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So 3 months ago, I was playing football(soccer) and I got a third degree sprain and I blogged about it then. So if you want to know how i felt, just read it here.
Now, 5 weeks ago I took off the walking boot, and I started experiencing some terrible pain at the inside part of my ankle/foot under my achilles. I also had a lot of my range of motion reduced, mostly when I was trying to squat. Basically, my ankle was jammed.
So I did what normal people do and I asked tl.net... NOT. I actually went to see a Sport Medecine doctor and started physiotherapy treatment. Now the treatment seems to help and I have been working hard to get back my range of motion .
Now 2 weeks ago, I finally went to get my MRI done and I got my result a week ago. I learned that I basically tore all the ligaments on the inside of my ankle and partially tore my ligaments on the outside. However, there is more, my tallus was bruised (i think it's the joint that let's you bend at the ankles). Now the doctor was explaining all of this to me and she told me the thing NO football player wants to hear: possibility of surgery.
So that's when I told myself that any possibility of playing high level of soccer was gone for good (i'm too old anyways but I was getting in top shape before the sprain happened).
Anyways I guess I need to know if people had to go through things like this and how they went through it, I would really appreciate it. No smart ass comments, actually you know what... say whatever, maybe it will cheer me up.
If you also have any advice on what to do in terms of stretching, tape jobs and so on. Right now I'm going to go buy an ASO ankle brace. Anyways i'm sad back to bw
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It's possible to still play sports without a lot of the ankle ligaments (given no articular damage or fractures to the tarsal bones), but it's unlikely that you'd be any good without any of them. If it's just bruising of the talus, that must suck but bone bruises just hurt a hell of a lot and go away if you can keep off it.....
although it's been 3 months so that's a huge problem in itself. Stuff may have healed incorrectly.
What kind of surgery are they aiming to do?
What has your PT been doing for your therapy?
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I hurt my ankle in a similar way as you, but your injury sounds more severe. I had choice between a month in a boot or surgery, luckily everything worked out with the boot and I never needed the surgery. However, for at least a year it still hurt like crazy after the adrenaline of the game wore off, and anytime I ever wanted to do anything physical I had to tape my ankle up.
Anyway, only you know how much it hurts. As much as you probably don't want surgery, you have to think about your quality of life 10-15 years down the road. You can probably tough it out now if you tape it up, but surgery might be the better option in the long run.
You should ask your orthopedist, or whoever you saw, if they suggest you wear orthodics. One thing my orthopedist told me was that having feet as flat as mine made me much more susceptible to ankle injuries. I'm not sure how much they help at preventing further injuries, but around that time my feet would start to hurt quite a bit if walked around for a while without the orthodics.
If you do decide to forgo surgery, you really need to find a guide online to properly tape up your ankle. Even when it hurt the most, properly taping it up made it feel fantastic.
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Well right now, my PT has been working on the tallus because she thought it was jammed which i think was a good diagnosis from the PT even though she didn't have the MRI results, which is great, but i have a feeling i'm going to have chronic pain for the rest of my life which sucks but I have to deal with so I'm sucking it up right now.
the 3 months is a problem because i personally feel like it didn't heal properly then surgery might be the best option, but that would require 4-5 months rehab. I talked to the doctor and she said that I might need it, but she told me that I should talk to the surgeon and discuss it with him/her and make my decision then, so basically I'm waiting for my appointment with the surgeon.
Another small note, I live in Canada / Quebec which means I have to wait another ~ 1-2 months before I even see the surgeon, which sucks balls.
@ sixghost :
I actually have been playing for 1-2 weeks with a good ankle taping for now, but there are 1-2 movements that basically kill me one of which is basically taking a volley with the outside /inside (don't remember which one ... you can see how this might be a problem) and running initially. Other than that, the usual fear of blocking shots is there also, so I hesitate often still. This in turn forced me to stop playing defensively and I'm always 1/2 a second late and I can feel it. I don't know if I'll be able to play with this feeling for much longer
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Pretty much same thing happened to me. Its not possible to train as hard, so I tried out for my uni team cause I wanted to anyways, didn't make it and then gave up.
You just need to find something else you can substitute into that area. Personally I started coaching and reffing sports.
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I know how you feel....I fractured my fibula one time when I got drunk. Then I recovered within 6 weeks with pretty much full motion albiet a little stiff.
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On July 05 2010 12:31 Dance.jhu wrote: I know how you feel....I fractured my fibula one time when I got drunk. Then I recovered within 6 weeks with pretty much full motion albiet a little stiff.
So basically, you don't know how he feels at all is what you're saying. Anyways - go for surgery Sami... it will have several months of recovery, but you can hang out with me online <3 , also, you can come to LA instead of play soccer, we'll hang out.
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United States2095 Posts
Yo Sami. Yeah I tore my ACL and some miniscus. Went through a surgery that kept me off of my legs for a good 3 months. (I tore it playing football, not soccer) While I was going to college I had to go around in a wheelchair. I hated it at the time all of the pain and therapy.. that evil word... however now I'm glad I did it because I'm sure the residual pain would have been much worse. Also I would have always wondered if surgery would have completely fixed it. Just my 2cents. Hope it gets better quick for u! Btw this is ChOseN if your like Who is this guy? =P
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I had the same kind of injury 6 years ago. I was very busy with studies and had no time for physical therapy. Because my ankle was fragilized by the lack of ligaments, some extra bone cartilage grew in the ankle joint. That resulted in a small loss of range of motion. My feet and my leg can hardly make an angle smaller than ~85° (my other ankle can go to ~55°). I walk with a very slight hitch. There is no problem for a sprint, but I can't go jogging because my ankle will be very sore after 500 meters. It's very annoying for all the sports where you have to duck/crouch. The other problem is that because my walk is not even, there are consequences for my back. I have to use orthopedic insoles now
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Errr, for those of you mentioning orthotics... that's not even a guarantee that they will help at all. In some cases they can hinder healing of injuries.
It all depends on the specific situation. that's why internet advice isn't that great for most injuries most of the time.
OP: clean up your diet, and start taking anti-inflammatories and fish oil. Getting inflammation down will help with the pain levels as will self massage.
However, unfortunately you're gonna have to wait for the orthopedic to see you which is a while.
try to gain as much mobility and strengthen the heck out of it as much as you can in the meantime. Don't do anythign that causes pain -- it will hinder the healing process. If rehab is causing significant pain then tell your PT because that may prolong your progressions.
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To be honest, there isn't really a lot of pain, it's just when I try to stretch it, which is normal, and the range of motion is getting bigger and bigger. My PT told me "do everything I tell you but listen to your body for pain" which is what I'm doing.
My diet is fine although I lack sleep sometimes. There is barely any inflammation when I wake up/walk. The inflammation usually comes after the stretching/strengthening exercises I do or when I sit down in the same position all day ( just a specific one). Other than that, the inflammation isn't present.
Also, I was seeing an orthopedic before, but he didn't want to follow up properly so I decided to go with a sport medicine doctor (who deals with these injuries all the time). Also, the PT and the Doctor work together to help me out, which is great.
My biggest concern right now is the possibility of a surgery and so on.
By the way eshlow, are you a PT? or therapist? Anyways you sound like my PT. She's basically helping me in getting my mobility back and strengthening my ankle as well. Right now I'm at the point where i can do calf raises (all directions), do ankle jumps (albeit small) and run.
my only concern is that one of my ligament ( i think) close to the talus (on top at the inner part of the ankle) is hurting after shooting the soccer ball on a volley.
@Chosen : hey man, thanks for your support, i think your injury required surgery while mine is subject to open discussion and the ultimate decision will be mine, but it will be highly influenced by the surgeon. I appreciate your support and although i didn't have to be on a wheelchair for 3 months. I was on a walking boot for 6 weeks with crutches.Not the same but I hated it so much.
@ duran: haha you're coming to mcgill anyways so I'll see you when you get here :D
by the way I really appreciate everybodys input
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now i'm not a doctor per se
but i'm pretty sure you should see a doctor.
also ice ice ice ice ice
but you're not going to find anything here that a doctor/trainer wouldnt be able to tell you
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im like a sprained ankle, nothin to play with
soccer in high school is great, yeah, but believe me--its waay better after you get out. that ankle thing sucks, I've torn a tendon or two in my day no idea what ligaments could feel like. but keep the long-term in mind, you can't play for a little bit now so you can play for a long time later surgery or not.
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On July 05 2010 14:44 Freaky[x] wrote: To be honest, there isn't really a lot of pain, it's just when I try to stretch it, which is normal, and the range of motion is getting bigger and bigger. My PT told me "do everything I tell you but listen to your body for pain" which is what I'm doing.
My diet is fine although I lack sleep sometimes. There is barely any inflammation when I wake up/walk. The inflammation usually comes after the stretching/strengthening exercises I do or when I sit down in the same position all day ( just a specific one). Other than that, the inflammation isn't present.
Also, I was seeing an orthopedic before, but he didn't want to follow up properly so I decided to go with a sport medicine doctor (who deals with these injuries all the time). Also, the PT and the Doctor work together to help me out, which is great.
My biggest concern right now is the possibility of a surgery and so on.
By the way eshlow, are you a PT? or therapist? Anyways you sound like my PT. She's basically helping me in getting my mobility back and strengthening my ankle as well. Right now I'm at the point where i can do calf raises (all directions), do ankle jumps (albeit small) and run.
my only concern is that one of my ligament ( i think) close to the talus (on top at the inner part of the ankle) is hurting after shooting the soccer ball on a volley.
@Chosen : hey man, thanks for your support, i think your injury required surgery while mine is subject to open discussion and the ultimate decision will be mine, but it will be highly influenced by the surgeon. I appreciate your support and although i didn't have to be on a wheelchair for 3 months. I was on a walking boot for 6 weeks with crutches.Not the same but I hated it so much.
@ duran: haha you're coming to mcgill anyways so I'll see you when you get here :D
by the way I really appreciate everybodys input
Well, that's good sounds like you're making progress.
I wouldn't rule out needing surgery if it's responding as well as you claim... a good solid month of therapy and you may not even want it anymore if you can do most things. Sports at a high level may still be a bit iffy but you should be able to at least play some pickup without it depending.... we'll see though.
I'm currently a PT student...but I have a pretty good orthopedic background of knowledge so I know most of the phases of rehab for most anything atm.
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