Hi allI think I did something really bad to my ankle after jumping around doing a workout video. Six weeks ago. Now it's so bad I can't even stand. I have been totally sedentary for four weeks. I feel absolutely dreadful. Incredibly stiff of course and utterly depressed as I don't know what on earth is going on. Although I have a NHS referral to orthopedics I know they won't be able to do anything without further tests. I think it might be stress fractures. I got a private MRI scan out of desperation but it's taking ages for them to send results and to be honest I just don't trust that they ever will.
I'm not asking for a diagnosis. Just solidarity or any shared experience.
I have been given the images on a CD but I don't know if any (UK) consultant has the correct software to even open the images.
I've never been so depressed and worried and I think I'll never be able to walk again
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If you have got your CD back your results ought to go to whoever referred you right away. When I had a private MRI I left with the CD but my results went straight to the physio who referred me and he forwarded them to me then I saw him again to discuss the findings.
So contact the clinic again and find out what is going on. Private MRIs don’t come cheap and you are entitled to know what was found so remind them you have paid them a lot of money for the MRI and you want to see the report asap. You shouldn’t have to wait ages.
It might be worth going to A&E and having your foot x rayed again and possibly have it put in plaster - at least once that was done you could maybe get about a bit better.
I’m sure you will be able to walk again, when I fractured my sacrum in a freak accident in 2021 I felt the same, the pain was indescribable, I could barely move and I was sure I would need a mobility scooter for the rest of my life but here I am back to how I used to be. You will get there, you might not feel like it but you will.
thank you out of interest, how long did it take for the results to go to the physio? That's a good idea about the repeat X ray actually, although every time I have been to A&E they make it clear they are pretty unimpressed with my appearance and remind me that it's an emergency service and I don't have a life threatening condition. Ouch for the sacrum injury! how long did it take you to recover?
The physio I saw who referred me to the scan clinic emailed me a copy of my MRI report next day. Who referred you for the MRI?
I was recently referred for an MRI on my head - ear problems - I realised that all I had afterwards was a letter from the referring consultant basically saying there was nothing really wrong.
When I thought about the difference between that scan and the one for my back I realised that I ought to have had a copy of the radiographer’s too so I emailed the ENT consultant’s secretary and asked for a copy and was given it right away, I suppose because the consultant had seen it and been in touch with me. You could try doing that.
The sacrum - took quite a long time to recover - 6-12 months probably. I queued all night to see the lying in state for the Queen and that almost killed me off. When I saw my Pilates teacher / physio afterwards her very first question was ‘How’s the back?’ And the answer was ‘Hmm, not great’.
I went for a lot of flat walks and realised I could gradually go further before I had to sit down or lean on something, it was slow though and I found standing still quite a problem, I had a lot of nerve pain - the Nordic poles were very good for lifting the pressure off my lower back when I stopped to talk to people.
I joked with the physio at the start that there was no way I would be jay walking and I can do that now. I can also jog a little if I need to. I’m back to taking 10K steps, more if I want to whereas I really didn’t think I would ever walk again.
Good luck with the foot, if you can’t walk on it you are as entitled as anyone else to have it treated. Could you ask your GP to refer you for an x ray? That way you wouldn’t have to go to A&E.
thanks. I don't know. it's been a long time, it was x rayed already but that didn't show anything. the MRI was done privately although I got a GP to refer. I guess because they are external then they take their time. I can only dream of being able to walk! The trouble is I don't really know what it is - might not be a fracture, might be nerve damage and this terrifies me and it's so horrible just being in the dark for so long.
Not all fractures show up well in an initial x-ray. Often, patients are advised to get an injury re-x-rayed in 2 weeks time if it is still bothering them. At this point, new bone is starting to develop and a stress fracture is much easier to see on an x-ray once that is happening.
The NHS does not routinely make scans available to another hospital/trust. However it is possible. It would need to be shared electronically via a system called PACS. The hospital doing the scan ought to be able to send it to a consultant via PACS.
Hi I have broken both my feet, the last time was last year, I couldn't walk so I went straight to A&E they X rayed it and thought it was the cortoid bone but because of the position of it they weren't a 100% sure they gave me a moon boot and painkillers. I could walk on it ok and drive because I have an automatic, the boot really helped, it healed in 5 weeks. I hope you get the results of your scan soon but if not maybe a visit to A&E would get something done. Take care char
Thanks I don't know what is going on, it's been six weeks since I hurt it, been getting worse and worse, today I can't stand and the other leg is really painful too, I have no idea what has happened and the NHS so far have just told me nothing because the x-ray didn't show a break. I seriously think I am going to lose the leg, I am so terrified
I think you did the right thing getting a private MRI - I agree with the GP plan, ring or email the surgery and say exactly what you say here, that then pain has massively increased, you can't walk, you are v frightened, you have osteoporosis already (I assume) you need immediate help. You need an urgent telephone or Zoom appointment. Clearly there is a fracture which didn't show on x ray.
If the other leg is also very painful now, is it possible that this could be coming from a back injury? It may sound unlikely, but in my experience it's possible to have leg and ankle pain that's due to a back issue. I had ankle problems a few years ago that made walking difficult. They couldn't work out what was causing it, so eventually I found a link with back problems via Dr Google! I had no back pain at the time, but have had occasional flare ups since, which have coincided with back pain.
I am so sorry to hear that, I really hope you can get an answer very soon especially when you are in so much pain, let me know when you get your results, I so hope they will let you know what is going on. Char x
Hi, I had a freak accident whilst on holiday a good number of years ago but it was such a traumatic and painful experience it will always be fresh in my mind.
I could not put any weight on my foot at all and had to be taken to a clinic to be given pain relieving injections.
The follow day it began to swell badly and they were really concerned it may be broken because of my osteoporosis.
I was taken to hospital but it was appalling.
It resembled a bombed out building it really was shocking, I will not go into many details but the place had no windows, no beds, just concrete slabs with filthy covers on, wires hanging out of walls and water running from and down walls.
Long story short they just began to mix plaster in what looked to be a workman’s bucket!!!!
The spoken language was Latin American Spanish and I was very fortunate to be able to speak and understand it.
I told them I did not want them to do anything and insisted on being taken back to the hotel. Both my husband and myself were horrified.
It was the worst holiday ever as you will imagine from the pain you are in yourself. I continued with the injections for pain and spent the time in the room with meals brought to us and was given a wheelchair that was falling to bits.
We were away for 4 weeks and I was told I could not fly until some of the swelling had gone down.
The journey home was really difficult my foot and leg swelled and became really cold, but on returning had my foot x rayed.
No breaks were visible and I was told to put my weight on my foot and walk on it.
I thought this is crazy advice but I took it and gradually the pain began to improve.
It turned out I had torn a tendon and was told that the healing process can take longer than a break, I thought like you is this going to go on forever😔 once I began to put my foot to the ground and use it the stiffness went and then the worst of the pain.
If your Osteoporosis is very severe you could have had a fracture, but it could equally be a torn ligament or badly sprained. If you have not been using your foot it will have really stiffened up, perhaps you could start by wriggling your toes whilst sat down then doing gentle circular movements with your ankle, then put your put to the ground whilst sitting and gently put weight on it.
I hope you receive your results very soon because then you will be able to feel more confident in the way forward. X
Thank you so much for your story, that is really interesting to hear :-)Right now this second I'm worrying like crazy about the other leg which has started screaming at me, hopefully this is just muscle strain from taking the brunt of weight bearing for the last month but as you can imagine my anxiety is sky high at the moment.
I'll keep this board updated.... Hey maybe one day I'll get a diagnosis...
Hi all I can add is my experience,As you don't know what you have done ,break or sprain. I broke my ankle in Feb. A and E said if it was a sprain the treatment was rest to reduce swelling and simple exercises.
As I broke it ,it was a boot support, with weightbearing if possible ,and crutches when needed.
As it hurts so much even now its prob broken. Hope there's resolution, don't despair ,
6mths on I'm OK as I hope you will be,exercises helped once swelling went down and painrelief and ice packs ,ice packs very good xxx
I "sprained" my ankle on Xmas Eve. A week later, I went to A & E with a foot and ankle covered in swelling and bruises. They took an x-ray and gave me the results very quickly. They said everyone who saw my foot and the x-ray couldn't believe I hadn't broken anything! It had been a freak "accident". I got up from my chair and my toe got caught on the laminate (!) The slippers I was wearing were like ankle boots and as I stepped forward my ankle was badly twisted. I'm ashamed to say it, but it happened twice! I do not know to this day how it actually happened. I could walk on it from the start but it was just sore from the twist. It's almost forgotten now. I suspect your injury is not so simple, so go and get it checked out.
Yeah ... So frustrating cos I have been to doctors, to urgent care centre, to A&E, but because there is no swelling and the x-ray didn't show anything, nobody really took me seriously. I had to get an MRI privately. I don't even know if/when I'll get results. I feel really let down by the NHS to be honest because I am worried that while waiting for someone to help and properly investigate for the past six weeks, I've been making it worse (I saw a physio two weeks ago who told me to practice weight bearing because she thought it was soft tissue. I did that and was in agony .... )
So far as the NHS is concerned, if you can't see it or check it through blood, there isn't anything there. There are physios and physios, so I would see your GP again and ask to see someone more senior ASAP. It's your symptoms (pain) that count. If you can't put weight on it, how're you gonna live your life? It might be a strained ligament and that isn't likely to show up on an x-ray. It might show up on an MRI.
I'm so sorry you're going through this with your ankle.
When an ankle hurts, it seems impossible to walk on it. Last year, I hurt my ankle badly while doing balance exercises at the physical therapist. I couldn't walk on it and the area around the ankle extending to the foot swelled badly for a few days. I went to see my podiatrist who took an Xray and found no fracture. It was a damaged ligament as a result from the balancing exercises. He also told me that walking would be beneficial for the healing process since it gets the blood and oxygen flowing. (Note: This is not good to do if you think you have a fracture). Anyway, it took a full 2 months for the majority of the pain to go away. In fact, about 1 1/2 months in, I contacted the podiatrist again about the continuing pain and he told me that ankle pain takes a long time to go away and ankles in general take a while to heal. He wasn't wrong.
Hang in there. You will walk again. Perhaps another Xray is in order and do visit an orthopedic doctor or a podiatrist for answers. Either way you need to be seen because of your increasing pain and inability to use your foot. If it is a fracture, a boot or a cast is in order and one that is comfortable for you to start walking again. This will be beneficial for your other leg which is probably stiffening/cramping up. And if it's something else, then they may suggest exercises or even walking. starting off slowly of course.
Good luck and keep us posted.
(I'm in the U.S. so I'm not sure "physical therapist" and "podiatrist" are typically used in the U.K.)
the other leg is indeed now a problem. so much so that it hurts more than the injured leg. horrible pain running down the outside of my calf (on the 'good' leg) for 2 days. I don't know what this is but the result is that I'm unable to bear weight on either leg which makes moving a bit of a problem. 😔
physical therapist = i believe this is the same as physiotherapist in UK; podiatrist = yes we have those!
Seems to me you need the CD contents looked at carefully and urgently. I think you were right to get an MRI done.Might your GP / Urgent Care clinic / A&E read it? I think I would 111 give advice on where to go ... and get them to book you in.
Medical images like MRIs are typically stored in DICOM format, which requires a specific viewer to open them. However the heath service will have this, we just need is the correctly qualified person to analyse it properly and I have a feeling that may not be the GP.
Ankles have so many little bones. I turned an ankle, was in a lot of pain and when I went to A&E they said it a tiny bone was broken, but not where they thought it was just looking and examining it. Horrible pain.... does the frozen pea treatment help meanwhile?
I looked at your bio, a bit more info would be good, I am not sure why but it would be interesting so we can picture you.
I am really sorry to hear you are in so much pain and totally understand the private MRI. Were you sent a paper report or just a CD? On the CD there should be a viewer software that you need to install on your PC if you got one. You will be able view and print the report. Take this to your GP or orthopedic or physio appointment.
In my experience health professionals often down have the technical knowhow or even have CD/DVD drive on their computers to upload the report or images. In theory the private company who did the MRI could liaise with the Imaging Department to upload the images...but with the NHS being so pressurised it is easier for the NHS consultant to request another MRI.
I went through private MRI route once, my GP said she couldn't interpret it, said scans did show "pain" and so worthless............ However, the scan report is on my medical record for future record.
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out of interest, how long did it take for the results to go to the physio? That's a good idea about the repeat X ray actually, although every time I have been to A&E they make it clear they are pretty unimpressed with my appearance and remind me that it's an emergency service and I don't have a life threatening condition. Ouch for the sacrum injury! how long did it take you to recover? 
and it's so horrible just being in the dark for so long.
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sitting comfortably 
