“I have a painful, swollen ankle following an injury. What to do?”
I am experiencing a lot of pain and swelling in my ankle after I had an ankle twist 2 weeks back. A normal ankle twist settles in a week, however this doesn't seem to be subsiding. What should I do?
23 Answers
Highly recommend you to see a podiatrist or orthopedics asap for x-ray.
Good morning,
It would be in your best interest to get your ankle evaluated. No two ankle sprains are truly the same and proper care insures optimum function in the future. Please look up a doctor in your area.
Dr. Paukovitz
It would be in your best interest to get your ankle evaluated. No two ankle sprains are truly the same and proper care insures optimum function in the future. Please look up a doctor in your area.
Dr. Paukovitz
An x-ray should be taken to see if there was any bone involvement..if that is normal or there is any suspicious areas the next step would be an ultrasound or MRI to see if there's any soft tissue damage.
There are several sequela that can cause pain and swelling after a twisting injury to the ankle. Most people know about ligament injuries, however there can also be tendon injuries, injuries to the articular cartilage and fractures. I recommend an evaluation by a board certified foot and ankle specialist. Start with an x-ray. If it doesn't answer your question, an MRI may be indicated. Good luck!
Hi, ankle injuries take a few months to heal even with treatment. Since I haven’t examined you, therefore I am limited as to what to recommend.
Try getting an aircast, rest and ice, if not better and X-ray is negative, then an MRI is warranted.
Dr. Latifi
Try getting an aircast, rest and ice, if not better and X-ray is negative, then an MRI is warranted.
Dr. Latifi
Go and see a podiatrist. You may have a higher grade sprain or a fracture.
You should see a ankle and foot specialist for "stress" X-rays in order to rule out fracture and/or ligament injury. An MRI maybe indicated.
Dr. Drapacz
Dr. Drapacz
It seemed like you either now have a chronic weak ankle or your sprain is more than one ligament. You should get X-rays of your ankle and go into a walking boot.
If the pain is lingering I would definitely recommend evaluation to make sure there is no further damage to the bones or ligaments in her ankle.
You can try RICE therapy - rest, ice, compression, and elevation. If the pain and swelling are not subsiding, then you should go visit a foot and ankle surgeon for further examination, proper diagnostic testing, and treatment.
You need to go to a podiatrist or orthopod who specializes in feet and ankles. You probably have a true ankle sprain in which one or more of the ligaments are torn. These require 6 weeks to heal and, if they are not treated rapidly and aggressively, can result in chronic ankle pain and repeated sprains.
Kathleen Neuhoff, DPM
Kathleen Neuhoff, DPM
Need to have X-rays to determine if you have a fracture a hairline fracture may not show up on an xray. Also may need to get an MRI to check the ankle ligaments may have a sprain or worse a tear
You want to get your ankle checked out because if ankle sprains are not treated properly (most are not), this can lead to chronic pain and future ankle sprains. Sometimes an MRI is necessary to see the ligaments and tendons. If there are tears, then ankle stabilization treatment may be indicated.
Seek medical attention as soon as possible
Your assessment is quite correct and untimely healing of an injury warrants evaluation by a medical specialist with probable need for X-rays to assess for structural damage that my be impeding healing. There is a lot of local anatomy at risk for injury in this often downplayed process of the ankle sprain
I would recommend you see a physician to get an X-ray and have your ankle evaluated.
RICE- rest, ice, compression, elevation. Mild sprains can be healed in a week, severe ones 6 weeks with a cam walker. You need to get an X-ray done and be seen by a podiatrist for quality care.
If you have had multiple ankle injuries and have noticed that with rest, ice, OTC NSAIDS, elevation and compression this incident is not like the others, it probably isn't.
Further diagnostic testing such as an x-ray to rule out fracture or dislocation that may give information regarding ligament tear in conjunction to a doctor evaluating the anatomic structures to see where the pain and swelling corresponds to the anatomic structures to see if a pneumatic boot cast or even a weight bearing or non weight bearing below the knee cast is necessary. However If there is still pain with weight bearing a MRI may be necessary before you can put weight on the area to see if surgery is indicated prior to weight bearing as premature weight bearing may ensure the conservative care is unsuccessful and only surgery may provide he necessary alignment and function that you may want and need to regain full function.
Further diagnostic testing such as an x-ray to rule out fracture or dislocation that may give information regarding ligament tear in conjunction to a doctor evaluating the anatomic structures to see where the pain and swelling corresponds to the anatomic structures to see if a pneumatic boot cast or even a weight bearing or non weight bearing below the knee cast is necessary. However If there is still pain with weight bearing a MRI may be necessary before you can put weight on the area to see if surgery is indicated prior to weight bearing as premature weight bearing may ensure the conservative care is unsuccessful and only surgery may provide he necessary alignment and function that you may want and need to regain full function.
Go have it evaluated. Sounds serious and without proper care, treatment could be complicated.
The ankle needs to be X-rayed to determine whether there is any fracture or any cartilage damage.
Hopefully you are wearing ankle support to allow healing of those ligament tear fibers on your lateral side of the ankle. Rest and Brace are the keys.
Daniel J. Walters
Podiatrist (Foot and Ankle Specialist)
Ankle "twists" never settle or heal in a week. You need to see a podiatrist and have an x-ray and have the ankle immobilized for at least 5 weeks.
Hello and thank you for your question. It seems you have suffered an ankle sprain according to your question. There are three grades of ankle sprain, grade one which is microtears in the ligament , grade two which is a partial tear in the ligament and grade 3 which is a complete tear. With a grade 1 or 2 tear I recommend a period of immobilization, RICE, anti-inflammatory medications, and a compression dressing which is often overlooked in treatment of ankle sprains. Also physical therapy is a advanced conservative treatment option I routinely advise. A grade 3 sprain is more challenging from a conservative standpoint to treat. I would be happy to evaluate your injury and provide a complete workup. If you have questions please feel free to contact the office during normal buisness hours. Thank you so much for your inquiry.
