can barely run 1/8 what I was able to before my injury)
I read in wikipedia something about sedentary people being prone to sprains, and I think that might be what’s going on.
Is this what’s happening?
I want to start biking, is it a good sport for strengthening tendons?
I’m 17 years old if that helps in some way.
Biking is much safer comparatively speaking. In terms of basketball, if you want to play again I would wear a lace up ankle brace. Most of the time that is enough to keep it from re-spraining.
It also would help to do some balance training on the effected leg. A PT can easily show you what to do to get the ankle as strong as possible.
Farhan, this may take several months for the swelling to go down. It does depend on how severe the sprain was. I would do a little bit of exercise for the ankle if possible to strengthen the muscles up. You can get good exercise ideas from a physical therapist or doctor.
Most likely yes. Some of the ankle joints as well can stiffen up from the sprain. This can force the muscles that lift your foot to have to work harder to advance your foot when walking. If the pain doesn’t lessen over the next week I would ask the doc about it.
I suffered a sprain 2 years back, on my left foot while playing football. But here right at the end of 2015, I still feel that something isn’t right with my ankle. I feel a persistent pain in the foot, and experience severe heaviness while walking or running. And one more thing is that, I have a tendency of twisting my leg over and over again. The x-ray report which I received after the first time sprain showed no fracture, but since then I’ve sprained my leg quite a few times. I also feel the pain spreading towards my knees.
I’m 20 years old, have a flat foot, and would like to know how I can get over with this sickening injury as soon as possible.
You should be wearing one of those lace up ankle braces with sports or when you are walking longer distances on uneven surfaces. I would definitely see a physical therapist and get a rehab routine started. It sounds like the ankle is generally weak.
Hi I sprained my ankle about 10 days ago. I heard a pop when I did and went straight to the hospital they took xrays and said they didn’t see anything but I might have a hair line fracture to see a doctor in 2 days if it’s not better. And it wasn’t so I went to my doctor and he hardly looked at it(my ankle was still really swollen) and just told me to stay off it for a few more days then try walking again.so I did and I’ve been walking on it sense but I limp and it still
hurts. And swells back up after walking on it. And is super bruised.what should I do? Should I go to a different doctor?
Rhonda that sounds like a severe sprain. I would go and see a physical therapist to get the ball rolling in terms of starting some very basic exercises. The PT could also make recommendations in terms of seeing an orthopedist.
Hi Dan,
My name is Charles and I sprained my ankle playing basketball in June 2014 when I was 20 years old. Went for a lay-up and landed wrong, and heard the loud cracks/pops upon rolling the ankle. Got an X-Ray at the hospital and was told it was just a bad sprain. Got on crutches, followed the RICE method, kept it in a compression bandage, iced it everyday, and started physiotherapy one week after. I stopped physiotherapy after about 2 months since I had to return to school, but at that time, the ankle seemed to be almost back to normal. I didn’t play many sports, and wasn’t that active on my ankle, if any at all during September to December because of school. I’d notice that my ankle would be normal size in the morning, but by the end of the day, my ankle would be swollen, but I believe this is normal since all the blood rushes down to my feet when I’m standing up. December 2014 came along, and I decided to go snowboarding (I used to be an avid snowboarder). The next day my ankle was swollen and in pain. I went to the doctors and was told that I somehow flared the injury. The doctor ordered me to get another X-Ray, a CT scan, and ultrasound of the ankle. The ultrasound showed that my ATFL ligament was completely torn, and the inner part of my ankle smacked together and crushed a tendon when I sprained my ankle, and the X-Ray showed that I had chipped or fractured the end of my fibula or tibia (can’t remember exactly). The doctor said I don’t need any surgery or anything, and I just needed to let it rest more and go back to physiotherapy. I returned to physiotherapy, this time with a new physiotherapist near my school. Everything was getting better and I stopped physiotherapy about 2.5 months after and haven’t gone since. I haven’t really been active on my ankle, but the occasional times I do play a quick game of basketball, I wear my ASO ankle brace that I bought. I tried going for runs again (I used to be a huge runner as well), but I would notice that my ankle would swell up after the run or the morning after. Sometimes my ankle has a mild throbbing pain, especially when it rains outside (something to do with the pressure?), and I just have to hold the pain in. My dosiflexion is almost the same as my right ankle, maybe about 1cm difference on the knee-to-wall test. But then again, I haven’t really been active much on my ankle since the injury. I haven’t snowboarded since, or run as much as I used to. I find that my left calf muscles have suffered from atrophy quite a bit, and it is very noticeable when comparing the size of my left calf muscle to my right calf muscle. I know ankles take a long time to heal, but my question is if this all seems normal, and if there’s anything I should be doing to further heal my injury. It’s been almost 2 years, and I’m very upset I had to give up many sports and activities because of the injury. I used to be a very athletic and active individual, but because of my ankle injury, I feel very limited. I’ve kind of accepted that fact. Now I’ve told myself to not give up, and at least try whatever I can in order to restore my athletic abilities. Is there anything that I can or should be doing to alleviate more of the negative consequences of my injury? Thank you.
That sounds like a very severe ankle sprain. What you described would take most people at least one year to recover from.
Did the PT who worked on you do some manual intervention? I am willing to bet that your subtalar joint is super stiff, and some of the bones in your mid-foot are stiff as well (cuboid, metatarsals). They should be worked on.
I am also a huge fan of the single leg balancing in order to get the strength and coordination as improved as possible. Shoes off when you are practicing the balancing exercises. I also agree with your brace wearing, it is a must if you are going to do any sports.
my ankle displaced when I was playing a football match so I forcefully placed it back it displaced again before I now used bandage to hold it. along the line for like 1week it caused me blisters and inflammations. I removed the bandage and started treating the blisters. when the blisters went I noticed my ankle can’t swing again to left and right and also the bone popped out of the position and I can’t walk well again am limping. so please advise me on what to do about it.
You definitely need to see an orthopedic doctor about this Kingsley. You probably have an unstable ankle: it may need to be immobilized for a period of time.
I’ve met the orthopedic doctor he ordered me for an x-ray which I did the result shows my bone is displaced and stiffed that place it displaced the orthopedic doctor said it needs surgery. please is there another solution apart from surgery?
If it is fractured and out of place there probably is no other option besides surgery. The only other option that I can think of would be to have your ankle placed in a boot for many weeks in order to immobilize it. I would ask the surgeon about that.
Hi so about 5 weeks ago I sprained my ankle skateboarding . I took a week off but got mad that in the morning it would be small and by the end of the day even if I used it very minimally it would still be big again. My ankle wasn’t really hurting but it was very big. I was very frustrated and took the wrong approach and just started to skate on it again. About 11 days ago I realized it was never going to heal if I don’t rest, ice, elevate and compress it. So I went to the doctor and they told me I had a sprain and to do the rice technique. I have every day been walking minimally, not participating in gym icing my ankle 3 times a day, and compressing my ankle lots. My ankle swelling seemed to be decreasing but now it isn’t. It is still pretty big but when I try to feel what is swollen I can’t feel anything except the bone. So I’m not sure if I should be able to skate again and the ankle will heal fine because it just almost feels as the bone got bigger than my other one. Or if I should keep letting it heal and wait until it fully goes down to the other size of my other ankle. Keep in mind my doctor said I should be able to skate again by tommorow and I want to skate asap!! I’m not sure if usually you need to wait until your ankle becomes the regular size again because I feel like that will never happen because of this bone that seems to be sticking out more than the other!
Sometimes the ankle will remain swollen for a while, particularly if it was a moderate sprain. I also see some patients at the clinic who have chronic swelling from an ankle sprain that won’t go away after many months. Sometimes this has to do more with stiffness in one or more of the bones in the lower leg (usually the fibula). You would need to see a physical therapist in order to have that assessed.
I think that surgery should always be the last resort Rachel. I would spend some time with focused strengthening of the ankle, probably under the supervision of a PT. You should probably be doing elastic band exercises, “toe tapping” exercises, and hip strengthening in addition to eventually doing standing balance exercises. (Fee free to check out the ankle exercises that I mentioned on the website, they are under the media tab, password is “patient”, Get permission from your doc or PT to do them though!!!) If you can get the strength in the effected ankle to where it feels good and you are still constantly spraining the ankle, that would be the time to talk to a surgeon.
As I mentioned before, I think that wearing one of those “lace up” ankle braces is a life-saver for many people like you who play sports etc.. I used to sprain my ankle very often in high school, and I didn’t get control of it until my strength was ideal AND I wore my lace up brace every time while playing basketball.
Thank you for your fast and kind response!! I have done band exercises though? But I will try exercises on your website just in case it is different from what I have been doing.
I would really like to get the lace ankle brace if I can find one in Hong Kong. Also is it normal to find my hips tight after I sprained my ankle?
Thanks again.
It is not uncommon to have hip tightness as a compensation for a sprain. You can find the link to the ankle brace on our website (physiodc.com), under the “products” link, scroll down to the “tarsal lock” ankle brace. That ought to be adequate.
Hi I have a grade two atfl sprain and was very swollen and sore this was 2 and a half months ago and then was having pain in the back of my ankle after the physio performed a whip test and I had an anti inflammatory injection which made it feel a lot better but now some time it’s still very sore on the the inside and outside but I can walk fine and drive fine and can jog for about 5 minutes then gets uncomfortable and can also do lower body gym and feels fine what do you recommend to get it back to 100% ? Thanks Joe
Probably time will decrease the inflammation. I would not jog past the threshold of pain in the mean time. Hopefully you are doing some of the stabilization exercises (rubber bands, balancing on one leg, etc)? Make sure that you also have adequate dorsiflexion of your ankle. A lack of dorsiflexion will cause your running mechanics to be a bit less than ideal. Your PT should be able to quickly assess that by looking at your feet.
Actually I got sprain back in the HS but it was not treated because i thought it would heal itself. Boy I was wrong, whenever I ran now if i go full speed my ankle starts to pain, it’s also the same when jumping up and down.
Agreed. It might be a good idea to have the ankle mobilized to make sure that all of the joints are moving correctly.
That sounds like a severe sprain. Sometimes those will be associated with a “bone bruise”, which takes many months to go away. I would maybe see if wearing a soft brace around the ankle helps with that pain for the short term. I would walk slowly, and try to walk with as normal a walking pattern as possible. I would also make sure tat the PT is doing some manual therapy to the ankle in addition to stabilization exercises.
Thanks so much for replying. I’m now 7 weeks post sprain. My PT took me out of the brace 5 days ago and my pain comes and goes. However, since coming out the brace I have suffered very bad swelling around my ankle again. My PT recommended to put the brace back on for compression and ice and elevate it and take ibuprofen for a few days. I did that but today even my toes are swelling up, especially my toe next to my big toe and feels very uncomfortable. Any idea why I’m now getting this swelling?
Sometimes bad sprains will swell like that for a long time. You might find that using a “compression stocking” might work better for times when you are not wearing the brace. Ask your PT about it and see what he or she says.
Hi Dan, i’m now over 15 weeks post sprain. It has definitely improved, swelling is going down but I still have pain. It’s the same pain I referred to above and its at the middle front of my ankle. It’s not as bad as it was, and is there probably around 40% of the time I walk. It’s not excruciating, but enough to bother me and make me stop at times. My PT says I may have bruised the bone which may be causing the ongoing pain, or there’s just some inflammation inside which hasn’t settled, and has spoken to me about cortisone injections. I’m not too sure about starting to get injections. What would you recommend?
helo im zari from philippines.. im 25 yrs old now.. when i was young i frequently have a sprain (i think bcoz of less calcuim on my bones) ive already experienced more than 5times sprain on my ankle part.. and the result is swollen joint ankle .. after my pregnacy ive experienced painful feeling in my fibula and ankle joint ..it become more swollen as i expected.. is there anything you can share about my experienced?
I would see a physical therapist. It sounds like one of the ankle bones is stiff as a result of the sprains. If it is moved around a bit by the therapist it might help a lot.
Hi dan, I am now on my 4 weeks since I dislocated my ankle. My doctor said its just severe sprained. And yesterday morning I almost fell, I accidentally bend my ankle. And till now there’s a bit pain. I’m in my boot when it happened. What should I do?
Tell the doc what happened, you might need a more immobilizing boot. Be careful walking around in the mean time.
Hi Sir,
I hope you can understand what i have written thank you.
I am 22 years old, I sprained my ankle back in 2013, I was 19 then, I twisted it i heard a cracking sound. It happened when I’m climbing down the stairs i wasn’t very careful then. I didn’t get it checked. I placed my trust on my friend who knows how to do first aid on sprain as i thought so he just massage it. It didn’t reduce the swelling i just put hot compress and cold compress simultaneously. I still endured and didn’t get it checked. Eventually, the pain was gone and the swelling pain subside, but my ankle remain swollen visually but it doesn’t hurt when i press them. It always look swollen since then and I can’t do foot rotation exercise since it will give me pain. but if it’s just steady it doesn’t hurt at all.
From there onward, i continuously trip every time there is uneven surface, minor once though and got back up as if nothing happened. However, there are other 3 incidents that made me twist my ankle accidentally. First 2014, I twisted it again while jogging in a rough road. It still hurts while jogging but i just ignored it since its bearable. 2nd 2015, While I was going out of the car the ground is uneven and full of rocks, I twisted it, when i jumped out, I did feel the big impact on my foot but it took me a few second to feel the pain. 3rd 2016, my brother accidentally tripped me. I got the same feeling when i tripped while jumping out of the car.
For the 1st and 2nd incident, I still consulted my friend and let him massage it, he didn’t tell me to get it checked. Still the same, the pain subside and i can still walk but has difficulty on running and jumping since it will give pain in the long run.
In 2016, I constantly get shoulder pain so i decided to get it checked together with my ankle. Luckily my shoulder is fine it just need exercise. As for my ankle, I lost the xray results but if my memory serves me right anterior is 45 degrees instead of something higher than that, i am not accurate. I’m sorry for that. there when i saw the xray pic there i saw something uneven, maybe slanted, if that how i should describe it, but it’s not a fracture that they assured me. But the doctor said there is an injury an old one. My thoughts where maybe it was from me tripping on the stairs.
I was advised to do PT and i oblige, It should be 6 sessions but i was only able to do 3 sessions, due to financial reasons and did not bother going back to the clinic. Until now, I still do the exercises my PT thought me, but the pain won’t go away, the swollen looking ankle is still visible. and i still have difficulty on long running and jumping. What are your thoughts sir?
Should I go back to the orthopedic and get it check again, and continue PT. My friend still continue to massage it, and it somehow give me relaxation about my feet. What are your suggestion sir.
I really appreciate it very much, i am very worried for the aftermath of this. Thank You
I would get a “lace up” brace to help stabilize the ankle when you jog or walk on uneven surfaces. It sounds like the ligaments on the lateral side have been stretched out, and there is likely some instability there. Swede-O makes ankle support braces that are good quality.
I would work on strengthening up your ankle with exercises. You can usually get some rubber bands from the PT or order them online. I would also work a bit on stretching the ankle while facing the wall. Sometimes there is a specific joint that gets very stiff from a sprain. If you go on to the physiodc.com website, go to “media”, exercise videos, password is “patient”. Go to ankle exercises. I recommend “soleus stretch #7”, ankle eversion #2, towel gathering #1. Once you get good at those you can try the balance #4. Please ask your PT or doctor to approve them. Please realize that I cannot evaluate your ankle for obvious reasons, so I am giving you my best guess as to what is going on. Good luck!
Thank you sir, much appreciated :)
I am a bit biased here, but it sounds like your husband should get a physical therapy consult. I am guessing that there are some joints in his ankle that are chronically stiff from the original injury. This may be affecting how he walks.
Did the PT actually put his or her hands on your ankle? It sounds to me like the ankle might need to be “mobilized”. Very often there are a few joints that become very stiff after ligament sprains. This can cause a whole lot of pain with walking. Find either an osteopath or a PT who does lots of manual work.
I am suffering from chronic ankle sprain of left ligament. The injury happened 6 years back and since then the pain has never gone. I did not receive the right physiotherapy treatment at the time of the accident. We don’t have a lot of expertise in ankle in India and i did not do ankle exercises at that time.
Since then i have tried various physiotherapy treatments but the relief is always temporary. Even though i have not done much exercises as i was not aware of them.
Is there any way i can get your view on my case if i send the images of my MRI? i stay in india and hence cannot come in person.
I can’t walk in everyday without pain. Its been 6 years and now the pain has increased. The doctors say that peroneal tendonitis has developed. Please help me! Please!
Garima I am not legally allowed to interpret MRI results, I would recommend that you send them to a doctor who specializes in ankles. I would also find a physiotherapist who specializes in “manual therapy”. I am willing to bet that some of the joints in your able are stiff and are not allowing normal motion with walking.
I am similar condition ?
Have been suffering from 6 years now!
Hi, I have an issue with both my ankles from when I was little & sprained them, ever since then I have been repeatedly injuring them all my life, sometimes at the most annoying of times. To the point where I now have permanent residual swelling on 1 foot & both have hard lumps along the achelles tendon (is that normal?). I did sprain my left ankle last year & again last month. It recovered in a couple of days this year, which I’m used to, but last year it took several months. I don’t trust the local gp to do anything so I’ve always just rested it a day or 2 & wore a support (but not much because the support starts hurting my foot when walking), but I’ve rarely had access to ice.
Anyway, the difficulty I’m having now is that every time I start walking after siting down both my ankles are really stiff, and if I stand for long periods, or walk for long periods they start to really ache.
Is there anything you’d recommend?
Thanks
I would definitely see a PT Stephanie. You need to be doing some weekly homework in terms of stabilization exercises and perhaps some stretches too.
Hi Dan,
I’m a 44 year old female and I sprained/rolled my ankle over two years ago when I fell over a chair at work. I reported it to workers comp in the office as a just in case, but it wasn’t hurting at the immediate time. About 6 hours later it hurt terribly so I called eorkers comp back and they set an appoint for me to see their Doctor the next day.
The doctor looked it over (no X-rays), said to ice it and keep it elevated, no need to wrap it or use crutches. It was hard to walk on for a week or so, but it finally got better.
Here it is two plus years later and off and on that same ankle swells on the inside ankle, it’s flush from the top of the ankle to the bottom of the foot. Is this just related to the injury and something I’ll ocassionally have to deal with? I do not have high blood pressure or diabetes.
I would get it checked out by a PT. Sometimes when a sprain like that happens, there can be resulting stiffness in certain ankle joints. I have also seen a few cases where the fibular bone shifts very slightly (not fractured) and can cause some swelling. See if you can find a PT who can perform “fibular mobilization” and ankle mobilization.
Hello,
I have played competitive soccer for years and played high school for 3 as well, but recently I sprained my right ankle playing soccer (late March/early April of this year) and ended up needing crutches and and aircast (boot) for a couple weeks. I was only able to use the boot and crutches for 9 days due to traveling, but slept in the boot for a couple weeks during travel. I did PT for around a month and it helped to relieve the pain and swelling, but a couple weeks after physical therapy ended I was playing in another game (high level) and got hit/stepped on- not totally sure what happened but I had trouble walking after and some mild pain but nothing major. It has now been about 4 months since the sprain and I have some swelling over the top of the ankle where it bends and some pain on the outside bone that sticks out a little. That bone hurts to press on. Also, when my foot is flat on the ground, I can slide my ankle backwards- it seems to come out of place. It almost is like I am pulling the shin part out of the foot- but not sure if that is accurate or normal. Haha. Just wondering your thoughts, Thanks!
Either your subtalar joint or your talocrural joint (maybe both) are stiff and probably scarred up slightly. That happens sometimes from moderate to severe ankle sprains. I would see a PT and ask them to get those joints moving.
There is an Australian PT (his name is Mulligan if memory serves me correctly) who thinks that the fibular bone will also become stiff after bad sprains. All the more reason to find a manually trained PT to check it out.
Hello,
I rolled my ankle 2 weeks ago, during a work out. I had immediate swelling, send home and did the RICE method I didn’t see a doctor for about 3-5 days. Swelling was still bad and bruising was starting to appear is what made me go ahead and see a doctor. I could put light pressure on the foot and walk on it decent so I figured it wasn’t broken, but had it X-rayed anyway. Sure enough they said no break. But gave me a brace and encouraged me to see ortho if conditions worsened or stayed the same. I can say that they’ve gotten a little better, as I’m able to bear weight on it more. The issue is that the ankle is still larger, it’s not a soft swelling. It more feels like a hard bone that is larger around the ankle. I have lost range of motion in my ankle while I try to continue working on it, and usually in the morning before I get out of bed, the ankle is aching. If I try to move it to where range of motion should be. I do get severe pain, and the place where the hard swelling is at on my ankle (feels like bone where it’s larger) it is tender. I haven’t gone to see ortho yet.
I would see an ortho and possibly a PT to get some structured rehab. It does sound like this is a moderate ankle sprain. You may benefit from some “manual therapy” to the joints of the ankle to get things moving the way they ought to.
Probably a sprain. You could see your doc and have him or her check it out to make sure that there is not a fracture. Sometimes sprains can be swollen for many weeks or sometimes months after the fact. Ice, elevation, and compression (with an ace-wrap or something like that) often assist with the recovery.
With more moderate sprains some PT can help to get the strength and stability back. Gentle exercises with resistive bands often help with that.
Bone bruises stink. They take months to heal. I would guess from your info. that this will slowly improve with time. Cortisone injections to the ankle are not that common, but it is possible that this could help with any inflammation.
I would limit your walking to help with the healing as well. It is possible to over-work the ankle in this fashion.
Hello Dr. I sprain my ankle skiing last winter, and ever since then my ankle will swell from sitting all day at work and at night I put ice on it, and swelling goes away and when I get up in the morning the ankle is normal. I run every morning before work. I am 57 years old, and wondering if this will always be the case.
I would have the joints assessed by a PT. It is possible that there is long-term stiffness in one of those joints that is messing up your gait and running. I would specifically ask the PT to check out how the fibula is moving.
Hello. About a week ago I was walking down the stairs to my laundry room, and on the last step my right ankle suddenly bent outward. I heard a loud sound (hard to say if it was a pop or a crack) and was immediately in horrible pain. I had to crawl back up the stairs. I went to the ER and had a physical exam and x-rays done, and they said they didn’t see any fractures, just a bad sprain. They gave me an air splint and told me to stay off of it for two weeks, then continue wearing the splint for another 4-6 weeks whenever I’m up and about. I know it’s only been a week, but my ankle still is quite painful. The swelling went down after the first few days and some of the bruising is lightening up. I can move my ankle right and left with only minor discomfort, though my range of motion is really limited. However, having anything (even the air splint) pressing on my ankle hurts enough to distract me from my activities and only stops hurting when the splint is off and no pressure is applied. And I cannot walk at all. I haven’t tried much since it’s only been a week, but if I try to put weight on the heel, it hurts pretty badly. I don’t know if this is normal or if the ER might have missed a fracture. I have a follow up with my primary doctor this week but I’m still worried right now.
That sounds like a bad sprain Kelli. I would perhaps use crutches for a few days and see either an ortho or a PT to have it assessed.
My guess is that this is either posterior tibial tendonitis, or “tarsal tunnel” syndrome, or maybe a combination of both? It may be to your benefit to get the right pair of shoes on your feet, especially if your feet are naturally flat. I have at times tried taping a patient’s ankle and foot so that there is extra arch support. You might ask your PT if taping the foot would be useful. (I use “leukotape” with the patients here in Washington DC.)
A few recommendations Olivia….
1. Find a good, manually based PT who can work on restoring joint motion in the ankle, you also need to be doing a strengthening program
2. EVERY TIME that you play basketball from here on out you need to either have the athletic trainer tape your ankle, or you need to get one of those ankle stabilization braces. I have found that the “lace up” ones tend to work well.
Hiya Dan, i sprained my right ankle about 3-4 months ago by falling on a trampoline. I have been check out in the hospital and xrayed. I am still having a lot of pain in my foot and swelling after walking about on it for a long period of time. I got told that it was a really bad sprain and was on crutches for about 2 weeks. I am hoping to get back into training soon but I feel like my foot is not improving. Have you got any advice please thanks in advance.
I would get some structured PT, even if it is just a visit or two to get a full list of exercises and stretches to do. You might also need a little bit of manual work done on the ankle to loosen a few of the deeper joints.
I would definitely see a PT to get an evaluation. My guess is that the severe sprain that you did 16 years ago stiffened up some of the ankle joints and is messing with your walking mechanics.
I was wondering if you could help with a diagnosis. I will be seeing my physician in a few weeks, but would like a professional opinion.
I’ve been getting ankle pain every so often for several years. I’m assuming it came from a possible minor injury from my youth. I am active and try to go to the gym 4 or more times a week.
Basically, my symptoms are as follows:
-Pain in my left ankle randomly after activities. Not bad pain, but enough to were I wouldn’t want to do more activities. Usually not during, but following the activities.
-Fatigue in my feet after a couple of hours shopping with my wife.
-Slight pain in my left hip, usually occurring in tandem with my ankle.
-Favoring one ankle over the other.
-Feel/hear a crack/pop in my ankle if I bend it beyond a certain point (about half off the time), but it isn’t painful.
Currently using a soft ankle brace and taking a few days off from the gym.
My guess is a biomechanical fault somewhere in that leg. Maybe weakness somewhere in the left hip changing how your ankle hits the ground. I would find a good PT and get an evaluation. Lots of things need to be checked out on you that require “hands on” techniques.
Hi, 3 weeks ago pain started on the bottom of my right foot . It then radiated to my ankle . I went to the doctor last week & she told me it was a severe acute sprain . Now, my knee hurts . Any idea on what would it be ?
– Katie, 19 years old
If you had a severe sprain, you should know exactly how it happened. It should have been from a fall or a sudden impact of some sort. If you didn’t, that is strange. I would see either a PT or an orthopedist and get to the bottom of it.
First of all, thank you so much for your site. Just reading some of the responses is very encouraging.
I fell down a flight of steps. I immediately started using the RICE method. I did this for 3 days. The swelling went down and a couple days later the pain went down too—except pain on the bottom of my foot,by my heel. I could not put any weight on that heel. Two weeks later-today- is the first day I feel NO PAIN ANYWHERE. I can even put weight on my heel again.(Yeah!) My ankle swells up, usually toward the evening. Tonight, I elevated my foot for a couple hours & the swelling decreased. (Again yeah!)
My question is: How long will I have to elevate my feet? Will I have to do this for the rest of my life?
Kaye–54 year old lady
I would guess no. Bad ankle sprains however can have some residual swelling for quite some time. I have seen a few people who were swollen for longer than a year. It might be a good idea to visit a PT once and get some exercise ideas and have the ankle joint assessed.
Go and see a PT. I would bet a dollar that your pelvis and hip are a bit out of alignment. Walking around with a boot for that long can easily cause some asymmetry.
Hi Dan
I am a 52 year old woman. I rolled my ankle on the beach. I went to a foot dr that wanted to do an MRI. for torn ligament. Since i would have to pay out of pocket for this i never went for MRI. Fast forward a month later my ankle feels better I can walk on it have some mild pain flexing foot up and mild to moderate turning ankle inward or trying to roll ankle around. Should I go for MRI at this point or just a PT.
I would probably say try PT, but realize that I am not really supposed to be directing your care Elizabeth. Get a PT eval and ask the PT the same question that you just asked me.
I sprained my ankle over three months ago, I was told that it’s a grade 2 ankle sprain and walked with boot for 4 weeks. I could walk without pain after 8-9 weeks but I’m still not able to run and my ankle still hurts at times and the stiffness is still there. I’ve set a physiotherapy appointment. I was wondering if my problems can still be fully resolved with physiotherapy or I might need surgery or injections? I’m getting really concerned as my ankle is not improving. Thanks in advance for your time and attention.
I would say that there is about a 0% chance that there is any surgical intervention for a grade II ankle sprain. I am guessing that if you have the ankle “mobilized” by the therapist and strengthened that should help. Ask the therapist to see if the fibular moves correctly and ask if the subtalar and talocrural joints moves well. Those are usually trouble spots that get stiff after sprains.
This might be tendonitis. I think that a visit to the orthopedist would be a good idea. There are things that can be done to get rid of that inflammation, but there needs to be a proper diagnosis and evaluation of the ankle.
thank you… i’ll probably go and gave this foot checked… cause again my foot started to ache after i spent 3hours at the mall last sunday.. anyways, thank you for the help:)
Hi thank you for all of your helpfull info on this site. I am 50 yr old female. 2 months ago I fell aprox 3 feet injuring my ankle. It immediately swelled so huge it seemed could have burst. To date touching it even with a soft blanket hurts. An xray showed no break with grade 3 sprain. I do not have insurance or money for another doctor visit or PT so I’m on my own. I have great pain on both sides of ankle wit swelling. Toes can’t wiggle.
A few days ago I finally begain to carefully limp. This is the first time able to put any weight on it at all. Ouch.
My additional concern is a painful new lump in the arch of my foot. Its painful starting to feel like cramping up. Not sure what to do. Do you have any advice for me? I lost my job due to this (can’t drive) and struggling to get around my house is getting very discouraging. Thank you
Ugh, I would really have a doc look at that Jenni. In the mean time, I would start with basics and work your way up in terms of exercise. Put a towel under your foot and start by trying to gather the towel with your toes for a good 30 seconds or so. Repeat several times. Get those toes moving!
I would also work on trying to make ankle circles: sit in a chair, pick up your foot and try to move the ankle in clockwise circles and counter clockwise circles. See how that goes for a week or so.
There are three (3) principle lateral ligaments in the ankle, it may be that you have sprained the anterior one on one occasion and the more lateral ligament on another occasion.
I would get back on the balance board or BOSU to work on balance training once all of this has calmed down. It may be a good idea to get an x-ray just to make sure that there is not an avulsion fragment like you described. I don’t think that an MRI is in order unless the doc insists.
Hi there, I have had weak ankles for as long as I can remember, I’ve done sports when I was younger like Gymnastics, Basketball, Soccer, Softball and some Volleyball… My right ankle has been Sprain several times, and I was told I had severe Tendonitis.. So I have been in several boots and I always wore my ankle brace, however after I did all the strengthening exercises that my doctor gave me my ankle gives out on me from time to time and I will twist my ankle when it happens and it sends pain all over my foot, it’s never on an uneven surface, normally just a flat sidewalk.. It’s like i step down when I don’t need to.. I am 19 and this has been going on for about 7 years.. I just try to ignore it and go on but it’s annoying to just be walking or running and it give out and me step down almost like an extra not needed step.. Any suggestions? I haven’t been to my doctor about this because I feel like he always tells me to do the same thing!
Thanks a bunch,
Dresden
It sounds like you might benefit from using ankle stabilization braces. I do recommend the lace-up type mentioned in the article. In rare cases some orthopedists will actually perform a stabilization surgery of the lateral ligaments. In your case (especially if you sprain often for years on end) it is worth talking to the doc about it.
Of course, it is always a good idea to keep the muscles around the ankle as strong as possible. If you haven’t done the PT thing, you should as a conservative measure.
I fell over and hurt my foot quite badly, 2 weeks after my fall my back starting hurting like a dull ache after 4-5 weeks my back gave out 10/10 pain which lasted 3-4 days. I am now 4 mo this on and still have some discomfort, my foot pain has remained also. I now have physio and this seems to be helping. Is it normal to get back pain following a foot injury? My doctor felt it was due to bearing weight on my left side to avoid standing on my foot but when I had an independent medical exam he said no way the back pain was connected to the fall even though I have never had back pain before
It could be one of those factors, or both. It would be very hard to tell without performing an evaluation on you. I for one think that if the back was injured with the initial fall, you would have felt it much sooner after that. The first explanation is more plausible.
Hi I sprained my ankle about 4 years now and have been in constant pain ever since .Now the pain is traveling up the back of my calf and leg .When I wake up in the morning or getting up after sitting down it’s always with a limp because of the pain .I have to sleep with my foot hanging off the bed or elevated because it burns .Im now starting to have severe lower back pain .I have been to doctors that did tests and found nothing,I also tried several ankle/foot braces nothing works .Please help if you can .Thank you
See a PT who does manual therapy. Something in your ankle joint is probably stuck and needs to move better.
With something this chronic, I would get a PT consult. There very well might be some underlying issues in terms of ankle mobility that might be effecting you up the legs and into the hips.
Also, when i stretch my quad i can’t stretch by holding my ankle as it hurts, so i have to hold the stretch by grabbing my calf area.
I would say that you may have some stiffness in the ankle that needs to be mobilizaed. I would get an evaluation from a physical therapist. There may be some specific stretches and exercises that can also be done to address your problem.
Hello,
I sprained my ankle in January & then in February, I feel instability and ankle give away, I went to Doc, He ordered a MRI, The MRI result was:
“Tearing of CFL is noted and there is tear of ATFL as well.
Normal configuration and signal intensity of bony structures specially along the tibial and talar articular surfaces are seen.
The interosseous ligament between the talus and calcaneus is intact.
The plantar tendon and aponeurosis are unremarkable.”
Surgeon told me I should do a surgery, he told PT, Is not going to help, so I went for the surgery in September.
After surgery I asked doc for the name of the surgery he said it’s a “McBride” (sorry if spell is wrong), He explained that he had used a nearby tendon and have make holes in my Ankle.
I was in cast for 6 weeks, after that he said I should be with no crutches in two weeks. Now I have some questions, I limp when walking. I also have pain on top of foot. I asked, Doc told me it would be corrected in months, and it’s too soon. Now it’s almost 10 weeks after surgery (maybe 9 weeks and few days).
Do you have any suggestions?
How is my future? I’m 30 years old. What should I do for the limp when walking? I think limp have made pain in lower back also.
Would PT, 3 times a week for ever help me? How is my future? Can I do anything now for a better long term result?
You are not going to get the full benefit from this for many months to come. I would guess six months at least. I would also guess that the ankle is always going to be a bit tight in the direction of the way that you sprained it originally. The surgery is meant to secure that range tightly. PT is a great idea to get the ankle moving and the surrounding muscles stronger.
Im 45 and have had problems with spraining my ankles since middle school tumbling years. Now my right foot sticks inward when I roll my ankle or just sit on my foot wrong. It actually goes out of the socket and I have to use my hand to push it back to a downward position from the inward stuck position. My ligaments are all torn but the fall accompanied with my sprains and out of socket foot are getting worse. Any advise? I can’t wear a brace full time, it usually happens if I’m not being super focused on holding my foot stiff to the outward side. Can my ligaments be repaired to hold it in place? Surgery? Have you heard of this before? my searches on line don’t turn up much.
That is one of the more extreme cases that I have heard of. My guess is that you should consult an ankle orthopedist and discuss the surgical option. The ligaments can be repaired surgically.
I am 15 years old.I sprained my right ankle while playing football.The doc detected it as a grade 2 ankle sprain.He put a cast and told me to have the cast for a month.After 1 month will be able to return to normal life again and play football or will I have some pain.
It will likely take a month or two to get back to normal. I would get a brace for the ankle to keep it more stable while playing football. You may end up having no pain at all given your age and ability to heal.
For how long should I have a cast for a grade 2 sprain.
It depends, but I would say at least 2 weeks. You should probably also get a list of exercises to start doing once you are out of the cast.
If you are not actively spraining the ankle, I don’t think that the surgery is absolutely necessary. The ATFL is there to keep the ankle from spraining into “inversion”, if you aren’t going into that range by accidentally spraining, that is great. I would maybe use a stabilization brace with higher level activities such as hiking and sports.
Yes it is definitely worth following up with the doc. I find it strange that they discharged you from PT after only 4 visits. Maybe find another PT office and see what they can do. You might have some luck with a softer type brace for some stability when walking. I would steer away from the hard plastic kind or other hard braces (like air casts).
Hello, I thought I’d add my ankle chronicles to the comments. I have turned/sprained the same ankle several times over the years, but never quite like I did 18 months ago. I’m in the Army so I’m on my feet a lot and probably shouldn’t do as many things as I do on my ankle as is. Anyways, after several X-Rays and an MRI I was placed in PT two separate times over 15-16 months. My PCM and Physical Therapist told me that I had a small tear of my inner ligament in my right ankle so we worked with that but over time they noticed that I had a lot of scar tissue and my pain was always pretty constant but never really too distracting from work. I started my second round of PT after having to run 8 miles three or four times and not being able to keep up with everyone else. About a month ago I had my second MRI and met with a surgeon after completing the second round of PT. The PCM and Physical Therapist completely missed my ligament on the outside of my ankle being completely torn. It’s not connected to anything, just kind of dangling there the surgeon says. She says the inner ligament tear that I had was actually quite rare. She also recommended me for the Brostram-Gould surgery and I should be finally getting on the road to having some scar tissue removed and my ligament repaired in the next 2-3 months. Initially she seemed to be leaning towards Orthotripsy but after learning about the outer ligament being completely torn she didn’t even discuss that with me. Long story short, I thought I was crazy for a long time and very relieved to finally know what’s going on with my ankle now.
My question to you is this, is it common for this kind of injury to be overlooked and for people to be able to do quite a bit of physical activity with the outer ligament completely torn? My ankle gives out on me ever-so often but I’ve been able to limit what would cause another major or even minor sprain to occur. Thanks!
I would say that typically the lateral ligaments are sprained more often that the medial ligaments. It is a bit strange that the lateral ligaments were overlooked for that reason. I would definitely wear a stabilization brace with running because of the instability that you have. I would also say that balance training is a good idea for you. If the ankle continually gives out on you you may want to consider the stabilization surgery.
Those types of sprains are the worst! They can take a long time to heal (many months), so don’t be too discouraged about the time frame. It is possible that the ligament tore, but that usually does not require surgery. I would guess that you could start with very basic ankle and foot exercises (towel grabs, circles etc.), but I would get the okay from the doc to start doing so.
Hey I sprained my ankle on Nov 2nd it’s been over month now I can walk fine been doing foot exercises trying get the ankle strengthen but when I walk or stand my foot don’t feel right is it because my ankle is weak ? It doesn’t hurt it just feels different it’s hard to explain but there is also I guess it’s inflammation next to my ankle it’s still little swelled there bc it’s soft it’s almost like a bump I guess u can say how long will that last ?
Oh yea I forgot to tell u I can move my foot left to right and rotate and counter clock wise but the inflammation has not got bigger where it is little swollen on my ankle how long will that take to go away?
It may take a few months depending on the severity. Ankle sprains can make the foot feel “empty” or strangely weak. I have seen some ankles that are slightly swollen up to a year after a bad sprain.
I sprained my ankle 2 months ago. It was a mid ankle sprain on my left foot towards the outside of my foot. I saw a foot specialist who had me in a boot for 6 1/2 weeks. I work as a server and my foot is now hurting me again and swollen in the same place. What should I do and does putting ice on it help?
I would see a PT about it. Doing some light strengthening is probably in order. Some people will also get some benefit from a soft ankle wrap (the kind that you can get at the drugstore that is made out of neoprene).
I am a 62 yr old female. I fell in 2008, I was 57 yrs old at that time. I fractured my fifth metatarsal on my right foot and was in a boot cast for 6 months. I had PT on my right foot. I had no problems with the foot. June 7, 2016 I was sitting in a meeting and a heavy wood cane with a pointed marble dog snout that was leading against the table, was hit by the owner accidentally, and it fell and hit the top of both of my feet. The heavy wooden part fell on my left front ankle, and the marble dog snout hit the right top of my foot, this time I sustained a sprain and strain muscle/tendon at right foot/ankle level. I now am having pain with my left foot/hips/lower back but have not been treated for them. I was in a boot cast for 4 months this time. My question is will my right foot ever be normal again? I shuffle around like I am 90 yrs old. I use to be very active. I just finish PT on my right foot again.
Ouch. I am going to guess that you were “off kilter” for 4 months while wearing that boot. One of my pet peeves is a prescribed immobilization boot that does not come with an “even up” balancer for the shoe on the unaffected leg. My guess is that your hips and lower back are responding to the asymmetry caused by the boot. The lower back and hip issues need to be addressed by the PT. If the PT was only working on the foot, get a new PT.
The ligaments that were stretched out will not go back into their original shape. You are always going to have a very slight lag in reaction time in your ankle because of that. Most people who do solid rehab will get back very close to their original performance, but in my opinion you will always be at higher risk of re-spraining. Why take the risk? If the brace is tolerable, wear it. I for one continued to sprain my ankles playing basketball despite rehabbing until I had braces like the one you described.
Hi,
I sprained my ankle, back in 2006, while trail running during my fire academy days. When I looked at it after a few hours it was black and blue and when I sprained it, I heard a snap. Instead of quitting the academy I continued and finished, which I think made things worse. I tired to take care of my ankle ever since but I did notice that my ankle seemed out of place. I also had pain on the soles of feet, pain in my knee and back pain and hip pain all on the same side of my injured ankle. A few weeks ago, I was Sleeping in bed and my leg was hanging off the side of the bed. When I went to lift it, I felt a pop in my ankle and a sharp pain that lasted a few seconds. Since my ankle is always hurting I just went back to sleep, but when I woke up the next day my ankle felt better and I had much better range of motion and it no longer looked out of place. Also the pain in my feet, knee and back is much better. I still feel my ankle is not 100% and I don’t know if it will ever bee the same, but I do want to start running again, but since my angel has been out of place for almost ten years I don’t know If I will reinjuire it. What can I do to strengthen my ankel and mostly my ligaments?
I would see a PT for an evaluation. I am guessing that there are some stiff joints in the ankle that need to be freed up a bit. Find a PT who had loads of experience.
I would say that PT would be a good idea.
Hi! In the past, I have fractured my foot one time on the outside of my foot. All my injuries have occurred on the outside of my left ankle. I have sprained it twice and right now, I have a high sprain after being treated for a low sprain for a month. This all happened in the time span of three years and I have been struggling to get back to 100%. I have done physical therapy when I fractured my ankle for around 3 months and then I was released. My ligaments have been torn also and I was wondering if there was anything I could do to get back to 100%.
Once the ligaments are torn like that, you will have a permanent loss in your reaction time to correct ankle positioning. I would wear a lace up brace while playing higher level sports. In my opinion that is the only way to get the extra support that you need. In terms of PT exercises, I am a huge fan of single leg balance training for overall strengthening.
A visit to the orthopedist is a good idea. It sounds like tendonitis. I also think that an evaluation by a physio is a good idea. There could be weaknesses in several different areas that could be contributory.
I am 6’3, 240 lbs and 18 years old. I severely sprained my ankle playing basketball about 6 months ago. I can now put all of my weight on my right ankle when I roll over it. Not sure if this is good for my ankle since I have recently had some pain. Was wondering if my ankle was seriously instable or if its just something else.
There might be other joints in the ankle that are super stiff as a result of the initial sprain. That can be problematic, especially if you are a high level ball player. I would have a manually skilled PT check out the ankle joints to see if there are any deficits.
I am assuming that by “rolling over” your ankle with full weight you are referring to walking type motions?
No I can roll over on my ankle while standing still but it now sends a shooting pain through my ankle almost as if something inside is being pulled.
I would see either an orthopedist or a physical therapist and have it evaluated.
Hi, im a 16 year old female and i am a competitive dancer so i dance 22 hours a week. back in october, i landed really hard on my ankle, it barely even rolled, and i had bruising on the side of my foot, top of my foot and up the side of my ankle. after about two weeks, the bruising went away, and it never hurt, only just really bad bruising. Now sometimes when i jump, my ankle will go all tingly and ill come down from the jump and cant put any weight on my ankle at all, but then it goes away. the thing that confuses me is it aches after i dance, and sometimes during but not usually. but other times it wont hurt at all, and ill be completely fine, and other times it will hurt so bad that i cant walk. it will also just randomly bruise, and then it goes away. ive never had to take a break from dance because of it, but its kinda a hastle. if this helps, ive also noticed when i stand and put my feet together, my ankle looks bigger and more swollen on the outside then my other one, no matter if its bugging me or if i feel completely fine. this weird on and off pain has been going on since last may, so its been bugging me before the incident in october. oh and also, if i get up from sitting it feels really really weak when i first start walking, like its gonna give out at any moment. if you could please tell me what i should do, and if it could result in something worse that would be great:) thank you
I would definitely see an orthopedist who specializes in ankles and get an x-ray / evaluation.
This is probably just a bad ankle sprain. Elevation, and maybe a compressive neoprene brace might help to make walking more tolerable. That really stinks that this had to occur with you seven months pregnant. I would recommend seeing a physical therapist to get some ideas in terms of gentle exercises to begin with.
I am 38 years old. I injured all of my tendons and ligaments in 1994 playing volleyball. My ankle always cracks. Today, at the to of the stairs I heard a pop on the top of my ankle and had little pain. Now when I flex my foot upward, I have pain. There is no swelling. Other than that I can walk on it. Does this sound like a sprain?
Thank you!
This sounds like a long-term stiffness type effect of an old ankle sprain. It might not be a bad idea to see a manually based PT who can see if there is some stiffness in selected joints of the ankle.
Hi I have a grade 2 sprain of the ATFL and grade 1 of the CFL. I was running on January 1 of this year and i assume i rolled my ankle, i fell to the ground and had to call an uber to come pick me up because i couldn’t place any weight on my foot. Went to the orthopedic the next day, she placed me in an air boot for 2 weeks then a brace for 1 week till we received the MRI results of the grade 2 sprain and now i’m back in the boot :-( She said absolutely no physical therapy till next week (which will be a total of 4 weeks so far). My ankle is huge again now since i’ve been back in the boot. Could the boot actually being doing more harm than good? and why would she say no physical therapy at all? Just sounds pretty silly to me to have an athlete immobilized for four weeks. Wouldnt range of motion be good for the ankle? I’m a triathlete and have a race in March. I feel like she gave me the same protocol she would give a 50 year old sedentary person!
If it was indeed a bad sprain, I would say that this protocol is fairly common. The soft tissue does need ample time to heal, and that can be annoying from the patient’s standpoint. Give it the time to heal, you will be glad you did. Swelling can temporarily increase because there is a relative lack of motion. Have you thought about using a compression stocking? Once you start in to the exercises, do it gradually. I would also ask the PT to do “manual work” on the ankle to make sure that all of the joints are moving the way that they are supposed to.
Thank you for the quick reply, yes i will relay the message to the therapist when I start therapy. I do have a compression stocking that I wear after my runs but now i wear everyday because of my injury. Again thanks for all the advice!
I would find a really good PT and get an evaluation. Sometimes having a bad ankle sprain will have an effect on how you walk, which can in turn cause pain up the chain into the hip and lower back. There might of course be something additional going on, but I do think that it is in your best interest to have it evaluated by someone who does manual therapy.
Hello about 12 years ago i injured my tendons and ligaments in my left foot. Every since it has gave me issues but recently at least once a day if not more when i get up to walk or move a certain way i get a sharp pain on the outside of my left ankle and then it makes it hard to put any kind of pressure on my foot for about 15-30 mins. I was wanting to know one if this is normal that long after an injury to be still causing pain and what can be done to stop the pain
This might be the start of a tendonitis of one of the ankle tendons. I would see a doc about it. You may be able to take care of it with some guided physical therapy.
hi i have hurt my ankle and my knee in dance several times from landing to hard, but i never really thought of treating it. i have quit dance over a year ago and now sometimes ill run to classes or just walk and my foot will just roll out to the side and it makes my foot hurt, its like the pain i had when i was dancing. can my foot still be hurt after a long time?
If the foot rolls out easily, I would have the doc take a look at it. It sounds like some of the ligaments might be a bit unstable, which would make you susceptible to ankle sprains. There are specific exercises that you can do to help this, it just needs to be diagnosed first.
It probably still isn’t sprained, but there are probably some issues in some of the ankle joints in regards to stiffness. I would beg the parents to send you to a good PT for an evaluation. You really only need one or two sessions to get a good idea of what to do on your own in terms of stretching and exercises.
Hello,
I sprained my ankle by exercising (HIIT). I hadn’t realised I sprained it until it started swelling that I couldn’t run or walk properly. After the HIIT exercise I felt my ankle clicking and some ligaments moving as I stood. I didn’t know what to do so I left it alone until the swelling went down.
Few days later i had the same PT session with a group of friends. I told her I did something to my ankle but she didn’t really take it seriously and told me to just try and sit, kneeling position but with the lower legs to the side. I told her my ankle hurt and could not sit on it but told me to just breathe through the stretch. So I did. After a while it was bearable.
After that my ankle got really swollen.
I was worried until 6 months later the left side of my right foot was still slightly swollen. It hurt when I pressed on it. Now it doesn’t hurt but still swollen and it’s even more noticeable when I point both my feet.
I feel like I’ve stretched my ligament but I don’t know what to do. Went to the gp and they said it wasn’t long enough for them to do anything so just gave me exercises for my ankle. I’m worried that my right ankle has changed its shape.
I would have an evaluation done by a physical therapist who sees a lot of ankle patients. You very well may be able to stabilize enough to make the pain and swelling subside entirely. Get a trained pair of eyes on your problem.
2 years ago i tore 2 ligaments in my left ankle i didn’t have any excercices prescribed nor did i have surgery and from then every time i do sports or simply work-out my left ankle hurts bad for like a day or two do i need a ligament repair . note: i am a very athletic person and i am 16.
I do not think that you need a ligament repair, but I would have the ankle checkout out by a physical therapist who does manual therapy and joint mobilization. I am willing to guess that there is some stiffness in there that is causing the ankle to move incorrectly and causing you pain.
It depends on what the lump actually is. If it is scar tissue, it will probably soften over time, but I don’t think that it will entirely go away. The other possibility is that it is a pocket of swelling? Those can hang out for quite a while. The only way to be sure is to have it palpated by a PT or doc.
Hello
About 5 to 6 years ago i have sprained my right ankle by slipping on wet grass playing footbal. It got very swollen and painful but the doctor said it was just a sprain.
Then about 2 years ago i have sprained my left ankle by missing a few steps and all my weight fell on my left foot 3 or 4 steps down. It was agai painful but i continued to walk on it for about 20 minutes as i had to get home. Afterwards both times i made my best to rest it. Both times went to the doctor and was told it was just a sprain. Both times i had xrays done. Nothing was broken.
But now, and this only happened a few minutes ago. I rushed a little (somewhere between a walk and a jog) and i somehow hurt both my ankles. As soon as i sat down in the car i thought the pain would go away but it was getting worse. Felt like i re-sprained them both. From constant pain to pulsating pain, it lasted for a couple of minutes. I immediately took some antiinflamatory tablets (and i very rarely take tablets) as i am worried it will affect my driving home due to the pain however the pain subsided to just being a little sore.
It is also very painful when i sit down with my legs crossed. I need to very very slowy straighten my ankles as it is quite painful. Even walking fast, on the pavement, straight hard surface) made me hurt my ankle. I didn’t trip nor have i twisted my ankle. The pain was bad enough that when pressing the pedals, it made me winch.
And to add to this, stretching and rolling my foot 360 degrees, results in pain.
Any advice? Will it always result in pain?
Thank you for taking time to read my post!
This could be tendonitis. I would see the doc and have the ankles evaluated. I would not provoke the symptoms in the mean time, let the ankles rest.
I sprained my ankle about four years ago and it still swell up and I have pain going up my leg what should I do
I would see a physical therapist. You probably have a stiff ankle from the sprain that needs to be worked on.
Oh, and my ankles do exactly what the picture shows at the beginning of this article, my right one does not move nearly as far upwards as my left one.
You should probably undergo some formal physical therapy to strengthen the heck out of the ankle. That is your best best in terms of conservative management. The doc or PT may also recommend getting an ankle brace to stabilize it with higher level activities such as hiking, sports, etc.. In the mean time I would be very careful with stepping, especially in unfamiliar settings. If you are constantly spraining and have no luck with conservative management, I would consider surgery for stabilization purposes. Try the conservative approach!
I would schedule a visit with a physical therapist who does manual therapy. It sounds to me like parts of your ankle are stiff from the original sprain and need to be worked on. There are certainly exercises that you can do to help with the overall stability and mobility (single leg balancing, theraband exercises, etc.), but I would get a pair of eyes on the problem.
I fell and tore my left ankle ligaments (sprained ankle) in February 2014. Then after much pt and home exercised had ligament surgery in February 2015 to tighten them. After cast, walking cast and pt I started my daily activities again. The ankle is fine doing basic household chores, outside chores and short walks. I cannot wear high heels or it will hurt for a couple of days. I extended my walking to 3 to 4 miles a day. Now when I walk for more then 1 mile it throbs on the left underneath middle of my foot. It throbs shooting up the back left side of my ankle. It stops me from walking more then a mile now. Should I return to my surgeon, family doctor, shoe fitter or pt? Thank you for any insight.
I made a mistake on the dates. The fall was 2/2015 and surgery 2/2016. Thank you.
I think that this might be the job for a physical therapist. You may have some stiff joints in the ankle that need some encouragement to move a bit. Try to find a PT who does a lot of “manual therapy”.
i fell from 6 feet high on my left foot, i weight over 220, my ankle got sprained have bruises on the shin.
2 and 1/2 weeks later i can walk, i feel some stiffness still have swelling. numbness in the bottom of my heel (foot plant under ankle). also got some red spots on top of foot, (by 3rd and 4th toe) and little further over towards to the back side of the top of my foot. what do you think does it sounds normal all that in the healing process. i think i have 75% of the use of my ankle back. please let me know
Ouch. Numbness in the bottom of the heel is not a typical symptom of an ordinary ankle sprain. You probably stretched a nerve with the turn of the ankle. I would see a doc about this given the height of the fall and the funky symptoms.
Also when I went to the orthopedic surgeon he said that if I hurt or I could t stand on one foot that he would have me get surgery. It didn’t hurt at the time as I saw him weeks after they told me I needed to see an orthopedic surgeon. I do notice that it hurts sometimes when I run or I do a lot of walking but the pain does go away
I would get a “lace up” stability brace for that ankle and wear it for a while whenever you are outside on uneven surfaces. It does also sound like you should at least do a visit of physical therapy in order to get a list of training exercises to work on strength and stability. I would try all of that prior to any surgery.
I would see an orthopedist about this. I do agree that most of these cases that do not involve fractures or extreme instability are dealt with by using a brace. It will likely take a few months for the ATFL area to scar up as it should.
Hello! Almost 4 years ago, I sprained my right ankle in a sparring match. I went to Urgent Care and they x-rayed it, and told me nothing was broken. They gave me a brace and crutches, everything seemed to heal fine, and the swelling went away completely. However, ever since the injury, my right ankle will randomly cramp up and stiffen while walking. The pain only lasts a minute or two, but it often causes me to nearly fall down when it occurs, as I can’t walk to put pressure on the foot until the wave is over. This happens maybe a couple times a month. Could this be related to my past injury?
I think that it is possible. Lots of people develop stiffness in the subtalar joint or the talocrural joints resulting from sprains. It can be assessed by a manually based physical therapist.
I sparined my left ankle before 8 days while playing volleyball …after injury of 2 days I apply plaster on it….for 4 days but it didn’t worked….and more pain is started…
Today it started paining again …..my ankle looks like exactly on the pic on top…
In this 3 days always I put iodex in it and cover it by cramp bandage…..still there is no progress in swelling and skin of my leg is full red….it hurts very much….plzz suggest me what can I do so that I can recover my leg as shook as possible…..
I would see a doctor about this, it sounds like a significant sprain or perhaps a fracture?
I’m a dancer and I sprained my left ankle multiple times and I’ve sprained my right but my right moves fine and is strong. My left isn’t as strong and everytime I roll my ankle to the right it clicks and it’s painful. Also my ankle strength and flexible is incredibly different. My right foot points to the ground and I can’t stand on it fine. But my left can barely point. What do I do? It hurts to stretch it to
Structured rehab with a good outpatient orthopedic based PT should help.
When the ligaments get stretched out from a sprain, there is a permanent lag in reaction time at the ankle as a result. That is probably why your balance feels off. You can at least partially compensate for that with balance training, or wearing one of those lace up braces.
I sprained my ankle about 3 months ago. I can now run and play in soccer games but there is still one spot that is always hurting on the inside. What could that be? Also there’s a burning sensation on the outter part as well almost on the bone, what could that be?
If it was a significant sprain, a times the bones on the inner aspect of the ankle will bump together and cause a bone bruise. That can take many, many months to go away. The outer portion of the ankle is where the lateral ankle ligaments are. They can still feel irritation long after the sprain.
I would have a physical therapist evaluate the ankle to see exactly what is going on.
Do you suggest I sit out or continue playing as tolerated?
If it were me I would have it checked out prior to playing.
Hi as a chronically clumsy high heel wearer- I fell and twisted my ankle outwards as well as hitting a ledge just above the ankle bone injuring the ligament. It was swollen for several weeks and I put it up and wore flats and stopped sport for 3mths. Thereafter there was a dark mark for a year or so and an indentation where I made contact with the ledge and I went back to sports wearing ankle braces but no noticable problems. The original injury was nearly 3 years ago I should add. More recently I have noticed swelling in the left ankle. It goes as soon as I raise the leg right up above my head for 10 mins or more, there is no pain but wearing shoe on that foot is uncomfortable. Iam also noticing hamstring issues and plantar fascitis. Dr has ruled out systemic issues and DVT. It has been suggested the old ligament injury has affected blood flow to the ankle. Is this likely? If so who should I see ? Orthopedic? Podiatrist? Sports medicine? Any guidance wld be gratefully received.
I would say an orthopedist who specializes in ankles.
The only way to be sure is an x-ray, but my money is on no fracture. Bruising can be like that: it drains over time. Given the number of times that you have sprained, you should probably be wearing some type of bracing with high level sports and activities. I would also see a doc about this. You probably need some structured rehab and long-term ideas in terms of stabilization training etc..
I sprained my left ankle last year in November and ever since my right ankle has been bugging me, but especially after playing basketball. I notice a tightening of the muscles in the lower portion of the front part of my right ankle which leads to limited mobility and a sort of lump in my step. What do you recommend?
Did you dump all of your weight on your right side as a result of spraining the left ankle? You might have developed an overuse tendonitis on the right side. I would get it checked out by an orthopedist or by a physical therapist.
Also, when walking in the boot, I feel pain in the outside of my ankle and it feels like a ligament pops and then I can’t walk in it anymore. I cannot walk on it without the boot still.
Surgery does take quite a bit of time to recover from, especially foot or ankle surgery. Getting out of the boot should help, but I would stick to the protocol that the doc provides. A compression stocking might help as well, ask the PT about that.
I would also find a PT with a ton of experience in manual therapy to help you through this.
I have gone to 2 different hospitals and a specialist about my ankle sprain and have had 3 x-rays done but they see no fracture. However I get terrible burning and shooting pains. I get woken in the night due to these pains. At the moment I do have a cast on that was put on 4 days ago from the specialist.The pain is still there and its unbearable
Ankle sprains can be quite painful. I would stick to the doctors protocol and keep it immobilized for the time being.
I would at least get one visit of physical therapy and let the therapist know that you would like a list of things to do. It sounds like your ankle is stiff and the extrinsic muscles are weak.
That is a bit strange. It does sound like you at the very least inflamed some of those lateral ligaments. The inflammation can subtly change the way that you walk, and that can in turn start to cause pain in other areas. I would maybe get a soft, neoprene brace around the ankle while walking to protect it for a week or so. It wouldn’t hurt to see an orthopedist if this does not improve.
Hi
I fractured my ankle in October 15, 2016 it is now June 22, 2017. Which means it been about 8 months and come days and my ankle still isn’t back to normal and I still do feel some pain from it. I used to be much more athletic and fast and be able to dunk the basketball but ever since the fracture I haven’t been the same. What should I do ? Or does it take longer to heal ? I didn’t have surgery I’m letting it heal on its own.
Find a good manually based physical therapist and get an evaluation. I bet if the ankle is mobilized it will free things up.
About a year or so ago i broke my ankle, after recovery and physical therapy I seemed to be fine. I use an ankle brace and i had no problems. But today, a couple hours ago, i tried to play basketball without my brace. I came down on it funny and it rolled in a few different directions. Now it’s swollen and I’m in a lot of pain when it moves certain directions. I’ve tried icing it to no avail. I want to wait it out, but I’m afraid it might be a serious problem.
I think that this warrants a trip to the orthopedist. It sounds like there is some appreciable instability.
About 3 months I had injured my right ankle playing basketball. The doctor said it was a sprain with a mild contusion. I can walk perfectly on it now, but when I try to run, the right side of my ankle on my right foot still has a pain and I can only run on the balls of my right foot.
There is probably some stiffness in a few of the ankle joints that is preventing you from going through full range of motion. A good manually based physical therapist should be able to help with that.
The fracture should heal after about 6 weeks. If you have an x-ray that would confirm the healing. You could start some physical therapy to work on the fibular stiffness and swelling. It may also be a good idea to start training the ankle with exercises to compensate for the lack of stability from the ligaments.
Hi, about 6 years ago (2011), I rolled my left ankle in a small hole on a field during track practice. Went to the doc, no broken bones but a moderate sprain. In the following 3 years, i sprained my ankle 3 more times, each moderate sprains. After that, did 2 separate rounds of pt which seemed fairly effective. For about 2 years now (2015- present) I’ve had nagging knee pain in the same leg, especially on the outside of my knee around the fibular head and lcl. Doctors said it might be itbs/runners knee and I’ve tried pt 3 times now to no avail. An orthopedic surgeon I saw a month ago said my ankle is very loose and requires ligament repair surgery. My question is, is there a possibility my knee issues stem from my ankle instability? I don’t think i can do my knee exercises properly with my unstable ankle and in curious if it caused my knee issues to begin with. Only 19 years old and wanting to be a lot more active!
Yes. I would have a PT check the mobility of the fibular head to see how that feels. It is entirely possible that the fibular head is stiff and not moving well despite the laxity of the ankle.
Either PT, or an orthopedist. She might need an x-ray???
The day she sprained it she got an X-ray at an urgent care they said it should be better in 2 weeks and that it’s just a sprain and gave her a small sandal like boot without crutches or anything . She’s still complaining that it hurts meanwhile it’s been 5 weeks I don’t know what to do
If the x-ray is clear that is great. I would maybe schedule a PT visit at this point.
I sprained my ankle 10 days ago. I was out when it happened so I was not able to put ice on it right away. I’ve been doing stretching exercises and it’s still swollen but I am able to walk on it just fine. Last night I started feeling a sharp pain in my inner thigh and it hurts if I press on it. Can this be related to the sprain and should I worry?
You probably have a slight compensation in terms of how you have been walking. My guess is that you have been using that inner thigh a bit more than usual because of a slight limp? Try to walk as normally as you can, even if it means slowing yourself down appreciably.
If the pain intensifies or doesn’t go away it is always a good idea to let your doc know.
Hi there. I injured my ankle about four years ago.
When it first happened, I iced it, did some ankle exercises, but was constantly on my feet from work.
Now, to this day, it is still swollen, and can’t run full sprint since this injury. It will cause pain most days as well. What do I do about this? Should I get surgery? or is there a way I can avoid surgery, even though it has been years?
It definitely sounds like something that a physical therapist can address. That ankle needs to be mobilized.
I would see a PT about this. It wouldn’t surprise me if the knee thing is directly related to how the ankle is moving.
I sprained my ankle about a month ago and it was really bad. I fell and my all of my body weight went directly onto my ankle and it turned black and blue the next day. When I fell I heard a loud popping noise and almost all of my toes got pins and needles. Now my ankle just gives out on me randomly. Sometimes I’ll just be walking and my ankle will collapse under me. I just fell again, but this time I wasn’t even walking. I was standing and bending down and my ankle just gave out on me again. Since the initial sprain I haven’t been able to move it much without it hurting, but now two of my smallest toes have gone numb. My mom isn’t going to take me to the doctor for it and she wouldn’t even consider any kind of physical therapy away from home. What can I do myself to make my ankle hurt less?
You should really have that looked at. It sounds like the ligaments on the side of the ankle are shot. I would go to the drug store and get a stabilization brace for the ankle in the mean time. That might help you from spraining it again. Tell your mom that a medical professional is recommending that you see the doc!
Hi I sprained my left ankle 8 years ago. It developed into plantar fasitiis and had surgery for that. 1 yr later another surgery for tarsal tunnel. That was 6 years ago. Now I’m still in a lot of pain, ankle throbs, big toe hurts, hurts to walk and bend the ankle/foot. Have been to PT so many times. Have seen so many dr/ortho Drs. No one says they can help me as its been too long and there’s nerve damage now. Pretty much live with it! I am at wits end and need a dr who can help me. Yes I could take pain meds, I do try to walk on it, I ice it all the time, it has disabled me. Throbbing leg/knee/ankle pain is no way to live. I am looking for an ortho dr not in Maine. With all the Drs who help athletics why not me?
I am guessing that in order to get the right help you need to look at the larger, regional medical centers. If you are in New England, I would look to Boston for example.
I would see an orthopedist who specializes in ankles. My guess is that the lateral ligaments are a bit unstable from a sprain?
Thank you for your reply. I have sprained my ankles in the past and probably did not treat the sprains correctly. I guess a trip to an orthopedist is in order. I appreciate your help.
Hello,
8 weeks ago I had a sevear ankle sprain on my left foot, the Dr’s put me into a cast at a 90degree angle. Last week my cast was taken off, and I’m doing my own physical therapy and the Dr said I would be able to walk my regular 22km at work that I doubt the following weeks. I find this week that the flexibility is better, however I still have a hard time walking on my foot without a shoe (very very sore). Also I am experiencing sevear lower back pain now.
How can I correct these issues? I am due into work on August 11th 2017, and I work a very physically demanding job.
* the Dr said I will be able to do my 22km/day at work, in the following week!”
I would get a PT consult. I would also guess that a soft ankle brace may help transition you to full weight bearing while offering some support. Nothing too big or bulky. I used a “Futuro” ankle brace and it helped me nicely.
Thank you very much for your time!!!!!
Reaven :)
For a grade 3 sprain, I would guess that it would take at least 4-6 months to recover from for someone your age. The question after that is whether or not there is enough stability in the ankle to allow dynamic activities. If the ankle feels super loose and you are not in control of the ankle movements, that might be an indication that the Brostrom procedure might be a good idea. I would definitely go through a structured rehab process first to see if the conservative route gives you enough stability. It is not like doing the conservative thing will make it worse.
I sprained my ankle 2montgs ago and it has been fine for ages. I went climbing 3 weeks ago and it ached a bit after. In the last week I’ve started having bad pains in my lower leg when I walk. What can I do about this?
I would schedule an eval with a PT. It sounds like you might have some stiffness in certain joints resulting from the sprain that need some work.
I had a left medial malleolar fracture 7 yrs ago workers comp. 3 yrs ago they did surgery to repair the ligament and debri the area of floating fragments. I did 2 yrs of treatment and therapy after surgery. Why is my ankle still swelling like a balloon after 15 min of standing or walking? It gets a bit sore but not painfully stunting. My ankle looks like an 80 yr old woman with chronic highblood pressure and CHF, I am 44 yrs old. Its only my left ankle. I cant wear heels or boots of any kind and i have to get shoes one size too big to fit my foot in once my ankle swells. Is there something wrong I need to address? Do I need another surgery? Is there anything i ca n do now? My surgeon no longer does workers comp what now?
Well, it could be any number of things. Firstly, ankles don’t drain particularly well. It might be helpful to wear a compression sock for a while and see if that helps. Secondly, in my opinion ankles at times will stay swollen if the joints are stiff and don’t move appropriately. In order to deal with that, I would find a manually based physical therapist to check out how the ankle moves. SOMetimes having particular joints in the ankle moved and stretched goes a long way. I would bet the the tibia and the fibula need some work on you.
The ankle probably has some stiffness in certain joints and isn’t moving correctly. I would make an appointment with a manually based PT and have your situation figured out. At the very least with a visit or two you could have the ankle mobilized and you could get a list of stabilization exercises that you could do.
Hello, I sprained my right ankle on Holiday in Spain 2 days ago whilst running, I last sprained the same ankle twice around January this year and sprained it again after 7 weeks in February. In the previous years I have had sprains to this same ankle, before the most recent sprain my ankle has been feeling slightly tender when playing sports etc. I’m an Advanced badminton player and I’m always on my feet, when lunging in my sport to retrieve the shuttle, I will at times get knee pain I then try and stay away from lunging too much when doing lunges. I was wondering if the lnee pains are directly related to the ankle sprains? I’ve been wearing a minor ankle support when walking but right now since I’m on Holiday there isn’t much I can do, is there any exercises or anything I can do apart from compression with something cold? It’s doesn’t hurt as much and I can bear weight on it, it’s just such a common injury for me, I want to try and strengthen the ankle to a decent form.
It would not surprise me if the knee pain is ankle related. I would take it easy. Rest, ice, compression, and elevation. I would also wear the ankle brace. When you get home, I would visit the orthopedist and have the integrity of the lateral collateral ligaments tested. My guess is that they are chronically unstable.
It sounds like a bad sprain, the only way to know for sure if it is fractured is to get an x-ray. It does sound like PT might be a good idea as well. I would see the doc.
About 3 years ago I went bike riding with friends and family. I was going up a step hill so I decided to step off my bike and walk it up. When I was getting off the bike, my right foot got stuck near the peddles and the bike tipped over and fell on my ankle twisted/bending it. The pain was pretty intense, but I never went to the doctor for it. The pain comes and goes, but sometimes it gets so bad that I can put any weight on that foot. It even hurts when it is resting on a pillow or something like that. I have noticed it swells when the pain comes and my skin gets dis-coloring in that area. I wear my ankle brace but it doesn’t always help. I am only 16 and I am already limited to my moving ability. I can barely flex/stretch my ankle without sharp or intense pain shooting up my leg or in the area.
*The pain is more to the left side of my ankle and it almost feels like there is a crack in my bone near the ball on my ankle.
I would see an orthopedist about this. You probably have a stiff ankle from this and it may need some PT.
About 5 weeks ago I sprained my right ankle wake boarding. And since then I have started running and being a little more active on it, it hurts occasionally when I turn it but there it still a little knot on my ankle and it is a little bit bigger then the left. Should I be concerned about this?
It doesn’t sound like it is fractured, but at the very least that was a moderate sprain. I recommend visiting a PT once to have it checked out.
Hello, I play volleyball and a teammate sprained her ankle. She has sprained the same ankle about five months before and sprained it again a week ago. It is a high ankle sprain and she had lots of swelling and bruising and she still has pain when she walks or stands over a period of time. The swelling and bruising did go down a little but it’s still a lot in my opinion. She refuses to wear braces and, although she does wear it in situations such as these, she’s trying to come off it and even play tomorrow. She’s been *trying* to walk on it since a day or two after her sprain. Should I let her play or even walk? And even if I don’t she refuses to listen and insists she plays, what should I say to her? I’ve already told her the basic stuff such as her making it worse. She has gone to a doctor and received an x-ray but she’s not being completely honest about her condition and doctors advice.
I would most certainly encourage her to have it either braced or have an athletic trainer tape the ankle up prior to any practicing or playing. If the doc has given her medical advice, she should to be following it. If she isn’t being straight with you, and if you are just her teammate, that is really her problem.
Definitely see a PT about this. It sounds like the ankle bones need to be mobilized a bit, something down there isn’t moving correctly. I would also recommend a compression sock, but have your doc sign off on that.
Hello. I may be reaching here but Ive exchausted almost all options for 30+ years of 24/7 knee pain. I am now 52 years old, multiple surgeries, pt, pain meds, tens, IFC stim, biofreeze, PT, massage, chiro, etc.
I was always a very active child and teen. I loved to run sprints, cross county. Back in the ol days I often played unorganized football, no helmets, no pads but tackle. Also played a lot of baseball /softball.
In addition, as teenagers myself and a group of friends watched all the Bruce Lee martial arts movies and many others. Long story short, we began self teaching ourselves all of the kicks as well as some hand tactics. We would then just go at it with one another, never hitting dirty. no head shots, try not to take out the knee of anyone (unless an actual self defense real life scenario)
Often the legs would be “swept”. Sweep the ankle, opponent goes down and then another proactive move. We did this as fun, just being dumb teenagers (and also lots of sports)
Often during a running session, cross country run, running around 2nd base, etc. There were times that an ankle would hurt. Sometimes it would be some muscle pain in a leg or heal pain. We never went to doctors. We would ice and stretch elevate and rest just sayimg things like “sprained an ankle guys or strained a hamstring or quad so I’m done for a week”
Fast forward to age 18 when I first walk into a Doctors clinic because my knee was in severe burning pain that just wouldn’t get better. Couldnt tell doctor if the knee was involved, just gave backstory about the many small sports related sprains and strains.
Doctor in 1985 takes a knee xray and said it looked good. He then did physical exam and upon my 3rd return visit he descriped my knee (patella) and prescribed 800 mg Motrin tablets. In 1981 Motrin 800 was Rx only. I continued to take high dose Motrin for years and they didn’t really help the knee pain. Tylenol didnt help. I resorted to 99 cent bottles of uncoated aspirin. Aspirin helped the pain some but my pain would increase (remained active with knee pain) and my aspirin intake would increase. It got to the point of taking 3 to 4 aspirin every 3 to 4 hours, steadily up to 24 to 28 aspirin daily and every day. Then began takimg Tums due to aspirin causing stomach discomfort. Bloody stool eventually yet continued all this aspirin just in attempt to lower knee pain. Reducing that pain was more important than pain and damage from aspirin, rolaids and tums.
One evening late 1987 age 20, I was actually.taking aspirin and washing it down with a beer instead of water. Also motrin and aspirin on an empty stomach.
I crashed. Not in a wreck but my body. I fell from a standing position, knew something bad had happened because believe it or not, Ive completed paramedic firefighter training. Ambulance responds. My blood pressure was only 54 systolic so IV lactated ringers large bore and MAST suit applied. (Yes 1980s procedures)
The ER had quickly determined that my stomach had ripped open and completely emptied elsewhere, along with internal bleeding. Emergency surgery completed and stomach fixed.
The surgeon that had repaired the stomach had asked my father why his child was popping 24 to 30 aspirin daily. Dad knew it was excessive but no clue I was doing so much just to try to minimize knee pain. Had no insurance as a young adult not on parents plan in the 80s. The surgeon that repaired the stomach told my father that no matter how good he fixed me up, I would resort right back to taking excess aspirin (or worse) for pain. He had an Ortho sugeon friend do a consult. The ortho opinion was that excess aspirin wouldnt help knee pain but could help hip pain. I told the doc my hip didnt hurt and all painnlocalized to L knee. He had a hunch and ordered hip xrays, ct. Surgeon then ordered a bone scan (not sure if hospitals had mri in 87).
The sugeon stated that an area in L hip came up “hot” on bone scan. I was advised I would have open hip surgery (1987) and the procedure was two fold. He described the hip bone similar to a tree, using the analogy that inside a tree gets a circle ring for each year grown, drew picture to show that and then drew a picture of what a knot looked like. He said they had to cut that knot out of my hip bone but that they would also make everything smooth by filling in the removed bone legion with many and many very tiny tiny bone shavings that would be taken from 2 different hip areas higher towards the pelvis. Expected 6 to 7 hour surgery, 2 weeks hospital stay, 3 months complete bed only, 6 months crutches, learn to walk and get strong with PT followed by droppingncrutches to 1 and then a cane. Estimated recovery time 1 year minimum.
Post surgery, 12 hospital staffers had to coordinate how to lift me in complete unisom from surgical bed to hosp room bed. I was drugged up and still screamed in pain for that move. An open hip surgery with bone cut out and bone shavings packed in was so very painfull just to inhale or exhale. Never kmew how hip was used for breathing. Hospital drugs were unbelievable compared to todays standards. My IV would bolus pain meds. I’d also receive a shot inn the ass every 30 minutes Demerol and every 3 hours a Tylenol #4 PO. With all this, the pain was excrutiating for the 1st week. Event we slowly weaned off hosp meds and was transported home via ambulance with crutches and pain pills (Demerol)
Lots of meds for pain. Lots of therapy and a slow road back. Eventually all the surgical pain was gone. There were many months,.at least a year where sleeping had to be supine without movement. I thougbt i was getting better. I did a follow up with the ortho and told bim nothing hurt anymore whatsoever.
After surgery and being completely off of my feet for over a year, nothing hurt. I was cleared to work.
I went back working a actively as a firefighter again part time for my home town. About 6 months after supposedly being fixed, the identical pain came back. I didnt want that ordeal over again. I began self treating with aspirin, Tylenol and Aleve. I was also attemptimg to stay active and test to become a full time firefighter.
To become full time, one could not have any past spine injury, knee or major hip. So I denied. I got hired. Worked my tail off but always had a 500 ct. bottle of tylenol
Fast forward to years later after staying active, working but always in pain, able to block out pain for a fire or rescue but back immediately aftetwards, lots of OTC pain meds and NEVER a day without pain or night without sleep.
Every year or so another x ray said knee clear so just go back to work.
Repeat but then eventually get mri that says knee clear. Keep repeating this cycle over 20 years with the pain getting worse by year, month, week and day until simply just unable anymore.
Had a spinal fusion c3 c4 c5 c6. Healed ok as far as surgical pain. Still used rx pain meds for some neck pain but then later began to use more for the knee pain because they helped some.
Knee pain turned into knee and hip pain over the years. Pain meds for failed cervical fusion and failed R rotator cuff tear repair. Eventually prescribed 8 to 10 norco 10-325 daily along with 4mg Dillauded or sometimes MS Contin.
Pain has spread entire left leg. Sciata like except pain is 24/7 even with rest and 24/7 either buttock spasm and variousnspasm ot nerve throbs down the L leg.
We are to the point now 30+ years later where Dr. says “nothing we can do we tried everything”
My PCP did all blood testing, othrt testing to see if any rearons contributing to chronic pain, fatigue or depression but sent everything else out to my PM doctor.
PM dodctor had no trouble prescribing rx medications. Eventially became Oxycodone IR and Oxycontim 20mg ER as long as I was willing to comtinue all these spine and neck procedures (injections)
Meanwhile the pain is becoming unbearable and nevet without pain unless asleeo with a sleeping pill.
Anyways, cerviacal blocks, multiplr cervical injrctions, lumbar blocks and injection, sacrum blocks, complete G blocks, more and more, along with supplemental health insutance denials, etc
What weve found ovet years
C3 thru6 requited fushion
2 AMIs RCA
MRI -‘labral LHIP & to RHIP
Pain meds no relief
Trial Neuro stimuator no relief
Pain pump morphine no relief
Told read bible now for insperation
MRI brain – white matter found
Patient has also reported that if has chronic left leg burning.
Patient reported what used to be isolated to knee is now in knee, calf and ankle but mri of knee calf or ankle not warranted.
Patient has often though poss Piifodmis Synsrome and told “impossible’
Also asked doctor if any way it could be an old ankle injury and was told no.
It seems like PM Doctors wanted me on their pain meds as long as I was able to continud treafment.
Seems like once I’ve exhausted all spine related options that no additional options not .
Seems like once spine options stop to exist, pain meds taken away and told to read.
Seems like once spine options dont exist then NOTHING exists.
Seems like doctors dont listen to patients.
If i can possibly lye supine for 3 days perfectly still, then only the ankle hirts for the first few minutes.
Ive asked doctors about Piriformis and always told “no” despite my textbook symptoms.
Asked for a leg mri just to at least rule it outand was told no.
Why do doctors always say its spine?
Could chronic pain 24/7 possibly be from some old ankle injury?
Thanks, it seems like sometimes a doctor just wont think a injury causing chronic pain is anything but a spinal injury or that blocks and injections solve all.
Can an old ankle injury be diagnosed?
Can a Piriformis injury be diagnosed
This is waaaaaay to complicated for these questions to be answered without a super-thorough evaluation done of all the joints from the spine down to the ankle. I would find the most experienced osteopath or PT in your region and have them block off at least an hour or so of time to go over this. I do think that the knee pain could be a referral pattern from either the hip or the lower back. An old ankle injury could possibly be diagnosed, but that would be more a reflection of a chronic lack of adequate range of motion into “dorsiflexion”, or something along that line.
A lack of mobility in the left ankle from the sprain could cause a compensation in the other leg with running. First and foremost, I would look at how much “dorsiflexion” each ankle has. If the left is restricted, I would have the PT work on that. Having the PT watch you running on a treadmill might also be very useful.
Thanks a ton Dan! I just did the kneeling test and I definitely have more limited dorsiflexion on my right ankle (the twisted one). I found some exercises to help increase the mobility. I really appreciate your help. It’s interesting that my physio never had me do this test nor pay much attention to how my dorsiflexion was. Great idea to have them watch me run.
Hello, I’ve had a history of ankle sprains over the years. The most recent one was a bit odd. I treated it with regular rehab and icing as the previous injuries but after 9 months I’ve noticed something strange. My foot seems a bit smaller and my Achilles is shapes differently than the other. I also have lower back pain and I’m unable to replicate the same range of motion and flexing as the the leg. My calf muscle is also weaker and much smaller than the other.I feel like this has effected my entire spine. My ankle seems a bit loose and cracks while twisting and turning. How should I go on about this. Is it too late? I feel as if my body is deformed now and I’m only 21. It’s rather depressing since sports are a big hobby of mine.
That is a bit strange. I would see an orthopedist about it. Muscle atrophy may be a longer-term effect of chronic ankle sprains, but if you are noticing this only recently, this warrants a trip to the MD. I would also get a PT evaluation.
Hi. I fell a week ago and twisted my right ankle when i was out, so I didn’t get to ice right away when it happened. I kind of started walking on it the next day but with a lot of pain and limping. The next few days i still feel pain when I walk on it. It hurts when i push my foot into a shoe. When I try to get up from sitting on the floor it hurts. I’ve been icing it and elevating it as well but my ankle and leg are still very swollen and bruises keep appearing on my foot, ankle and leg. I’ve been stretching my leg and kind of moving my ankle around and it hurts when I do that. I’m also always on my feet at work. Should I go see a doctor?
There is a possibility that you fractured something, I would see an orthopedist about this.
I would see the doc or a PT about it Paige.
Hello. I sprained my ankle 9 months ago playing basketball. After a week I went to the ER to get X Rays and there was no damage. Used a splint and did the PRICE routine for weeks and the swelling went down and the pain reduces greatly. I did balance excersises for a few months as well. I was able to get back to playing basketball and lifting weights almost as if it didn’t happen although it tightens up here and there and the back of my ankle hurts sometimes when I jump. Also, when I run I get a pain in my ankle and sometimes my knee. It’s been at times inconsistent and I want to try something that will get me back to 100% or close to it. Besides going to see a therapist, is there a routine you can recommend to help strength, get flexibility back, and reduce pain in my ankle?
I think that there might be some residual stiffness in some of the ankle joints. That is very difficult to address on your own. The “soleus” type stretch does tend to help with one of the ankle joints (see ankle exercises). Otherwise I would see a PT and have the ankle mobilized a few times.
That sounds very strange. I would have a rheumatologist do some blood work to see if there are any abnormalities. I would also think that a consult with a neurologist would be a good idea, but it sounds like you already covered that base. Bringing her to a large hospital to see an orthopedist is a good idea. Someplace like John Hopkins in Baltimore, or MGH in Boston, or maybe the Mayo Clinic? Problems that are not diagnosed sometimes need to be looked at by people in the top of their respective fields. Good luck with this.
Hello,
In 2013 I rolled my ankle. I had X-rays went to put and since then have rolled it 20+ times. My ankle will randomly give out on me and I cannot run around the yard with my son without fear of rolling it again, I also cannot wear heels or when I do it feels like my ankle separates and then it rolls. I have no idea what to do as the doctors feel it’s fine and there is nothing they can do. Is this true?
I would find an ankle orthopedist and ask about a “Brostrom procedure”. There is a specific surgery that can be done that tightens up the structures on the outside portion of the ankle.
I sprained my ankle a while back and not if I step wrong I till my ankle and it’s very painful and makes it hard to walk in uneven surfaces. What can I do to fix this issue
I would have it checked out by a doctor. There are exercises that can be done to help with the stabilization. Feel free to look at some of the exercises on the website under “ankle”. The rubber band exercises are usually a good place to start.
I tore some tendons in my right ankle about a year ago and still to this day I have times where the right side on my ankle will be killing me if I’m on my feet for long periods of time. I take Tylenol for the pain and it helps sometimes but I wanted to know if there’s anything else I can do other than take Tylenol and use a ice pack for the pain.
See a manually based PT. You might need to have the ankle mobilized / stretched.
I have sprained the same ankle numerous times and now I have a very limited range in motion it constantly hurts and I have to walk a certain way so that I don’t put pressure on my ankle. I could be walking and my ankle would basically give out ice teied the ankle braces but after a while they just make the pain worse
I would get in to see either an orthopedist or a physical therapist. Some states (and the District of Columbia) have direct access to physical therapy.
Hmmm, that is weird. Did the PT do manual stuff to her ankle? If the PT did just exercises, I would find a PT who performs manually based mobilizations / interventions. I would bet that she has some restrictions in one or more of the joints of the ankle resulting from the sprain. I would also have her waling analyzed by the PT to see if anything looks strange.
I had ligament and tendon repair surgery 7 years ago. This week I turned my ankle and felt a pop. The doctor said I have reinjured the ligaments. I am in a boot and start therapy next week. With having the previous surgery and now another injury what are the chances physical therapy will totally heal my ankle? Or would you think surgery is needed to repair my ankle again?
That is a very hard question to answer. You have several ligaments that stabilize the lateral ankle, so it is possible that you sprained one of the non-operated ligaments. It all depends on the angle of the sprain. I would do the course of PT and see how stable it feels afterwards. If you still feel unstable I would have a diagnostic test to check the integrity of the operative ligament.
Over the years, ( I am 61 ) I periodically feel a sudden sharp pain in my upper ankle joint when it is certain position, accompanied by sudden weakness, though doesn’t last for but a few seconds.
I used to play Basketball and did sprain and roll my ankle several times, but that has been 30 + years ago.
Is that just a consequence from the old injury, or does sound like something could be done to remedy this ?
That is a tough one to answer over the internet. I would go to a physical therapist and have the ankle assessed. It is entirely possible that you can improve either the overall stability of the muscles that surround the ankle or increase the normal movements of the ankle joints. One of those two factors is probably having the effect that you describe.
Most definitely YES! My money is on that the sciatica is a latent, long-term effect of the ankle sprain. When you lose ankle range such as how you describe, it disrupts how you use your buttock muscles to walk. Guess what is a common cause of sciatica? Under-usage of buttock muscles.
I would have that ankle mobilized / manipulated to get back as much glide as possible. A good PT can do that. You can start working on strengthening the buttock muscles (see the hip exercises on our website that are performed on the table), but in my opinion they aren’t going to hep correct your problem until that ankle is more mobile.
Dan, I have been struggling with a ankle synovitis since about 6 months ago. Just before completely stop running I ran a full marathon (first weekend of April). After that race I have not been able to resume running because of pain.
During the preparation of the marathon, about two months before, I suffered a slight ankle sprain that didn’t make me stop running because I did not feel any pain or swelling. Couple of days after that sprain I suffered and ugly Aquiles tendon swelling in the other leg. After two weeks I got healed and could resume training and finally ran the marathon.
Looking backwards, and taking into consideration that I’m still suffering the synovitis, plus ankle stiffness, it seems that something is still not properly healed since the ankle sprain.
What would you recommend? I have already visited a doctor and an therapist, but it seems none of them have correlated all variables because I’m still out of order…
Best regards
Find a really reputable and experienced PT in your area. Get a fresh set of eyes on the problem. I would suggest a PT with manual, “hands on” based intervention training. It sounds like the ankle might need to be mobilized?
I would see a physical therapist about this. You might benefit from having the joints moved a bit.
Two years ago I had was in a minor car accident and got an avulsion fructure as a result of something pushing my ankle inward. I still get intermittent pain and the area is visibly swollen compared to the other ankle. Kindly advise. Many thanks.
If it is still swollen I would have a PT look at it. It sounds like the fibula bone is not moving well.
I sprained my ankle about 5 months ago. The clinic said it wasn’t broken but I have pain moving it. (other than regular walking) anything I can do about it?
Yes. Go and see a good physical therapist.
I’ve sprained my ankle twice and both have been from my seizures and I also dislocated my shoulder the first now I have a shoulder strain before my ankle it kept popping and then I couldn’t movie it or if I got down to do something couldn’t have to fin another way up happening twice should I have ankle support on all the time now??
If you are frequently spraining the ankle, having a support brace is probably a good idea.
When I was 14 years old, I’m 41 now, I was knocked down while playing school basketball and hurt my ankle. My parents had no insurance, so my ankle was wrapped and for a week or so it hurt to walk. Over time the pain stopped but the swelling didn’t. The swelling resently has gotten so bad, that I can’t wear my shoe. Dr has tried fluid pills, but that doesn’t change anything. What could be causing the swelling?
Lack of mobility of selected joints in the ankle is what my money is on. I would schedule an evaluation with a skilled PT to see if these joints can be coerced into moving better.
My daughter broke her left fibula while playing hockey. It was not displaced and did not need surgery. It has been 2 months and the swelling has gone down around the break. But her ankle is considerably swollen all the time. Could she have torn a ligament. She does do physio. She has limited mobility in the foot and can not walk quite normal yet. What can she do to help with the swelling
My guess is that there was also a concurrent sprain. Is the PT working on restoring the ankle joints mobility? If not, ask hi or her to do so. In particular, joint mobilization can be performed by the therapist. Fibular mobilization and midfoot / rearfoot mobilizations might be in order.
So how long will this take before she is able to get back to normal
Probably at least 4-6 months from the time of fracture.
Ugh. I think that a visit to the orthopedist is in order. Those lateral ligaments may be extremely stretched out at this point. An MRI would confirm this.