Ankle Sprain

How long does is usually take for an ankle sprain to come right? This was done a week ago last Monday and am still hobbling.

Cheers,
Ronnie

They can be funny things. If the sprain is a serious one, then you may get repercussions with it for the rest of your life. If it is less serious then It should heal, but you need to use RICE (Rest, ice, compression, elevation,) in the first instance, followed by rest and elevation as often as required but keep off it unless you absolutely need to move about. . A support bandage might also help when you do have to walk and some anti inflammatory cream may also help.

Its the right time of year for the rest. just make sure everyone else knows about possible long term implications and you should be able to put your foot up, keep a glass in hand and enjoy Christmas! But really I hope it heals okay and without any problems and you are able to do the things that will make that happen

Some sprains can be worse than a fracture. If it was done a week ago RICE won't help anymore. RICE should be done for the first 24 to48 hrs. The compression - tubigrip or crepe bandage - from below to above the joint I.e. From your toes to you knee - should be put on before you get up in the am and off when you go to bed; anti-inflammatories (ibuprofen, diclofenac,naproxen) taken with food (but not if you have history of stomach ulcers, poor kidney function or asthma - you'll just have to use paracetamol in that case ) and elevation higher than your backside for 90% of the time - and yes it does help to sit down to elevate your leg :blink: However it's not a free pass to sit down all over Christmas :whistle: - you'll have to peel the veggies or sample the chocolates. Hope it gets better soon.

Sprains shouldnt last more than a week; torn ligaments are much worse.
I use arnica (mountain daisy) ointment for pain relief, and it's pretty good at alleviating muscle pain. A heat pad or hot water bottle also feels really good on a sore spot!

Here's the link for the ointment that we buy (its from a small company based in Levin-I think-and it works pretty well):
www.kereru.co.nz/webshop/index.php?main_...th=23&products_id=15

I tore my ankle ligament in my right foot when I was fifteen and it took three weeks to heal (I didn'y go to the doc so I didn't wear a cast; hence the long wait and slow healing). Children's injuries always heal much faster; I had the same accident in the same foot when I was seven and it was fine in three days!

Hope you feel better soon!

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!

Kind regards,

Salma (pc15)

Thank you for the help. RICE was used in the first inst. The following day I went to the doctor but was unable to see one and settled for a nurse who told me a sprain. Surprisingly he also told me to use it as much as possible and given my lifestyle, that wasn't hard to do. However, I didn't overdo it and up until the Friday after it happened, it appeared to be improving and then stopped. It would be fair to say it's in the same place it was a week ago.

It didn't occur to me at the time that this is the third injury to this ankle - crushed cartilage when thrown off a horse, sprained when summersaulted by a bull and now this one caused by the cat! - so I'm guessing that each injury is going to take longer to heal?

ZG, I already take Tramadol and maximum paracetamol as well as omeprazole for another complaint which helps counter the pain in the ankle until it starts to wear off. Oddly there is no swelling. I do have the three drugs you mentioned but I would rather not take them if I can avoid it. Would a crepe bandage help at this stage of it? Every time my foot goes over and I yelp I feel that I want something solid there to support it. Gumboots are good to wear but in the kitchen.....!

I'll see how it goes and if no better by Tuesday will demand to see a doctor.

Merry Christmas to you all.
Ronnie

Merry Christmas Ronnie - a crepe bandage will give some support and help prevent you turning your ankle so much. Do you have lace up boots - the ones that lace up higher the ankle ( walking boots) if you do put them on as they will act as a support. You may have osteoarthritis (due to the previous injuries - I'm not making any assumptions about your age :lol: ) which has flared up as a result of the injury - which may explain the lack of swelling.
Do you stagger the pain relief - by this I mean take Tramadol and paracetamol 6 hourly but. alternating them 3 hours after the last dose of a painkiller. E.g. Tramadol at 6, 12,6pm 12mn and paracetamol at 9, 3pm, 9pm and 3 am. If you're not awake at 12mn or 3 am you don't have to wake up to take them :woohoo: . These are only suggestions and not medical advice - that will have to come from your GP - and as I can't see/feel the injured ankle I can't make a full nurse assessment either :whistle:
I agree with Permaculture15 about using Arnica as a cream or tablet. Sprains can last more than a week if there has been a lot of fibers being torn - the amount of swelling/bruising is a good indicator of how much damage has been done. Heat feels good but shouldn't be used initially due to increasing the amount of swelling.

Did you register an ACC claim? If not then get it registered when you see the doctor. Take care and enjoy today.

Thank you for that ZG.

Yes, I do have lace up calf boots left over from my forestry days which I wore to counteract the problems I had with walking on rough ground after the horse incident. I looked them out and decided it was going to take a year of dubbin and sunshine to get the leather supple again. Crepe bandage wasn't too much better - the crepe had departed some time ago. So stumbled through Christmas Day and it would have been hard to say if it was the ankle or the wine Today I had a light bulb moment. When I have caudal epidurals done they sometimes put those compression socks on me and then I bring them home, put them in a drawer because they might come in handy and promptly forget about them. I hunted them out and what an immediate difference - and a bloody sense of relief. It didn't take all the pain away but it supported the ankle and I found I could actually use my toes to walk rather than do it flat footed. Interestingly, today there was quite marked swelling both before and after putting the sock on but that could also be due to the high temperature of the day.

No, I don't stagger the drugs although this was discussed with the doctor and decided that given my lifestyle it would be better to take them 4 x times a day given that for half the day I would either be out of the house or asleep. Your assumptions are correct - I am on the wrong side of 60 so osteo. is a possibility and will talk to the doctor about it when I see her.

Yes, it was registered as an ACC claim so I can go back to it. And unfortunately I don't have any Arnica.

To all who took the trouble to reply, thank you and sincerely hope your Christmas has been happy and pleasant.

Cheers,
Ronnie

In my experience as a radiographer O-arthritis suddenly makes itself felt after an injury. In other words we often have it without knowing but when we have an injury in that area we become aware of it. It may settle down again in time. Of course its also true that the older we get the longer our bodies take to heal so patience is required. The compression sock is great but don't use it constantly or for too long as your ankle will get used to the support and the muscles get lazy.
Hope you can get the foot up sometimes and enjoy some out time.

Some good tips here, thanks for posting everyone-especially the experts!
I have O-arthritis in the big toe joint of one foot and the ankle of the other, which makes walking on rough ground, especially hard hoof prints in summer paddocks, or standing for long periods, very painful.
I too found the compression socks used to prevent DVT on long flights helpful on days I know I will be on my feet-very useful.

I'm now trying krill oil and glucosamine to see if that will help, as well as Dr recommending Vit D once a month.

I find ageing joints very tiresome, when I think I should still be able to climb fences and haystacks, even getting in and out of the Ute, just like I used to 20 years ago!

Sue wrote: Some good tips here, thanks for posting everyone-especially the experts!
I have O-arthritis in the big toe joint of one foot and the ankle of the other, which makes walking on rough ground, especially hard hoof prints in summer paddocks, or standing for long periods, very painful.
I too found the compression socks used to prevent DVT on long flights helpful on days I know I will be on my feet-very useful.

I'm now trying krill oil and glucosamine to see if that will help, as well as Dr recommending Vit D once a month.

I find ageing joints very tiresome, when I think I should still be able to climb fences and haystacks, even getting in and out of the Ute, just like I used to 20 years ago!

I had the same in one of my big toe joints and an ankle. Zostrix helped a lot, but when the joints flared up much more severe than O Arthritis my doc sent me for some tests and discovered it had developed into gouty arthritis a few months on some meds, and it is gone even the funny nob the toe was growing. No more pain! such a relief. Ask your doc next time you see him/her about a gout test.

Thanks SB, the Dr. ruled out gout, though I'm not sure how-but did go for an X-ray which confirmed Osteo A. The knob on the toe joint is becoming quite a nuisance with shoe fitting etc-Doc said it could be removed surgically-but at the time, with winter feeding and calving I said I couldn't be doing with operations on feet and not being able to wear boots! Then I got a letter to say because it wasn't a priority it would be deferred anyway! What were the meds prescribed?

adenuric a new drug that is very expensive if not registered for it by a gp. (mines free) I used to use colchicine but it wasn't doing the job well. Yes I too had xrays to confirm O Arthur Itis.
Allopurinol the other common treatment for gout, caused great chunks of skin to fall off me. One good thing about that is that a large piece of scar tissue (remains of a childhood wart) also fell off and I can no longer see where it was! Now, how can I make my face fall off and improve my good looks? :whistle: :silly:
I don't see how a GP can rule out gout without actually testing for it. They can check levels of uric acid with a quick test strip much like diabetics use for blood sugar levels. My levels were 5 + something but are now under 3