I play competitive girls hockey and 10 weeks ago i was hit and i fell and hit the boards feet first. I went to the hospital right after and they at first said that the xrays looked funny but then they said that there was no break. It was pretty swollen and bruised, but they told me to stay off of it for a couple weeks and to try some PT. I was on crutches for a little over a week and even then it still hurt to put pressure on it. I did PT for 5 weeks and finaly go the go to skate again. At first i just started in practices, and i was doing fine but i was still playing in pain. Then while skating at my uncles outdoor rink at about 6 weeks in, i hit a rut in the ice and i there was imediate pain and the swelling began to come back. After consulting my physiotherapist, i took the week off and then bought an ankle brace, and wore it inside my hockey skate, at first this worked but everytime that i would twist it the wrong way or just fall, i would get really bad pain and i could barely put pressure on it. After about 5-10 mins the pain would fade but now it has been 10 weeks since it happened and it is still hurting really badly! Everyone has told me that i have to work throught the pain, that it is going to hurt. But i dont know if it should still hurt this bad, if it is more than a sprain, and how much longer am i going to have to deal with this?
No, you don't need to work through the pain, not if it's still swelling up a lot. Vague discomfort may be something you should work through, intense pain isn't. What you need is to figure out exactly what's wrong and why it's not healing.
Other than the initial ER visit, has an orthopedist or any doctor seen it? Do you have any idea what they meant by "the x-rays look funny?" A bad ligament injury might show up in an x-ray as bones in the wrong place.
Can you walk comfortably? Go up and down stairs? Can you pin down where on your ankle the pain and swelling are?
At this point, I'd expect to be off the rest of the season. It's no fun, but you have to get better, not keep damaging yourself.
The Following User Says Thank You to janewhite1 For This Useful Post: sarah1414 (01-17-2011)
If you havent been to either a podiatrist or foot and ankle orthopedist, you really should do so asap. You should never work through the pain. It is possible that you do have an injury. Even if there is no fracture, you may have tendon or ligament damage. Good luck and keep us posted
The Following User Says Thank You to roxygirl1 For This Useful Post: sarah1414 (01-17-2011)
I agree you really need to see a foot and ankle doctor. By continuing to use your foot, you may be doing more damage. Having the x-ray look funny seems to mean there is something wrong in there that needs to be seen by a doctor.
The Following User Says Thank You to Missyluke For This Useful Post: sarah1414 (01-17-2011)
Some ankle sprains heal on their own, and some don't. Assuming that it's just an ankle sprain and nothing else... Rest and physical therapy is your first step. If that doesn't work and the pain/annoyance is great enough, you might want to consider a surgical repair.
When I went to my doctor before surgery, he said that if I could actually just quit spraining it for 6 months, it would probably heal and do okay for me. Unfortunately, I'm too clumsy and just can't seem to get that to happen. Because of my work and insurance situation, I decided to go ahead and do the surgery, rather than keep waiting and watching (it was already a year and a half after the original injury).
You should see an orthopedic surgeon to find out what is really going on and formulate a plan. Continuing to play on it (and reinjuring it) is probably not a good idea.
The Following User Says Thank You to kehorner For This Useful Post: sarah1414 (01-17-2011)
