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Suggest Treatment For Persistent Leg Sprain Causing Difficulty In Walking
Question: Hello Doctor,
Today I sprained by leg some 2 hours ago. while walking on the road, i somehow placed by right leg in a pothole and twisted by right leg along the side. i did not fall but recovered with a jerk. I now have a swelling on the bone just below the outer side of the right ankle and have difficulty walking. I am in office now and have some important meetings, so cant immediately go to the doctor. What medication should i take and hope this would not be a fracture.
REgards,
xxxxxx
Today I sprained by leg some 2 hours ago. while walking on the road, i somehow placed by right leg in a pothole and twisted by right leg along the side. i did not fall but recovered with a jerk. I now have a swelling on the bone just below the outer side of the right ankle and have difficulty walking. I am in office now and have some important meetings, so cant immediately go to the doctor. What medication should i take and hope this would not be a fracture.
REgards,
xxxxxx
Brief Answer:
You are suffering from ankle sprain.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
Injury is minor and you can help yourself by-
1.Rest:The first 24-48 hours after the injury is considered a critical treatment period and activities need to be curtailed. Gradually put as much weight on the involved ankle as tolerated and discontinue crutch use when you can walk with a normal gait (with minimal to no pain or limp).
2.Ice:For the first 48 hours post-injury,use an ice pack and elevate the ankle sprain 20 minutes at a time every 3-4 hours. The ice pack can be a bag of frozen vegetables (peas or corn), allowing you to be able to re-use the bag. Do NOT ice a ankle sprain for more than 20 minutes at a time!! You will not be helping heal the ankle sprain any faster, and you can cause damage to the tissues!
3.Compression:Use compression when elevating the ankle sprain in early treatment. Using an Ace bandage, wrap the ankle from the toes all the way up to the top of the calf muscle, overlapping the elastic wrap by one-half of the width of the wrap. The wrap should be snug, but not cutting off circulation to the foot and ankle. So, if your foot becomes cold, blue, or falls asleep, re-wrap!
4.Elevate:Keep your ankle sprain higher than your heart as often as possible. Elevate at night by placing books under the foot of your mattresses--just stand up slowly in the morning.
The tenderness in the upper thigh area can be due to muscle stretch or some internal bleeding/ haematoma. if you can put the weight and stand on your right leg then fracture is less likely.5.you can take diclofenac,paracetamol and thiocolchicoside as pain killer.
I hope this information has been both informative and helpful for you. If there are additional concerns, I am available for your followups.
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.
For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal
You are suffering from ankle sprain.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
Injury is minor and you can help yourself by-
1.Rest:The first 24-48 hours after the injury is considered a critical treatment period and activities need to be curtailed. Gradually put as much weight on the involved ankle as tolerated and discontinue crutch use when you can walk with a normal gait (with minimal to no pain or limp).
2.Ice:For the first 48 hours post-injury,use an ice pack and elevate the ankle sprain 20 minutes at a time every 3-4 hours. The ice pack can be a bag of frozen vegetables (peas or corn), allowing you to be able to re-use the bag. Do NOT ice a ankle sprain for more than 20 minutes at a time!! You will not be helping heal the ankle sprain any faster, and you can cause damage to the tissues!
3.Compression:Use compression when elevating the ankle sprain in early treatment. Using an Ace bandage, wrap the ankle from the toes all the way up to the top of the calf muscle, overlapping the elastic wrap by one-half of the width of the wrap. The wrap should be snug, but not cutting off circulation to the foot and ankle. So, if your foot becomes cold, blue, or falls asleep, re-wrap!
4.Elevate:Keep your ankle sprain higher than your heart as often as possible. Elevate at night by placing books under the foot of your mattresses--just stand up slowly in the morning.
The tenderness in the upper thigh area can be due to muscle stretch or some internal bleeding/ haematoma. if you can put the weight and stand on your right leg then fracture is less likely.5.you can take diclofenac,paracetamol and thiocolchicoside as pain killer.
I hope this information has been both informative and helpful for you. If there are additional concerns, I am available for your followups.
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.
For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Hello Doctor,
Thanks for your detailed answer. Appreciate it. I also did visit a physician near my house so that I also have this checked physically by a doctor. He has advised me nearly the same that you did in your answer above.
He said that usually such sprains do not result in fractures but the stretching of ligaments and muscles in that area which come back to normal position slowly. He has advised me to apply a crepe bandage and has given me Diclofenac and pain killer tablets for 3 days and said post that we can go for an x-ray if things do not improve.
The swelling has been reducing continuously and today it is minimal and I can walk with a slight limp. The pain was also bearable till today morning when i tried to kick start my bike and had to kick it 6-7 times which increased the pain a bit.
Just wanted to check the future course of action and usually how many days will such injury take to heal.
Regards
xxxxx
Thanks for your detailed answer. Appreciate it. I also did visit a physician near my house so that I also have this checked physically by a doctor. He has advised me nearly the same that you did in your answer above.
He said that usually such sprains do not result in fractures but the stretching of ligaments and muscles in that area which come back to normal position slowly. He has advised me to apply a crepe bandage and has given me Diclofenac and pain killer tablets for 3 days and said post that we can go for an x-ray if things do not improve.
The swelling has been reducing continuously and today it is minimal and I can walk with a slight limp. The pain was also bearable till today morning when i tried to kick start my bike and had to kick it 6-7 times which increased the pain a bit.
Just wanted to check the future course of action and usually how many days will such injury take to heal.
Regards
xxxxx
Brief Answer:
Time of healing depends on many factors.
Detailed Answer:
Hello.
Thanks for writing again.
The time of healing depends on the severity of the sprain, the extent of ligament injury and the degree of rest you provide to your foot. Kick starting a bike is an activity that needs to be avoided for at least 4 weeks. You need to avoid all the painful movements. If all the precautions are taken properly and it is a mild strain ( Diagnosed after MRI scan) then it will heal in 2-3 weeks.
Hope my answer is helpful.
Do accept my answer in case there are no further queries.
Regards.
Time of healing depends on many factors.
Detailed Answer:
Hello.
Thanks for writing again.
The time of healing depends on the severity of the sprain, the extent of ligament injury and the degree of rest you provide to your foot. Kick starting a bike is an activity that needs to be avoided for at least 4 weeks. You need to avoid all the painful movements. If all the precautions are taken properly and it is a mild strain ( Diagnosed after MRI scan) then it will heal in 2-3 weeks.
Hope my answer is helpful.
Do accept my answer in case there are no further queries.
Regards.
Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Yogesh D
Answered by
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