Posted on 01/25/2019 7:19:47 AM PST by Tennessee Conservative
I seldom post and never post vanities but I'm desperate. In November I fell and twisted my foot under me. The foot swelled but swelling was minimal a week later. A month later I went to the Podiatrist for x-rays because I thought it should be 100% by then. Nothing was broken but he said I had torn all of the ligaments and tendons in my foot and ankle. He told me then that exercise would aid with healing but DO NOT fall on it again and if it hurts stop doing whatever was causing the pain. I have been using a cane when necessary and wearing an orthopedic boot outside on unlevel ground on his advice. Except for the first two weeks there has been very little pain, except when I try to put a regular shoe on, so I don't. It's mostly just extremely tired at the end of the day.
At two months I called and asked why this foot was still swelling some and I couldn't walk normally by now. He said that it could take up to six months to heal.
At three months post injury I'm still wearing hiking sandals with firm soles because it still hurts to flex the joint behind the big toe, not as much but painful enough that I don't want to do it. I walk better but I have a slight limp because I can't flex the toe area without pain and I walk slowly. I can't get a regular shoe on. I tried yesterday and after the pain subsided the toe swelled. The foot randomly swells in random areas. It's minimal and wouldn't be noticed unless compared to the other foot. It's also still slightly blue. It's never swollen in the morning. Sometimes it doesn't swell until after lunch. Sometimes it swells immediately. There is not much pain, just swelling in different areas of the foot and inflexibility in the joint behind the toe.
He said I could ride the stationary bike as long as the pain was "tolerable" so I have been doing that. It doesn't hurt unless I raise the resistance and even then the pain is minimal. He said I could even get the road bike out as long as it didn't hurt but I'm afraid to try that right now. He said pedaling a bike would aid with healing as long as I don't crash.
He said I could use muscle heating rubs on it but they make the swelling worse. Ice makes the swelling less. I walked all over the Wal-Mart super-center yesterday and had minimal swelling. Today I haven't done much and the swelling is worse than yesterday. Socks, even loose ones, make it swell more. I have to wear the hiking sandals without socks and it's freezing outside. The stationary bike doesn't cause swelling.
I need advice and encouragement from Freepers that have gone through this. When I complained about it not healing fast the doctor laughed and said a break would have healed faster.
I am very discouraged because I'm an outdoor person and sitting around is driving me nuts and causing me to worry about the fate of the foot.
Bump for orthopedic surgeon.
Mine was a knee but required surgery to fix. I suspect that you will need an MRI. It is my experience that torn soft tissue can indicate other tears that are not as visible to an external examination.
Take an aspirin.
Sprained my ankle twice playing football, that was in 1975. To this day I still have minor problems with it from time to time. If I’m not careful and step off a curb wrong or in a hole for example it can minor sprain easily. What you Dr. said about a break healing faster is exactly what mine said back then. As far as footwear, not sure wearing hiking sandals with firm soles is enough support. You might want to opt for ankle high boots and sneakers for a while if you have them. Sounds like your ankle needs all the support you can get right now so it will have time to heal. Also, ice does me wonders for swelling.
Having said all that, what Sacajaweau said....it could be worse. Good luck.
He said that none of them were ruptured, just partial tears. He said that if there were actual ruptures that I wouldn’t be walking on it or at least not without extreme pain, which I don’t have. He manipulated the foot to check for pain and there was none when manually moved. The only pain I have is if I try to flex my big toe up by using my ligaments and tendons. I can pull it up with my hands all day and it doesn’t hurt. When I asked about that he said it was normal.
Torn ligaments are a beotch to heal. It takes forever.
If you are near Knoxville, go see Dr. Bill Youmans...He is the University of Tennessee athletics Orthopedic surgeon...
He fixed my rotater cuff just fine...
First of all, you need to see an orthodepic surgeon PRONTO, or sports medicine doctor
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This... I knew I was an official old guy ten years ago when I was bragging to people that I had a really good ortho surgeon. He knows the wife and I on a first name basis.
The first time I went to him I had a knee that was out of whack. My regular doctor suggested some shots and some of this and that. So I went to see Dr. Ortho, he said go across the hall, get a scan. Came back an hour later and he said we will do surgery Monday. I felt great very soon afterwards.
He gets right to the root of the problem and fixes it. No prolonged trial and error stuff.
I damaged my elbow doing repetitive movement. It was the opposite of tennis elbow. The doctor said that tendons do not have a good blood supply. That’s why healing takes so long or never happens. He told me it would be that way the rest of my life. I couldn’t pick up anything with my arm fully extended a year after the activity. Later I read about Iron Man contestants preloading Bromelain to eliminate post contest inflammation. I started taking Bromelain at least six times a day. It took about two months for my elbow to heal. It’s never caused me trouble since. If you try it get the highest GDU capsule content. Do not go by milligrams.
There are extremely few injuries that are not found in NFL medicine. Ankle injuries of all kinds are treated by team specialists. If you live near Nashville, find out who is the Ortho surgeon for the Titans. Make an appointment. I guarantee they are familiar with your injury and know how to ‘get you back in the game’. They treat multi-million dollar ‘assets’ regularly.
Your hurt.
Your ankle may never heal on it’s own or it may but it won’t if you keep hurting it. You need to not stretch the tendons in your ankle for at least 6 months perhaps as long as a year. One day you will wake up and realize that it no longer hurts if it heals. If you still have this problem in a year you might want to consider alternatives.
Surgery is not always successful and sometimes creates more problems than it solves. The human body is well made, it can’t always repair everything but it comes close.
Good Luck.
Rest Ice Elevate Compression
Surprised he suggested working it before it was fully healed.
The after 60 thing made me smile. I’m 64.
I’m not normally injury prone so haven’t dealt with it much. The worst time was when I was kicked by a horse on a trail ride. The leg turned black and swelled for months. The ankle swelled to where it almost touched the ground. I wrapped it in an ACE bandage for six months and it was a year before it was normal. The second time I was thrown and the horse stepped on my head (temple) I had a black eye and my face was black and swollen on that side all the way to my neck. The difference was that I was young, in my 30’s. I was invincible then. Now that I’m in my 60’s I know I’m mortal and I no longer have horses.
Your podiatrist may be right, but you are concerned, so get a second opinion from an orthopod.
“dizzy for the last 2 weeks”
Vestibular system.
You may eventually get better on your own, but having a physical therapist would speed the healing process. Swelling/edema is not necessarily bad. Swelling is a natural process that allows the tissue to repair itself. As you push yourself to be stronger and more limber, you will have bouts of swelling that correspond to that activity. This is why having a physical therapist is a good idea because he or she can monitor your improvement and adjust your therapy.
Two suggestions:
get an evaluation for gout.
see an orthopedic surgeon.
I severed all the tendons in the back of my right hand in 2014. Surgery and four months of rehab fixed the problem.
At first, surgeon wanted to wait and see. When that didn’t help, operation.
BTW, almost complete recovery. I can touch type again.
If you’re in north Alabama or southern Tenn. Contact TOC in Huntsville.
I need to give my daughter that advice too. She has a torn rotator cuff and is putting off surgery. The doctor I saw is licensed as a podiatry surgeon and has been for 20 years. I don’t know if that’s the same as an orthopedic surgeon or not.
Tendons are complex. They are very strong, but when injured take a long time to heal.
Pain is your body’s way of saying “Don’t do that if you want it to heal” (not always, but often in case of such injuries).
Listen to your body. Get plenty of protein. Use heat or cold as makes it feel better. Explore wraps or some sort of support.
If it takes a year, it takes a year, there’s really nothing you can do except give it time to heal and get enough protein and sleep.
It *will* heal.
There could be a Gout issue. Take two Aleve just before bed and see if it helps.
Could be an inner ear infection.
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