Sprained ankle/ankle injury

Hello, I would like to have your opinion on my foot injury.

About 1.5 months ago I injured my foot in a bicycle accident. It all happened so fast that I don't know exactly what happened, but the injury seems to be composed of a sprain on the lateral side of the foot and some other form of injury on the ankle.

The outer "knob" has healed somewhat and feels pretty good now, particularly when comparing to the ankle.

A bit more about the problem with the ankle. The injury is located right at the front and bottom of the ankle... you could say it goes from knob-to-knob at the front of the ankle. If you have trouble envisioning where this is it corresponds quite well with ”superior extensor reticulum" on this picture, but I would say it's not as highly situated, it's a bit lower down on the ankle.

picture: http://www.infobarrel.com/media/image/58281.jpg

So when I put a bit of exertion on the ankle, like walking or biking, it can swell up horizontally across the ankle.

What should I do and don't to make this heal? How long would it reasonably take for it to heal?

Oh yeah and a question about compression. Should I have compression bandage on during sleep? My foot hurts like hell when I do that (primarily the ankle area described earlier, but also a little on the knob). And it's not that I've thigthened the bandage extremely thight, it's about the same thightness as during the day.

Thank you for your answers.

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

Well, without the relevant clinical details it would be difficult to comment on the situation. Depending on the severity, sprains may take 1-6 weeks to heal. On an average, one would expect most mild to moderate injuries to heal by 4-6 weeks, in the absence of other complicating factors; while severer ones may take longer. I understand you have already been to an orthopedician and my advice would be to follow his/ her instructions. In addition if it still hurts or swells on movement you may try resting the ankle and avoiding too much of motion around the joint. You could use a crepe bandage for the same. Ice-packs may help bring the swelling down, while NSAIDS may be used to relieve the pain and discomfort.
Hope this helps.

Take care!