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11/21/2005 10:30:31 AM · #1 |
Twelve days ago while attempting to put the star on the christmas tree I fell off the ladder (which I hadn't secured properly) and dislocated my ankle. There were no fractures or breaks just torn ligaments. The ankle is back where it belongs and in plaster till 21st Dec. My questuion to anyone who has had a bad dislocation- how long were you in plaster? when does the swelling stop each time your foot is on the ground? and after the plaster comes off how soon were you walking?
Need cheering up so only positive feedback required!!! |
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11/21/2005 10:38:06 AM · #2 |
Get Well Soon!
Sorry, don't have any experiences to share, I only broke a finger once, no big deal. But I hope you get to feeling better soon! |
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11/21/2005 10:39:53 AM · #3 |
Torn ligaments!?! OUCH!
I tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in my knee when I was 18, decorating our Christmas tree (no, skiing, really). I eventually had it operated on and replaced with a graft held in with screws. I was only off my feet for a few weeks after the surgery, so I suppose you should be up & around pretty soon.
But you won't need that fixed? I don't think ligaments repair themselves, though I'm not a doctor.
:-(
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11/21/2005 10:51:07 AM · #4 |
I broke my ankle when I was 21 decorating a Christmas tree (playing football at night while drinking cheap Canadian whiskey). It was several weeks before I was out and about without a cast or crutch. It still pops once in a while when I move it wrong, but it's just noisy, not painful.
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11/21/2005 10:52:56 AM · #5 |
I didn't dislocate my ankle, but I was pretty close. I had a level 3 sprain. Depending on the level of your tears, you could have to have surgery to re-attatch. Did they do an MRI to determine that?
I wa off my ankle for a good 6 weeks, and still kinda gimpy after that. I am just now, over a year and a half later, able to play some sports without it hurting to badly afterwards.
Recommendations:
1. do what the DOC's tell you and stay in your boot, do not drive or walk on it as much as you can, use your crutches for a month or however long they told you.
2. request an MRI if you haven't had one. There's no reason you should wait two months till you should have healed, and then have to do it all over again after surgery.
3. DO YOUR PHYSICAL THERAPY, there's a reason my ankle still hurts, it's because I was too lazy/poor/stupid to go in for my physcal therapy.
4. I know your ankle being busted keeps you from bending from the knees correctly, but watch out for your back, you don't need a bum lower back and a bum ankle.
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11/21/2005 10:55:33 AM · #6 |
I lost my mind once. Never did completely heal...
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11/21/2005 10:56:19 AM · #7 |
Originally posted by nsbca7:
I broke my ankle when I was 21 decorating a Christmas tree (playing football at night while drinking cheap Canadian whiskey). It was several weeks before I was out and about without a cast or crutch. It still pops once in a while when I move it wrong, but it's just noisy, not painful. |
dislocations and torn tendons are very much different. I actually know someone who has done both, and they said the pain/heal time on a high level sprain or dislocation is worse. Like I said, if you really did tear tendons, you might have to have surgery.
My ankle still hurts when a hogh/low pressure front comes in, or when I've worked it too hard.
-edit, the reason being that bone grows back harder, while tendons do not.
Message edited by author 2005-11-21 15:58:44.
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11/21/2005 11:10:05 AM · #8 |
Only your doctor knows for sure.
It depends on a lot of factors, including age. The dislocation is not nearly as serious as the damage to ligaments, it will be a memory by the time you can start rehab. If you can tolerate the discomfort, the trend in medicine nowadays is to get you out of the cast and into flexibility exercises as soon as possible. But you need to immobilize it long enough to give the ligaments a good start on healing. Keeping weight off of it, especially at the beginning, will speed that healing along. Don't expect to be walking normally for quite some time after the cast comes off. Good part is that it's not an uncommon injury. There is an established treatment regimen with very high prospects of full recovery in time. If you are impatient to get back to full use of the ankle, and can tolerate the pain, you can push yourself harder when you get into rehab.
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11/21/2005 11:10:25 AM · #9 |
| The hospital hasn't been too informative...they told me that in most cases of ankle dislocation that there are usually broken bones too. Well they were surprised that I didn't have any.They took lots of x-rays from various painful angles (no mri) However it was a bad dislocation and when the orthapeadic guy says to you it's the first dislocation of it's kind he's seen you start to imagine all sorts of things. I'm in no pain now and managed to go through the whole thing without much pain relief. I can wriggle my toes which have bruising on them and slightly move my ankle forward when the plaster is a bit loose when I'm not swollen. I've got a wheelchair (crutches were just too strenous) and am in bed a lot. Very frustrating this time of the year when all I can think about is finishing off the tree, christmas shopping and other christmas orientated things. Anyway I've bought Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 gold edition. It should keep me busy...hopefully!! |
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11/21/2005 11:13:04 AM · #10 |
I dislocated my car keys once, then I located them .
Steve |
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11/21/2005 11:15:43 AM · #11 |
RICE
rest
ice (can't do it since it's in cast)
compression (got a cast on)
elevation
As has been said, when the cast comes off, do your exercises. They are key in your rehabilition and getting everything (mobility, stability, etc) back. If the doc says stay off, stay off, even if you think you can put pressure on it.
As for Xmas shopping, isn't it nice we live in the age of online shopping :)
If you do get cruthches, make sure they are fitted to your height properly. I've seen way to many people with cruthches to high (they think it's suppose to support them under their arms) and it actually makes you tired faster and is more uncomfortable. Be careful with the winter, as wet surfaces may be slippery.
Now then, put your feet (cast and all) up, have a glass of wine, and enjoy rollercoaster tycoon 3!
I've never had dislocation, but lots of sprains, and if you take care of it properly, you'll be back in full gear in no time! |
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11/21/2005 12:10:30 PM · #12 |
Here's a photo of my ankle in all it's precast glory!!! Anyone else with stupid accident photos? |
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11/21/2005 12:18:44 PM · #13 |
| Dislocated both shoulder and elbow in one go playing softball, nearly made me cry!!!! |
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11/21/2005 12:48:16 PM · #14 |
Originally posted by naomik:
Here's a photo of my ankle in all it's precast glory!!!Anyone else with stupid accident photos? |
That's the universe telling you that you're trying to trim the Xmas tree too early.
I hope you feel better soon. Take it easy and rest. Keep us updated.
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11/21/2005 12:56:24 PM · #15 |
dislocated a shoulder snowboarding. I used to hit those 30 and 40 ft jumps....let me tell you when you land wrong there are usually some consequences. I actually snapped a snowboard on one of those jumps...that was somethin.
But I just popped my shoulder back in, it hurt like hell but went away quickly, had a physical therapist look at it and he just recomended exercises and being careful. It popped out a few more times while surfing but hasn't acted up in over a year and I'm pretty religous about maintaining strength in that area.
In a lot of those situations surgery could help alot, but isn't gauranteed...in my case he said it probably wasn't worth it.
Just make sure to take care of it and do exercises (when you can start), atrophy is the enemy . |
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11/21/2005 01:15:19 PM · #16 |
| I tore quite a few of the ligaments in my ankle three years ago. I was playing volleyball and was surprised to find another fellow's foot under mine when I came down from a block (my jumping skill almost always assures me of being first on the ground) it sounded like celery being munched on when the ankle did things it wasn't designed to do. I had micro tears in most of the medial ligaments of my lower left leg, but no tearing off the bone fortunately. I spent three months in an air cast and enjoyed the most painfull self abuse massaging out the adhesions between ligament threads over the next year. No fun at all. Good news is I only missed one ski season and as of a year ago I have almost the full return of flexibility and range of motion. I feel your pain or at least your photo brings my own pain clearly to mind: And I second Beagleboy's sense that this may be karmic punishment for getting too early a jump on christmass. |
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11/21/2005 01:19:55 PM · #17 |
Originally posted by naomik:
Here's a photo of my ankle in all it's precast glory!!!Anyone else with stupid accident photos? |
Eww, ew, ew! That looks very painful! I've only had really bad sprains (and no doctor visits) and limped around for a few weeks so I don't have much to offer. Hope you heal up quickly!
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11/21/2005 01:44:48 PM · #18 |
I broke my tibia and fibula tossing a bag of mulch while on wet grass last year. I was in plaster casts from September 2-December 15 (above the knee with leg bent for the first 54 of those 104 days). I don't remember exactly how long it was, but it took a long time for the swelling and pain to go away. It really was all a blur, what with the percocet and all....
Get well soon. |
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11/21/2005 02:19:06 PM · #19 |
Well awhile ago a landed on my arm after jumping over stuff like friends and fences and dislocated it around the shoulder joint. It was painful when it happened and I had to go to the dcotor and everything but now it's fun because I seem to be missing something in there and I can bend my arm right behind my back and gross people out.
Is this wrong or what? ;-D
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11/21/2005 02:21:19 PM · #20 |
Hey Joey - You should try grunging;
For added impact. ;) |
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11/21/2005 02:36:02 PM · #21 |
Originally posted by Joey Lawrence:
Well awhile ago a landed on my arm after jumping over stuff like friends and fences and dislocated it around the shoulder joint. It was painful when it happened and I had to go to the dcotor and everything but now it's fun because I seem to be missing something in there and I can bend my arm right behind my back and gross people out.
Is this wrong or what? ;-D
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Well a least you can scratch your own back. Most bears would envy you. On the other hand I know a ten year old girl who can do that naturally. She can do a 360 degree rotation with her wrist. Looks like the exorcist or something.
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11/21/2005 02:41:05 PM · #22 |
Originally posted by naomik:
Here's a photo of my ankle in all it's precast glory!!!Anyone else with stupid accident photos? |
That sure is pretty! Can't say that I've ever dislocated my ankle, but had so many bad sprains that I would have been better off doing something like that maybe. I still play ball three days a week, and suffer for it every day. Mine hurts every time I stand on it after sitting for a while. Once it gets worked for a moment and loosens up, then it is fine.
There are some specialized braces that you can get from a foot doctor that I think are very helpful. They tighten to one side to not allow as much side movement during regular walking. I would check in to that if I were you.
When I get home, I'll post some stupid accident photos that I have on file.
Scott |
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11/21/2005 02:43:19 PM · #23 |
Originally posted by nsbca7:
On the other hand I know a ten year old girl who can do that naturally. She can do a 360 degree rotation with her wrist. Looks like the exorcist or something. |
When I was a kid I could do it with both my shoulders and my hips - my feet and my hands would look like they were on backwards. Its due to loose or long ligaments. Unfortunately, now that I'm older, it causes problems. My right hip slips all the time and my left shoulder has dislocated 3 times in three years. Boy getting old is fun. :)
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11/21/2005 03:57:46 PM · #24 |
A dislocated shoulder did me in for a while some time ago. Man, did that smart. Had to use a sort of sling for 6 weeks with orders to stay in it always, or else! When it was taken off, I wanted back in, right then and there, as all the muscles had atrophied and did not want to move ever again. And said so.
Advice? Do the exercises. Do twice as many as recommended if necessary.
More advice? Get that hospital, and/or doctor to give you as much information as you need to heal properly. If they can't, or won't, well, be a bit noisy (or persistent) until you get what you need to know. This is one of those times when it is not necessary or even appropriate to be 'ladylike'.
Final advice: This too will pass. Honest, it will.
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11/21/2005 04:32:41 PM · #25 |
blew out my left knee twice...everything torn, everything broken. torn rotator cuff in my left shoulder and partially torn bicep tendons in both arms. now my right thumb dislocates every time i try to move it.
lol...is there a correlation between being a photographer and having a body that's falling apart? |
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