The ankle which just won't heal

**Nairek** · 10-01-2009, 12:03 PM

Well, I'm 3 1/2 months out from severely spraining my ankle. I managed to sprain it 1 week before we moved so I had a lot going on. I went to see my PCP & had x-rays taken. Her PA said that there was a lot of soft tissue swelling but nothing broken. And since I was able to walk on it, barely, there was no need for them to wrap it or to give me crutches.

Oh, & here's the best part "We know that you are moving, but if your pain doesn't get better, you need to come back". Really? What for?!?

Fast forward 2 months, I see an ortho here in FL. I couldn't get in to see the ankle specialist so they offered a knee doc. This guy was a

He told me to "throw" away my crappy shoes 3 times. Had the nerve to say that the pain was more in my head than ankle & offered an ankle brace & said I didn't need to come back to see him. But, if I still had pain in a month, to call the office & arrange for an MRI. I'm guessing that the x-rays showed nothing. A month goes by, still having pain issues. I call the office the Friday before Labor Day. I get the run around & was told they would call me back. They never did. OK, you're fired.

I find another ankle specialist. The difference was like night & day. More x-rays. Again, they showed nothing. He did say that it was possible that I had scar tissue that was getting "stuck" in the joint. So he suggested a cortisone shot, physical therapy, and a nice sexy ortho boot

I guess if that all fails, it's off for an MRI & a possible scope to see what's going on.

The cortisone shot helped loosen up the ankle some but it's still nowhere near 100%. I had P/T yesterday & was "blessed" with a student. She did tissue massage & found a tendon which was extremely painful. She tried to loosen it up some, but it's been hurting a bit. Last night my foot felt kinda numb for a while. Kinda weird. I really don't feel like going thru another surgery. I just can't afford this right now. Keeping my

that the P/T works!

**Cindylou** · 10-01-2009, 03:00 PM

Karin, what a crazy nightmare for you....especially around moving time.

I also sprained my ankle years ago, and yes, it was right when I moved too. That is so stressful, especially around a major move. I was dating my husband at the time, and I couldn't even get my boys registered for the new school, because I had no crutches yet and couldn't walk. He was a gem. He took them over there to get them all registered, but not being married yet, they still needed an official parent. Me. He came back to my condo and got me and carried me in the school!

I had 1 week before my new job was starting and I couldn't unpack a thing. I about jumped off a cliff. This was in Texas, in a little town, Bedford. My Mom wasn't far away, but if you can believe it, she never came over once to help me out. Not once. (I love my Mom, but she has alot of selfishness in her.....duh.) Anyway, sprains can take a long time to heal, unfortunately. I do hope you turn the corner soon.

**Justin** · 10-02-2009, 10:00 AM

Karin,

Good luck with the physical therapy--I hope your ankle heals well and doesn't give you any problems in the future.

**KBear** · 10-02-2009, 07:18 PM

Wow Karin, what a crazy nightmare. Praying the physical therapy works and you are back to your old self soon.

**Dave** · 10-08-2009, 08:29 AM

Hi Karin,

I hope the PT is starting to help your ankle. Do you feel a difference yet? I know it is soon into it, but hopefully it is a quick turn around.
Good luck.

**Nairek** · 10-17-2009, 12:28 AM

I had my last P/T visit this past Tuesday. No more medical benefits (long story) so I'm on my own now. The exercises that they gave me to do, I can do on my own at home anyway so it's not too big of a deal.

The good news is that I have gained 5 degrees of movement in each direction that I try to move my ankle. Not bad for only 1 month of P/T.

The pain has decreased quite a bit but I still have to be very careful. I had a job interview last week & wore 1" heels. My ankle reminded me that I really needed to find my flats for future interviews

I still have some swelling going on as well. I'm hoping that things slow down over the next week so I can continue using the walking boot to help with stability. I just have to get motivated to do P/T on my own which is 1/2 the battle.

Just going to keep hoping for the best!

Thank you all for your posts. I hope to respond to them soon. Things have just been

lately & I have been anti-social.

**Justin** · 10-17-2009, 02:29 AM

Karin,

It's great to hear that your range of motion in your ankle has increased and your pain has decreased. Good luck on the interview trail!

I hope life in FL is treating you well.

**Nairek** · 10-18-2009, 12:27 AM

Originally Posted by Justin

Karin,

It's great to hear that your range of motion in your ankle has increased and your pain has decreased. Good luck on the interview trail!

I hope life in FL is treating you well.

I'm glad that the range of motion is getting better as well. I was worried that I would need surgery. Going to remain positive that the P/T will continue to help.

FL is nice. Job market is horrible. I received a job offer. I'm just waiting for the background check and education verification to come through before I start celebrating.

Now, if I can just get a phone call that my other house has sold, I would be much happier. It's been a REALLY tough year for us. Would just be nice if the

stopped hitting the fan.

Well, back to homework. Joy!

**SemperFi** · 12-05-2010, 02:10 PM

Karin,
Several years ago I developed something called Posterior Tibial Tendonitis in both ankles and it's such a pain that you wouldn't believe it!

At first I thought I had twisted my ankles.. or something so wasn't very good about staying off them but it got so bad that I couldn't even put my feet down on the floor to get to the bathroom so had to crawl. Needless to say at that point I saw both a podiatrist and Orthopedic doctor that specialized in ankles and both had the same diagnosis and treatment.

It still flares up tho now I know when I have to get off my feet because I cannot push it or the tendon definately scars and may even tear which could eventually lead to surgery and let's face it whatever makes me hobble makes my back whack out like crazy!

So I'm glad to hear you're getting better and I do hope you will continue to improve. I have had to start wearing a very good running shoe which I always did wear tho one with a little less support re pronation (bad ankles/flat feet) so I can wear an insert by SOLE which are wonderful and have saved my ankles. I cannot wear the orthothotics I've had made as they seem to overcorrect or too severely correct and give me sciatica so I just stick with the store bought inserts which can be found at the website for SOLE www.sole.com or that I buy in a running shoe store (Runner's High) even tho I don't run I used to do pretty long distance walking until this hit.

Hope the flats will do it for you and that you have shoes that are supportive enough

**Cindylou** · 12-06-2010, 09:38 AM

Karin, I realize this is an old post from 14 months ago, but gee, how is your ankle doing after all this time? Is it 100% better? 90%? I'm hoping no news is good news. But I do know that ankle sprains can take a heck of a long time to heal. Hope you are doing well in Florida and enjoying the holiday buzz! Take care. Cindylou