i badly sprained my right ankle because i guess having numb feet and lower legs i just didnt feel my foot not being placed correctly or over time. I didnt know that i hurt it, felt just a wince of pain, and have been walking on it for two days and now it is very swollen. I have sprained my ankles many times and broke it and toes a few times. Im afraid that i may break my ankles down over time and be in worse trouble.

Hi Joe,

Very sorry to hear you hurt yourself. I hope that you'll heal up quick. What did the doctor say? Did they recommend any PT? Are you wearing special shoes, or do you have shoes designed for PN?

Please have it looked at carefully...

Sometimes people break off a small piece of bone when the ankle sprains(where the tendon attaches)...this leads to very poor healing and permanent damage over time if not caught very early and immobilized properly. (this is more common as we age).

So I hope you get it X-rayed.

ice and rest, and keep elevated, are the best treatments. Soaking in lukewarm epsom salts may help too.

Sorry to hear about it Joe.
I, too have pains in my ankles occasionally (not enough, I think)
and think I may be doing damage to them over time. I haven't
had a doc see it when it happens, so I don't know if its a sprain,
but I've broken toes before - and not realized it until the swelling
& discoloration appears.
Keep it elevated, iced, & stay off of it.
I hope it heals quickly.

HI Joe!
Sorry to hear about your injury. How miserable to have to put up with all that goes with a sprain. I hope you heal quickly and totally!

Hi Joe.

Hope you feel better soon, and stay off of that ankle until you do.


You take care.

I just realized it was sprained last night when i saw the swelling, i think i did it on a maybe one inch high ridge of grass on frozen ground...unreal.....since ive sprained them many times im sure that they sprain more readily.......from what the x ray shows with degree of swelling nothing is broken, and ill have to stay off it until the swelling goes down. Im going to get some of those elastic ankle supporters that i used to wear when i played hockey. Its the not feeling the uneven ground thats the problem i think and you dont feel your ankle starting to strain and just keep the weight on the foot at that instant instead of reacting like a normal person would do. The injury itself is no big deal but the long term effects of repetitive injuries i think is. Thanks for responding everyone.

Yeah, i hope it heals quickly Joe, sounds like a great idea with those ankle supports to help prevent any further sprains in the future.

Brian

Unfortunately, twist and sprain injuries are very common in people with neuropathy, as the garbled nerve signals mess with our proprioceptive (bodily feedback) abilities, and often we move joints further than they were intended to be moved without knowing exactly how far we've gone--until it's too late. Not to mention the degree to which neuropathy can interfere with our pain signalling systems.

Mr.s D is quite right--any major twist or turn in the ankle area is worth an x-ray to check out the bone/tendon attachments, an dmay require immobilization. (My 9-year old son got a grade 4 low left ankle sprain last year--about as bad as you can get without a break--and he was sat down for nearly six weeks. We still have him wear a sleeve when he plays basketball.) The ankle area does not heal as rapidly as many others--for the same reasons that many neuropathies start in those distal areas; the region does not have as good a blood supply as others, and blood must ravel farther, and it's easy to disturb transportation of oxygen and nutrients to the area and transport of fluid and waste products out (especially with inflammation).

I'm so sorry to hear of your injury. Ankles support the entire body and the way we move. I've been suffering with my left ankle since the stress fracture months ago. It never got to properly heal from the fracture, ...I think. If you have a ReBuilder, you might use it at night to stir up the blood circulation in the area. I hope it heals fast for you.

Billye