Ankle injuries: What's your experience?

The numbness is wearing off and the pain is starting to kick in. Great. Just great.
If there's any way you can get someone to drive you to the ER, do it. Since you're stuck in a cast, they really should be letting you ride in the car to get you to the trauma center.

Finally got this cast off, but my ankle is still swollen as hell. Is this ever going to go down, or am I just stuck looking "deformed" forever?😕

Hmm... I don't know... It feels somewhat deformed to me now, too... it just looks different than it did before... though, I suppose I did break it once... well, over a year ago, so... 🙏I'm really not sure...

My mom broke her ankle back on January 9th. It was a bimalleolar fracture of the left lower leg, so she had to undergo surgery for bimalleolar osteosynthesis. She’s 44, and for now, she isn't allowed to put any weight on it at all. On the bright side, the wound is healing beautifully—the stitches are out and everything looks nice and dry! She’s been working on her range of motion every day, moving the joint as much as she can. Her next check-up isn't until March 20th, and her doctor insisted she stay strictly on crutches until then. Does anyone have advice on exercises? Also, would a massage gym with those little suction cups be helpful? Is this period of complete non-weight-bearing a bit excessive, or is it standard practice to avoid putting even a tiny bit of pressure on the leg?
Thanks everyone for the responses!

Does anyone happen to have any insight on this?

How long is the recovery actually going to take after a broken lower leg? I’m losing my mind at home. Broke my leg two weeks ago—lower tibia near the ankle. Had surgery, currently in a cast, though it's just on the back side held by a wrap. I told my boss I’d be back at work by next week, but my family is looking at me like I’ve lost my marbles. I can't stay cooped up here anymore. Anyone have some actual advice? Or even bad advice, doesn't matter. I don't have anyone else to ask.🙂

So, I went and snapped my fibula about half an inch above the ankle roughly 12 days ago. At first, they just threw me in a walking boot because my ankle was looking a little puffy, you know? Then, after a week, I headed back in for a checkup and they swapped the boot for a full circular cast. They told me to come back in three weeks, which basically means I’m stuck playing the "stay in bed" game for two more weeks. Right now, I’m mostly just chilling and keeping the leg elevated like they instructed. The good news is there was no displacement, so no crazy surgery or anything—thank God I don't have to deal with screws and plates being shoved into my leg! Does anyone know what the standard playbook is for this kind of break? Like, will they actually take the cast off at my next appointment (which would be four weeks post-injury), and am I going to be able to hobble around a bit? Also, once I'm finally out of the cast and back on my feet, what's the best way to get everything moving again and rebuild that strength?

Sending good vibes from my horizontal headquarters 🤣

Hey there, sending greetings from my current seated position... nothing much happening on this end... You won't be back on your feet fully just yet, but you'll get there, bit by bit... My honest advice? Get yourself into physical therapy... stick with a good PT... and please, for your own sake, actually listen to what your doctor tells you... you don't want to end up right back at square one after all that work.

So, about three weeks ago, I went and twisted my ankle, and my first thought was, "Yep, this is definitely broken." For two days, I couldn't even put any weight on it, so I headed straight to the clinic for an X-ray, but nope—nothing broken. The doctor basically told me it was just a nasty sprain on my right ankle. Fast forward three weeks later, and that spot just above the ankle bone is still pretty swollen. I’ve been following the doc's orders—keeping it elevated and doing some light jogging, obviously—but it still hurts, especially when evening rolls around.
Does anyone know of any specific exercises or maybe some creams or ointments that could help speed up the healing process?? And honestly, how long does it usually take to get over something like this? Thanks 😉

Look, if you actually pulled something, logic says you need to rest it instead of pushing through the pain, because those kinds of injuries drag on forever—especially if you don't take it easy right from the start (not that I'm a doctor or anything). To get the throbbing to stop, just grab some Ice gel or whatever sports recovery gel they have at the CVS to soothe the strain, just go ask the pharmacist.

So my doctor gave me the green light to start some light jogging after two weeks. 🤷

I mean, look at the results for yourself—it clearly worked wonders, so just go find a new doctor already.

I’m curious if anyone else here has dealt with ankle injuries, ligament issues, or just general foot problems caused by sports. To give you the short version of my current nightmare—about a month ago during training, I tweaked my ankle, maybe some ligaments or something similar, but honestly, nobody has been able to tell me for sure what actually happened. I went straight to the ER, and they basically gave me the whole "you're fine, don't worry about it" routine before sending me packing. I was expecting at least an X-ray or maybe a brace, but nope, nothing. They just told me to rest, use ice packs, blah, blah, blah... Naturally, I followed their advice to a T, but the area around my ankle still felt incredibly wrong. So, after pushing my doctor for an actual look, we finally got some imaging done. And wouldn't you know it? The scans showed absolutely no fractures or anything like that. But those damn ligaments... I mean, seriously, does anyone have any idea what... just so I can wrap my head around this? Right now, I’m stuck in that endless waiting game. I’ve got an appointment scheduled with an orthopedic specialist, but of course, there's a massive backlog—it's like a full van and an eight-hundred-person waitlist, but what can you do? My leg still feels completely useless; I can walk, sure, but I'm limping like crazy.
So, if anyone has gone through something similar or has any insight at all, I would be incredibly grateful. 🙂 Thanks pozdrav

rustyraven4 said:About three weeks ago, I twisted my ankle, and honestly, my first thought was that something had snapped. For two days, I couldn't even put weight on it—nothing. So, I went straight in for some imaging, but nope, nothing broken on the scans. The doctor just confirmed it’s a sprain in my right ankle, but even now, three weeks later, there's still this swelling just above the joint. I've been following the doctor's orders—keeping it elevated, doing some light jogging—but man, it still hurts, especially when evening rolls around.
Are there any specific exercises or maybe certain creams or ointments that can actually speed up the healing process?? And how long does it actually take for an injury like this to fully clear up? Thanks 😉

I'm dealing with the exact same thing. I rolled my ankle during a workout about a month ago, and it's still swollen—plus, just like you mentioned, it starts throbbing in the evening after being relatively fine all day. It's still puffy, too, but lately, my knee has started acting up. I'm not sure if that's because I'm putting way too much strain on the knee now to compensate—who knows? Did they have you wearing a compression sleeve or something? They didn't tell me a single useful thing—just the usual "you're fine, don't worry about it" routine...

Sarah Hall90 said:I’m actually dealing with the exact same thing; I twisted my ankle during a workout about a month ago, and it still feels pretty swollen. Plus, just like you mentioned last night, it starts aching again in the evening for all the reasons it wasn't hurting earlier in the day. It seems to stay a bit puffy, but lately, I’ve noticed my knee has started acting up too. I suppose it might be because I’ve been putting more pressure on the knee recently, though I can't say for sure. I wonder if you were wearing a brace or something? Honestly, the doctors didn't really give me much guidance—they basically just told me everything was fine...

I had a very similar experience myself.
My ankle stayed swollen for almost two months straight.
The pain was absolutely intense for the first month, though it did gradually taper off later; I ended up wearing sneakers with orthopedic inserts—softer ones at first, then transitioning to firmer ones—and it took about a year and a half before I could finally go back to regular shoes.
I think my main issue was that I struggled to actually rest, which probably caused the swelling and pain to linger longer than necessary.
When you have an injury, you tend to put uneven pressure on the injured leg, which naturally puts extra strain on your healthy leg, so it makes sense that those pains start showing up.
Not all sprains are created equal, I guess; if you consider yourself an athlete, maybe it would be worth asking for an ultrasound. That way, a doctor could give you a better idea of how much downtime you really need and when it might be safe to get back into your sports routine.

Nancy Long6 said:I went through the exact same thing
my leg was swollen for nearly two months straight
it hurt like absolute hell for a month—then it tapered off, eventually—and I had to live in sneakers with orthopedic inserts, starting soft and moving to firmer ones, before I could even think about wearing regular shoes again after a year and a half
my big issue? I can't sit still—I’m just not built for rest—so the swelling and pain dragged on way longer than they should have
when you're constantly putting weight on an injured limb, you end up overcompensating with the healthy one, which just invites more pain into the picture
not all sprains are created equal, either. If you're an athlete, maybe get an ultrasound done? That way a doctor can actually tell you how much downtime you really need and when it's safe to jump back into sports

Thanks... But look, I'm also one of those people who physically cannot stay idle, so this whole situation is a massive drag. It's not like I don't care about seeing how bad this leg is getting. I mean, I thank God it isn't something life-threatening, but you know how frustrating it is when you're just used to walking normally without thinking twice about it...
There's that old saying: "A sick man has only one wish, but a healthy man has a million." Yeah, right. When you're feeling fine and everything is okay, you don't spend much time realizing how lucky you actually are... I think about that quite often🙂

So, I messed up my ankle about three months ago, and I just went in for an ultrasound to see how bad the damage actually is. Here’s what the report says:

"Ultrasound of the right ankle and foot shows a complete tear of the anterior fibulotalar ligament. There is evidence of a total rupture of the deltoid ligament, which has healed via hyperplastic fibrosis rather than regrowing its original structure. Fluid buildup is present around the peroneal and flexor tendons. The talonavicular joint capsule appears thickened. Also, there's a tear in the plantar aponeurosis."

Can someone please break this down for me? I have absolutely no clue what all this medical jargon actually means in plain English...
Thanks pozdrav

Hey, can someone please give me an answer? I’m freaking out here, I need this ASAP because the uncertainty is killing me!😲

Sarah Hall90 said:I was wondering if anyone here has dealt with ankle injuries, ligament issues, or general foot problems stemming from sports. To give you a little context, I injured my ankle—or perhaps it was the ligaments, I'm still not entirely sure because nobody has been able to give me a definitive answer yet. About a month ago during training, I hurt it, and when I went to the ER, they basically told me everything looked fine and sent me on my way. I expected at least an X-ray or maybe a brace, but nothing happened; they just told me to rest, use ice packs, and blah, blah, blah. Naturally, I followed their advice, but the area around the joint still feels incredibly strange. I eventually had to insist that my primary doctor order some imaging, which they finally did. Of course, the scans showed no fractures or anything of that nature, but as for the ligaments... well, I'd really appreciate knowing what we're actually dealing with here. Now I’m stuck in the waiting game, waiting for an appointment with an orthopedic specialist. It's the usual story—a packed waiting room and a hefty bill, but it is what it is. My foot still feels completely off; I can walk, but I’m definitely limping.
If anyone has experienced something similar or could offer some insight, I would be very grateful. 🙂 Thanks

Greetings. I am quite active with fitness and swimming, and if I may offer some advice, I would suggest seeing a specialist as soon as possible—even if you have to go through a private clinic. You don't want to risk permanent damage if something heals incorrectly. I say this from direct experience, as I currently have my leg in a cast up to the knee due to an ankle fracture, the first time this has ever happened to me in my life.

I have a bit of a dilemma on my hands, and I would appreciate some perspective from anyone who has been through this before. How on earth does one manage basic hygiene when their leg is encased in a cast? Is it actually feasible to shower, or am I better off just soaking in a tub? I’ve been stuck in this thing since yesterday morning and I’m looking at a five-week sentence, which feels rather daunting already—especially when I start contemplating the inevitable hygiene issues that come with being unable to wash properly. Any advice or lived experiences would be greatly appreciated.