i fell down stairs at work 10 weeks ago. initially the foot was put in plaster, for a week for suspected fracture when x rayed again showing signs of no fracture.
i have been back and forward to the hospital for examination and nothing.
i have received 12 days physio and still no response from foot.
i have been told it could be possible tendon damageand small hairline fractures on joint surfaces. i cannot weight bear on this foot at all and am currently on crutches.
i have been to hospital several times and no one is doing anything.
i am frustrated with not being able to put weight on foot, and my leg is considerably thinner than the other one. the foot is numb and keeps going blue i am in considerable pain.
any ideas please as to the problem i really am at the end of my tether.
please help if you can.
You said that you have had x-rays, but have you had an MRI? That is the only way to determine damage to the tendons. Have you seen a foot and ankle specialist yet? Also the fact that you foot is goes numb and your toes turn blue would make me wonder about a circulation problem. Good Luck!
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thanks for your reply. no i have not had an mri scan yet. circulation would make sense as the foot has been unused for 10 weeks. its the being unable to weight bare that is puzzling me. maybe a severed tendon or ligament. who knows have to wait and see what happens.
thanks again
Have the doctors told you not to weight bear, or is it just too painful? Are you in some kid of brace for support? If there was tendon or ligament damage, it should have healed in ten weeks of no weightbearing. Maybe try to ge a walking boot and start putting pressure on it while it is well protected... this will also get some blood moving through it again. Also, what kind of pain do you have and where is it. Maybe if you describe the pain, it will give us a better idea of waht is wrong. Good luck!
thanks for replying. the pain is just behind my ankle bone and down the side of my right foot. i cannot weightbare due to the pain not because i've been told not to. it pops occasionally and is a stabbing pain. thanks for your help
Is it the inside or outside part of your foot? You said the pain runs down along the side of your right foot. Is that near the bottom, middle, or top part of your foot?
If the pain is on the outside of the ankle (behind your lateral maleolous, it sounds as if you might have torn either your peroneal tendon(s), or the retinaculum that holds them in place. The popping might be the tendons subluxing over the maleolous. Does the popping occur when you move your ankle? If this is what has happened... there are probably two options for treatment. The first would be to put you in a boot or cast to prevent movement(everytime you move your ankle, it causes the tendonds to move), and allow them to heal without surgical treatment. Because of the time that has passed from your original injury, I do not know how well your ankle would respond to non-surgical treatment. THe other option would be to have the tendons surgically repaired. This usually required about 4 weeks NWB, a week or 2 PWB, and then a few weeks in a boot, followed by physical therapy, depending on what activities you want to get back to. I recommend going to an ankle specialist and getting an MRI as this is the only definitive diagnostic tool. If you evert your ankle (roll it to the outside of your body), and you feel the tendonds snap over the bone, that is a pretty good sign that you have a torn retinaculum. Good LucK!
Ten weeks... that's way too long. You need to get a second opinion, or a third, and some more conclusive diagnostic tests. Don't take "I don't know" for an answer. If they don't know from looking at the x-rays, ask them to do a test that would help them figure it out (MRI for soft tissue, bone scan to detect hairline fractures, etc.). I am very sorry that you are dealing with doctors that don't respect your time. It's one thing for them to diagnose a problem and try a conservative treatment before surgery, but it's completely another for them to not even try to get an accurate diagnosis. Definitely stand up for your right to get a diagnosis and proper treatment! Good luck.
Hey Spacey_11, it seems like you and I are in a pretty similar situation. I am really into soccer, running, and basketball, work in a college residence hall, and am scheduled to have a Brostrom in late December (timed to coincide with winter break). Can you give me an idea of how long you had bad pain for, how soon you were able to navigate campus, and when you were able to return to "real" sports. I saw in one post that you play rugby, are you able to play without a problem this season? Any advice or things you wish you knew? Thanks!
I originally injured my ankle freshman year in highschool. It gave me some problems through school, but nothing too horrible...nothing I couldn't live with. I think it was usually sore and swollen, but I guess I learned to live with it. Last year (my freshman year in college), it started to give me bigger problems. It would lock for no reason and give out all the time. I assume it was always sore still, but that wasn't my major concern. THe biggest problem was that it was preventing me from doing the things I wanted to. My surgeon said that i could wait to have it done until things got worse, but it wouldnt get any better. I had my surgery last march... a bronstrom as well as repair of osteochondral lesion. Post-op there was less pain that I expected, but the first few days were still pretty bad. I have it over fall break, so I went back to school about 9 days after the surgery. Campus wasn't too bad. I got very tired though, and I tooka nap almost every day. I also lived on the third floor with no elevator.. that was no fun. I was non-weightbearing for 5 weeks, PWB for about 2, in a boot for another week or 2, then an air cast for a while. I was okayed to go back to sports in October, but I didn't feel strong enough or ready to go back. I decided to just run and lift and get ready for the spring season. I still have some tendonitis in my achilles and it locks a little, but I think that has more to do with the lesion. I still run every day to get ready for spring, and I am playing intramural soccer and volleyball right now. I don't feel as agile as I was, but I think that will just take a lot of playing to come back. I am worried abot this achilles though. It feels weak when I do anything without my brace, and I am afraid one day, it is just going to pop.... my mom would never let me play anything again. OH well, I hope your surgery goes well... let me know if you have any more questions. Good Luck!!!
