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The last week has been pretty tough....
It's strange how a lot of day to day activities we really take for granted and how frustrating it is when you just cannot do them anymore. Like getting some food in the kitchen and taking it back to my computer desk... how hard could it be.... Well when I cant put any weight at all on one leg without collapsing it becomes more difficult, and with a crutch in each arm so I can get to the kitchen, it becomes nearly impossible. So - I set the crutches down and crawled like a toddler, pushing my plate and cup infront of me as I went until I was able to prop myself up using my computer chair and get the food up to the desk. (Hopping on one leg was another option but I'm sure I would have spilled everywhere.)
About a week ago I injured myself pretty severely. I'm a recreational gymnast and was training at the local open gym on thursday nights, no new skills, just practicing old ones. On a pass down the tumble track into the foam pit my roundoff missed the edge of the track ever so slightly and instead of bouncing back up into a fulltwist one of my feet caught on the edge and the other slipped into the pit and my ankle got torn up pretty bad in the process, I wish someone had been filming it because I'm positive it bent in some crazy unfathomable direction. Here is a picture about 1 hour after the injury happened.
![[image loading]](http://www.hugs-and-kisses.org/data/bad1.jpg)
I've had some pretty rough injuries in the past due to sports and knew what I needed to do. I RICEd for most of the night and went to the doctor first thing in the morning.
Xrays confirmed there were no broken bones (thankfully, casts are a real bitch.) But due to the amount of swelling it could be assumed to be a grade 2 or higher ankle sprain, most likely involving multiple ligaments. (Grade 2 being a torn ligament, but not completely detached, Grade 3 being a ruptured ligament.) I have to go back next week for some tests once the swelling is down, because right now it is so swollen they can't even test for such things. Unfortunately I fear the worst, I am pretty sure at least one ligament has been fully ruptured as this has been one of the most painless (yes pain free) injuries of this scale I've ever had, and they say when a ligament is completely severed there is almost no pain as the nerves are severed as well. Pics below are on day 3.
![[image loading]](http://www.hugs-and-kisses.org/data/bad3.jpg)
I have an aircast (read:oversized splint) for now and have been elevating the ankle and icing regularly. I was told to start walking on it a little bit with the aircast after one week but its so hard... My balance is completely shot and I stumble regularly, its so wierd I feel like I'm learning to walk again. Also if I stand or sit with my feet down for so long I can feel the buildup of pressure from all the fluid trapped down there... I can really only describe it as it feels like it wants to explode... a strange feeling for a limb to have for sure. Pics below are day 5 (Toes are NOT injured in any way, its just a buildup of blood from the bruising)
![[image loading]](http://www.hugs-and-kisses.org/data/bad2.jpg)
What sucks the most is not being able to do everyday things, and things I like doing. I consider myself an active person. I visit the gym 4-5 times a week, I like to practice gymnastics frequently and also go out on the weekends and get drunk with friends and go dancing. I have been playing a LOT of starcraft lately but I need things to balance it out, ladder grinding is only fun for so long, and with all those things out of the equation every day seems a bit more depressing. Thankfully it has been one week now so I'm about to head to the gym when it opens (in 15 minutes = ) and do some light upper body workouts, hopefully I can get by the tired front desk guy who might try to enforce the closed toed shoe rule (I cant fit in any of my closed-toed shoes without the aircast... let alone with it.)
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I came here for the pics and was not disappointed.
Hope it heals soon!
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Holy sh!t! i once sprained my ankle and it hurt like a bitch, cant imagine the pain you go tru now :O
Good luck!
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Looks like my foot when I broke/destroyed my ankle. Most painful thing I've had happen in my entire life. Going on a fast break playing b-ball, tried to block a shot, came down after running full speed and jumping as high as i could........to landing on someone's foot and completely turning my ankle on it's side. I was out for a good 3 months, and just now, 2 years later, I can start playing basketball again fairly comfortably.
All I can say is keep it elevated, don't risk damaging it any further, and keep it iced.
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Wow, that looks nasty... Hope you get well soon - be safe.
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Don't skip the rehabilitation therapy. I broke all the ligaments of my right ankle 7 years ago and was to busy to take the rehabilitation therapy and I'm a gimp now 
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On September 16 2011 00:02 endy wrote:Don't skip the rehabilitation therapy. I broke all the ligaments of my right ankle 7 years ago and was to busy to take the rehabilitation therapy and I'm a gimp now
I'm going to do everything I can to make it heal 100% Also very curious as to how bad it is today, what do you struggle with sports wise or is it so bad it is still difficult to walk?
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Oh man I hate ankle injuries. I sprained mine 15-18 times in total. (though not as bad as that! God that's awful!) I don't recall the exact amount, but I know my left ankle had 9 sprains and right about 6. I'm only 18 and I can't run without tripping/fallinh because of the weight on my left ankle.
All of them from badminton tourneys and basketball matches.
Baaah!!
Anyway, hope you get better soon man. Ankle injuries are the worse. :/
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Wow, I hope something like that never happens to me, especially since my room is on the 2nd floor and kitchen is on first. Going up and down would be a nightmare.
Good luck with recovering.
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Ouch that looks really bad. Ugh, I just hurt my ankle month ago, but am not doing rehab. Don't mean to thread jack, but what kind of doctor should I be going to for rehab? How long does it usually take to rehab?
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On September 16 2011 01:42 DumJumJmyWum wrote:
Ouch that looks really bad. Ugh, I just hurt my ankle month ago, but am not doing rehab. Don't mean to thread jack, but what kind of doctor should I be going to for rehab? How long does it usually take to rehab?
For my break, I had to go to rehab for 3-4 months before I was good to go. And they said I finished really early considering my injury. And you don't go to a doctor per-se. A foot/ankle specialist will refer you to a rehab clinic, where someone will take you and put you through all these annoying exercises and such. Giant pain in the rear, but it's worth it imo. Don't skimp on it, and do what they tell you.
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On September 16 2011 00:06 FreshandLegit wrote:Show nested quote +On September 16 2011 00:02 endy wrote:Don't skip the rehabilitation therapy. I broke all the ligaments of my right ankle 7 years ago and was to busy to take the rehabilitation therapy and I'm a gimp now I'm going to do everything I can to make it heal 100% Also very curious as to how bad it is today, what do you struggle with sports wise or is it so bad it is still difficult to walk?
I don't exactly limp, but my ankle can't bend as before. I'd say I lost around 20 degrees of movement. It's really annoying as I was practicing martial arts and gymnastics. Paradoxically I can sprint, but not jog. After a 500 meters jogging my Achilles tendon hurts a lot. And it makes me walk not exactly symmetrically so it's bad for my back. I have to wear orthopedic insoles to try to fix it.
It's not as bad as it sounds, I still have a normal life, I just can't do jogging and any sports that requires to bend your ankle a lot ! And doctors predicted early arthritis too
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On September 16 2011 03:23 endy wrote:Show nested quote +On September 16 2011 00:06 FreshandLegit wrote:On September 16 2011 00:02 endy wrote:Don't skip the rehabilitation therapy. I broke all the ligaments of my right ankle 7 years ago and was to busy to take the rehabilitation therapy and I'm a gimp now I'm going to do everything I can to make it heal 100% Also very curious as to how bad it is today, what do you struggle with sports wise or is it so bad it is still difficult to walk? I don't exactly limp, but my ankle can't bend as before. I'd say I lost around 20 degrees of movement. It's really annoying as I was practicing martial arts and gymnastics. Paradoxically I can sprint, but not jog. After a 500 meters jogging my Achilles tendon hurts a lot. And it makes me walk not exactly symmetrically so it's bad for my back. I have to wear orthopedic insoles to try to fix it. It's not as bad as it sounds, I still have a normal life, I just can't do jogging and any sports that requires to bend your ankle a lot ! And doctors predicted early arthritis too
Thanks for sharing the story, this kind of thing really motivates me to work hard to get it recovered as much as possible = ( I'm sorry it didn't get back to 100% for you, that's my biggest fear
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EPT
