Question: Hi, I hurt my right ankle Saturday afternoon playing volleyball with some friends. At the time of the injury, I had quite a bit of pain but that somewhat subsided within the first few hours or so after it happened. I have been resting and icing it regularly since the injury and it seems to have slightly helped with some of the swelling and pain but I am a little concerned that I still can't seem to put very much weight on it. As long as it is elevated, it feels "ok" but if I try to walk on it, I can't take more than a step or two without significant pain, almost like the pain I had immediately after I injured it. At the time of the injury, I would have bet anything that it was just a sprain,(I have had numerous sprains before so have some experience with them) but I definitely didn't expect to STILL not be able to bear weight of any significance. I'm reluctant to go to the hospital unless absolutely necessary due to the financial ramifications so I guess my question is, how long should I wait before biting the bullet so to speak and getting it looked at? How normal is it for a sprain to feel ok while resting but be SOOOO painful as soon as a little weight is applied? I am a 34 year old male .

Thank you for your diagnosis. I must say, I was kind of afraid of that. To clarify, I'm not sure I would rate my pain level as excruciating when I try to walk but, on a 1-10 scale, I would rate it a good solid 7 at least. Might I ask,would going to an "Urgent Care" facility be sufficient? Let's say, God forbid, my ankle is fractured, would an Urgent Care be able to diagnose and treat my injury or would I just end up at the ER anyway?