terrible looking ankle sprain

[ouchifell]

I sprained my ankle last Sunday, 7/9. Right off the bat I could tell it was pretty severe. After icing it on the sidewalk for 20 min, I could not even touch the pavement w/ my foot. That night I went to the emergency room and the doc took some xrays and told me it was not broken. he gave me a cast (air-cast?) and a pair of crutches, told me to ice it regularly, and keep it elevated and that the swelling show go down in a week. all pretty standard stuff. its been about 5 days now and the swelling that was concentrated around my ankle has disappeared, but appears to have spread all over my foot. put simply, my foot is fat. when i try to move my toes, they get caught up on one another. also, dis-coloration in random patches are appearing on my foot. the dis-coloration looks like bruises although they do not hurt. i read about ankle sprains on the web and one website broke it down into categories where a category 3 ankle sprain would be characterized by torn ligaments. i'm pretty sure ligaments do not appear on x-rays and the doctor did not mention anything about this. my foot looks awful although the pain has subsided considerably and i can put more pressure on it now. should i be worried about torn ligaments? anyway i can tell if my ligaments are torn or not? should i be worried about my the mammoth size of my foot? i don't have insurance and the emergency room is already going to cost me a fortune. any advice or diagnosis would be appreciated. i can post or email pictures if desired. thanks in advance.

[Teresainpain]

I sprained my ankle playing soccer two years ago. Mine was a level 3 sprain as well and I'm pretty sure that involves at least partially torn ligaments (but don't quote me on that).  I was told the same general stuff, but they never told me about exercises you need to do for your ankle once it has healed.  The doctor is right in saying that you need to rest and let your ankle heal itself.  However, once you can put a good amount of pressure on your ankle and the swelling has gone down, its a good idea to begin slowly and gently moving your foot around (ie. circular motion to stretch and strengthen the muscles around your ankle).  THe stronger the muscles are, the quicker they will heal from injury, BUT take it very slowly.  I was not told to do any exercises and I have trouble wearing high heels now...Two years later!  I have a physio appt. on Monday to start doing the exercises I should have been doing immediately after my ankle healed.  As for the swelling and bruising, it sounds very normal.  I had some very unattractive bruising all the way up the outside of my foot towards my toes and my foot was so fat i couldn't put a shoe on for quite some time.  Just rest up and follow up with some stretches.  Perhaps make a follow up appt with your doctor just to check on the progress of your ankle in a few weeks.  Good luck!

[star queen]

I suspect you broke your foot. It is not uncommon for a fracture not to show up on the first set of xrays.  Sometimes it will take a week for the separation of the break to show up on xrays.  It would be best if you went to see an orthopedist and get another set of xrays taken.  Xrays taken in a hospital or clinic are "read" by a radiologist.  Orthopedists also "read" xrays, but each looks for different things on the pictures.  Orthopedists will look for variations in the xrays that indicate tendon, ligament, or bone problems, radiologists don't.  In the meantime, continue with icing, but make sure the foot is above the level of the heart.  Lay down flat and raise the foot on pillows (don't forget to support the knee)until it is above the chest. good luck