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What Causes Swelling And Pain In The Ankle Post Injury Despite A Normal X-ray?

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Posted on Thu, 6 Oct 2016
Question: I have a Severely Sprained ankle... It was X-rayed It was too swollen to put anything over it but an Ace Bandage... The whole foot has turned all sorts of colors and the major damage was done to the outer part of the ankle. It is still swollen and now hurting very badly.... I also ran a temperature yesterday. This morning it's very hot ( the ankle ) and there are Reddish/maroon Blotches going up my shin more than halfway up my leg. Should I go back to orthopedic or is this normal... ? This is a week old injury, all I did was stand up which was an odd way for it to just give out and have this kind of damage.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich (1 hour later)
Brief Answer:
hi

Detailed Answer:
Hi and welcome to HCM.
This is pretty unusual for such changes to happen after closed injury. It means that there was no open sore.
However, in some cases, there may be inflammation of joint and tendons without open wound and it should be ruled outin your case.
If there was no fracture then surgery is not required of course, however immobilization with cast may be necessary and you should check your inflammatory markers to see is there infection and do you need antibiotics or there is deep vein thrombosis that required treatemnt as well.
I still tjhink this is just hematoma from the injury and ususally 4 weeks are required for recovery,but you need to rest strictly, apply ice, take nonsteroid painkillers. Wish you good health. Regards
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Veerisetty Shyamkumar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich (46 minutes later)
Thank you for your reply.. Will keep an eye on it and keep icing and elevated.. The Dr. did say it would take a long time to heal.. just wasn't expecting to feel so lousy.. I have a history of metatastic Melanoma and I still am confused as to how I got hurt just standing up... YYYY@YYYY
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich (5 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
hi

Detailed Answer:
Yes, it is very easy to sprain ankle even after minor movements. This is nothing unusual. In your case, there is probably ligament or capsule tear and it may cause prolonged recovery,but it will be good sooner or later. Of course, if you had metastatic melanoma then,some bone or joint fractures may indicate bone metastases, but it would be seen on xray imaging and fracture would be established. So I dont think this is related. However, if you have pain in other bones, you should do bone scintigraphy.
Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Veerisetty Shyamkumar
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Answered by
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Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich

General Surgeon

Practicing since :2008

Answered : 13886 Questions

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What Causes Swelling And Pain In The Ankle Post Injury Despite A Normal X-ray?

Brief Answer: hi Detailed Answer: Hi and welcome to HCM. This is pretty unusual for such changes to happen after closed injury. It means that there was no open sore. However, in some cases, there may be inflammation of joint and tendons without open wound and it should be ruled outin your case. If there was no fracture then surgery is not required of course, however immobilization with cast may be necessary and you should check your inflammatory markers to see is there infection and do you need antibiotics or there is deep vein thrombosis that required treatemnt as well. I still tjhink this is just hematoma from the injury and ususally 4 weeks are required for recovery,but you need to rest strictly, apply ice, take nonsteroid painkillers. Wish you good health. Regards