Sprained/twisted ankle question

[Idahomom]

My dd8 was playing football today at recess when she apparentley twisted(?) her ankle. School called and said it was already starting to bruise but that she was fine-not crying and just having a little pain. So dh went to make sure everything was okay. She was fine so he let her stay at school. My question is -is the bruising normal so soon? I'm tempted to take her to the dr., but then again I'm a worry wart.

 

[lovemygoofy]

If your dd can walk without limping and really doesn't have any bad swelling then everything is okay. You might want to give her a tylenol or whatever you use to ease any throbbing. I would also advise an ice pack this evening. Prop her ankle on a pillow and then wrap some cloth around ice or something frozen and place on her ankle for a bit. Tomorrow I would put a warm pack on it if it is still tender. I will tell you that the bruising won't be pretty and you will freak out and tomrrow it will be worse. I have had MANY MANY ankle sprains and ankle breaks, please feel free to ask me any questions. I hope her ankle gets better soon.

 

[clh2]

I know I get paranoid about things like this. Do you absolutley know that a bone has not benn broken? I always try to error on the side of caution - especially since I am not an expert on things like if a bone is broke in an ankle.

 

[Idahomom]

I'm assuming nothing is broken. She can walk just fine. She's a tough girl though so she might not be complaining due to the fact she hates to miss school. Unless things change this evening I will try what you recommend lovemygoofy.

Thanks!

 

[lovemygoofy]

No problem but do make her wiggle all her toes and watch her put her weight down on it just once to see if you see anything out of the ordinary. The level of swelling and kind of knot formed will also be signs that she should see her doctor. I will say that her ankle will be weaker than usual so I would say no sports for a week. I know she might not like that but is she doesn't her ankle won't heal properly.

 

[golfgal]

Former college athletic trainer here: bruising is actually a good sign. Yes, it is normal to see brusing so quickly. A sprain is a stretching or tearing of soft tissue, so when that happens, there is blood, thus the bruising and swelling. The best thing to do is to follow the RICE program, rest, ice, compression, elevation (be careful with the compression as if it is still swelling, it will soon get too tight). I wouldn't use anything but ice for at least 48 hours, heat will increase swelling. After 48 hours, if needed, you can alternate ice and heat, just start and end with heat (ice for 10 minutes, heat for 10 minutes, ice for 10 minutes then nothing for at least an hour). For the athletes we did this all day long, with an 8 year old, yeah right! Kids heal pretty fast.

As for it being broken, yes, it is possible, but usually you don't have swelling and bruising right away with a break, the bone gives before the ligaments give so you don't really stretch them as much with a break, usually. With a break, usually the next day have have a very distinct line of bruising, almost like someone drew the bruise on your skin. You will get a similar line of bruising with a sprain, but usually not for a few days and that will be mixed in with all the other bruising.

You can still have broken bones in your leg, ankle and foot and still be able to walk on them pain free, it just depends on what kind of fracture you have and where it is in your foot ankle or leg. We had a boy on our cross country team run the entire season with a broken bone in his foot (the team taking first in state and 7th in Nationals even).

Chances are it is just a sprain. It will be very sore in the morning after sleeping all night and it getting stiff. Have her try to walk as normally as possible. The motion of walking will also help get the blood moving in the area (to a point-I wouldn't suggest walking Disney on a fresh sprain).