Medical question--sprained ankle

[luvsJack]

If a person's ankle is "badly sprained, almost fractured" would they be able to walk on it?

Neither I nor any of my loved ones have a hurt ankle. A very dramatic young lady says she stepped in a hole, went to the ER and this is what she says she was told.

When my ankle was "badly sprained, almost fractured", I couldn't even get up from where I fell when it happened. It wasn't that it hurt to put weight on it; it wouldn't hold weight. I was on crutches for several weeks. She is not on crutches and doesn't seem to have any trouble walking except for a small limp.

I just didn't want to be holding back sympathy for someone who really deserved it.

 

[blissventure]

I wouldn't attempt to cyber-diagnose anything. As long as she's not asking you to carry her to her car...I wouldn't worry about it. Be nice, you don't have to go overboard.
Ya know...just be nice like always, and move on.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

My mom did this once. The doctor told her she would have been better of breaking it. Forgot to add: my mom was on crutches for weeks.

 

[DrCavin]

Having finally recovered from spraining my ankle, I will give her all the sympathy she wants!!! Took about 3 months for all the pain to subside when moving my foot around..

 

[luvsJack]

Oh, normally I wold just say "oh, I'm so sorry" and go on about my business. I don't normally give a rat's patooie if someone is making up an injury or not. This girl is trying desperatly to cling to my son and this is just another way to get his attention. So, I am in no trying to give her medical adivce nor do I really even care--just wondering if anyone ever had a sprained ankle like this.

 

[luvsJack]

My mom did this once. The doctor told her she would have been better of breaking it. Forgot to add: my mom was on crutches for weeks.

See, now that is what I was told. And I too was on crutches. Plus the ankle would swell every day when I stayed on it too much.

 

[KAMLEM]

I sprained my ankle last year and I could not put any weight on it for quite a while. I can't imagine being able to walk on it.

 

[LadyEMT]

I also badly sprained my ankle a few years back (sparring in taekwondo class!) It hurt immediately, but I was able to get up and put weight on it, even walk. I thought it wasn't that bad....

LATER THAT NIGHT, I was in tears from just the bed sheet touching it, where it had swelled to grapefruit size and was black and blue. Took a trip to the ER the next morning and had it x-rayed. I was SOOO sure they would say it was broken, but nope, very bad sprain. Had to use crutches for a very short while (maybe 3 days, can't remember) and only had an air cast on it, for about a month I think. And, it hurt quite a bit for a long time.

Then it took a couple of YEARS before I could straighten my foot out completely.

So to answer your initial question, it's possible someone could walk on a sprained ankle immediately after the incident, but in my experience, within a few hours this would be impossible.

ETA: As soon as I got hurt, I went home; didn't want anybody to think I kept sparring on this ankle!

 

[disbridemimi]

I walked on a broken ankle for weeks. The hosptial lost my first set of xrays and wanted me to return for a second set, all of this took more than a week. It hurt, but I hobbled around and walked on it. I was shocked that it was broken. It was huge, swollen and greenish blue though!

Does it look swollen? I'd doubt her if it looks normal.

 

[pezheadmeg]

I can say when I busted my ankle, I initially stood up and walked myself up the step and into a chair. I'm not sure if it was pure adrenaline, but within a few minutes I was swollen to the size of a football.

When I got to the ER they were certain it was just a sprain and dislocation because I was so swollen. Nope, X-rays showed 3 breaks and I got 4 pins, a plate, a screw, and an airport metal detector proof card to show for it.

And yes, I've walked around for weeks with torn tendons--the orthopedist answer, tape it up and pop advil. The tendons were a lot more painful than the break itself.

 

[tazdev3225]

I broke my ankle several years ago and walked on it for over a day before I would go to the ER. I even drove myself. Two weeks later I hacksawed the cast off, taped it and walked on it. My brother walked on a broken ankle for 2 days. I have also sprained that ankle at least 6 times and broke it one other time. I am a bit klutzy. I walked on it every time with a cane for a day or two and that was it. Everybody reacts to pain differently and some people can tolerate pain better than others. It does hurt but I would rather deal with the pain than the cast.

 

[MonkeyDishwasher]

Ha, I'm on my second week home and trying to recover from a sprained ankle. The night it happened (I was out at a karaoke bar with friends), I had to be driven back to my friends place, which was literally next door. I had to hop on one foot to get anywhere, and it was HUGE and immediately black and blue.

The next morning I went to the ER, got the X rays and all that, and found out it was just a bad sprain. Since then, I've pretty much only left the house to go to the doctor's office, and been alternating using crutches and hopping on one foot as my mode of transportation.

It's finally at a point where it can touch the floor, and do a VERY light limp, but walking just feels like it puts immediate stress and pressure on the bones in my ankle. It sucks, but hopefully I'll be up within a week or so. Being home so much is driving me nuts!!!

 

[irishbosoxfan]

I was walking down the back steps with my then 2 year old DD in my arms when I fell. I threw all my weight backwards so she wouldn't get hurt and almost folded in two.I slid down the steps with my left ankle behind my back.

I got up checked her out (she had scrapped her leg) and hobbled to the car,took her to the babysitters where I helped clean her up a little then flew out the door because I was already late for my waitressing job.

I worked all day and during lunch called my doctor who made an appointment for me 2 days later(after asking me if I could walk on it and giving me some relief remedies...keep it raised,ice,ace bandage). I also worked the following day.

I went to the doctors and it was bruised and swollen and he sent me for xrays. It turns out I had broken 3 of the small bones in my ankle. I ended up with an air cast instead of a plaster one which was more of a pain to wear while trying to work so I only wore it when I was going to be home.

So I guess for me I was able to walk around on the ankle but I had a noticable limp for about a month. The bruising and swelling were totally gone within 2 weeks.

If you think she's using this more as a sympathy ploy to keep her grip on your son you're probably right.

 

[disney1990]

I badly sprained my ankle and didn't walk on it for over 2 weeks -- per doctor's orders. We were supposed to be leaving for vacation in a month and he said, if I expected to be able to walk on it during our vacation, then I was to put absolutely no pressure on it. When we went on vacation, I wore high top Reeboks to give the ankle added support.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

When I was younger (like Jr. High) I sprained my ankles quite regularly, a few times a year from gymanastics, cheerleading and acting like an idiot Most of the time I could walk on it with a good limp, a few times I needed crutches and they were always wrapped at least. One time I broke my ankle and didn't even know it for weeks, that didn't hurt as bad as the sprains. If its really that bad she isn't walking on it with just a slight limp.

 

[MushyMushy]

Oh I'm the ankle sprain queen!

Back the first several times it happened, I was able to walk fairly well shortly after it happened. But the more times I sprained it, the worse it hurt and the less I could walk. My doc also told me that I'd be better off breaking it than spraining it. My tendons and ligaments are so damaged, they no longer cover the ankle bone like they should, but they are all balled up beneath the bones.

Everybody's different, but it's possible she can walk okay.

 

[dismom2]

I've had a few bad sprains with torn ligaments. One I could walk/hobble on (very lightly---it was painful), but it was swollen, hurt and bruised. One I could not walk on at all afterward (I fell) and had to hop to get to my car. It immediately swelled up, turned black and green over time (over a large area of my foot, ankle and above my ankle) and hurt like heck for a long time. I used crutches for maybe a week, then limped on it for a while. It took a year before it fully healed. Like another PP said, I was told the bad sprain was worse than breaking it. My ankle will be weaker from now on, I was told. Another time, it swelled a little and was hard to walk on for a couple of days, but then felt fine---but a week later I did it again because it was still weak. That time it only hurt to walk on it for a day or two.

 

[KAMLEM]

The doctor told me that most times a sprain is more painful than a break. I think that's probably true - most of the people who said they could walk on theirs in this thread either broke or fractured it.

 

[luvsJack]

The doctor told me that most times a sprain is more painful than a break. I think that's probably true - most of the people who said they could walk on theirs in this thread either broke or fractured it.

Thats what I was just noticing as I was reading through the responces! And the dr. told me right off the bat that it would have been better if I had broken mine. When I sprained mine so bad, it really wasn't so much the pain if I tried to put weight on it (although it was very painful if something even pushed down on my toe, like someone mentioned the sheet or blanket touching it) but it was as if my ankle was too weak to hold me up. And it was that way for weeks.

I really think she may have turned her ankle and maybe even slightly sprained it; I just don't think its hurt as bad as she is making it seem. But, I guess if pretending makes her happy, so be it.

I haven't made the slightest comment to ds or to the girl; so neither know I even suspect this. I was just really wondering if it was possible. I am afraid she is fighting a losing battle anyway, he's just too smart for that. (thank goodness!)

 

[golfgal]

First of all, a bad sprain does not lead to a fracture. A sprain involves the soft tissue of a joint-stretched/torn ligaments. A fracture, obviously, involves the bones. You can't really fracture your "ankle" as that is a joint but you can fracture the bones that make up the ankle.

As for walking on it, yes, you can walk on a sprain, but it is painful. What really hurts is the swelling which is why sprains often can be more painful then a break because you don't get the instant swelling with a break unless there is soft tissue damage with the break.

Using the joint, within reason, actually helps it heal faster because it creates more blood flow to the area, and helps reduce swelling. Staying off a sprained ankle for 2 weeks is old advice, typically given by a GP that doesn't deal with them that often. Usually if you see someone in sports medicine they will advise a couple days of crutches for severe sprains, lots of elevation, ice and anti-inflammatory meds.

I sprained my ankle quite severely when I was in 7th grade. I walked on it right away, it hurt like crazy. By the time I had walked across the street to my house from where I hurt my ankle I could feel the swollen skin hanging over my shoe. I ended up on a cast--hindsight was a terrible solution--because the swelling would not go down. Never once did anyone suggest ice and elevation. I remember tying to sleep that night and how PAINFUL the sheet on my bed was just laying over the top of my foot.