Sprained ankle how many weeks

That's part of that cartilage injury. What we've done now is we've basically cleaned out that loose cartilage. Now, we have a stable edge of cartilage. Here is exposed bone. This is a significant injury, where you lose cartilage. We then drill into the bone and what we want to see is this little bit of bleeding here. That's those good marrow elements that have a lot of stem cells and multi-potential healing cells that can form some scar cartilage over this whole area so that at least that joint has a better gliding surface.

That seems to help very well in most patients. Scenario 3 , a year-old female with multiple prior ankle sprains. Her last sprain was about eight months ago. She has persistent pain and swelling, doesn't trust her ankle. She avoids sports. She has several episodes of giving way over the past six months. You examine her in the office, and this is just the textbook image that we saw earlier. Again, you see this sort of dimple sign. There's clear anterior instability. A patient who continues to be unstable at this stage, with giving-way episodes, they will often benefit at first from a course of physical therapy if they haven't had that already.

That's really to focus on proprioception and strengthening of the surrounding musculature to see if that can be adequately Sorry, to see if that can adequately restore their sense of stability and allow them to return to activity. These patients often need bracing for more strenuous sporting activity to give them the sense of stability that they need. If those things fail, then surgery to repair the ligament is often very helpful. This is a diagram of the classic Brostrom-type repair.

This is the fibula right here. This is the calcaneofibular ligament, which has been cut and shortened and repaired. You don't always actually have to repair this. The most important part is repairing what's called the anterior talofibular ligament. That ligament is actually underneath here. This is the extensor retinaculum, which holds down the tendons on the front of the ankle. We incorporate that into the repair for some additional stability. Underneath that is the ligament repair.

That's very successful surgery. People do very well with that and they're able to return to most sporting activities, but it does take about six months before they can go back to real strenuous activity.

Scenario 4 is an year-old football player who twisted his ankle on the turf about a month ago. They did rest, ice, compression, elevation, and told him he'd be better in a couple weeks because it didn't look like that bad a sprain but he continues to have significant pain, pointing to the anterolateral aspect of the ankle. The pain travels up the leg from that point. X-rays are negative, but an MRI shows this fluid right here in the recess of the syndesmosis.

This, as we talked about earlier, is a syndesmotic injury, or your classic high ankle sprain. This is the injury to the syndesmotic ligaments that connect the fibula to the tibia, and so, when the ankle externally rotates, that's what puts stress on these ligaments.

You can diagnose this with what's called a squeeze test where you squeeze the fibula against the tibia proximally in the leg, just below the knee. That should recreate pain at the ankle. People often complain of pain over the tibia where you put your hand or your thumb. That's not a positive test. It has to be pain that they feel down in the ankle.

The X-rays will be negative unless there's severe ligament disruption and instability. That's a different sort of injury. These take a long time to heal. They need a good bit of bracing for a while and rehab, and mostly time, but they will almost always settle down. Scenario 5 is a year-old female. She sprained her ankle about nine months ago. She got better for a while but has pain in the anterolateral ankle. No instability.

She did some therapy, which didn't help, but she did get a cortisone injection in the ankle and that seemed to give her excellent relief for a period of time. This scenario, this is really a diagnosis of exclusion until you get to this point. This is an arthroscopic image of the ankle. Patients can develop what's called an anterolateral impingement lesion.

What that is is essentially hypertrophic scarring of the lateral ankle ligaments or the capsule. That creates, essentially, an impingement lesion where, when the ankle dorsiflexes and comes up, this excess tissue that you see here in the ankle.

Here is the talus and up here is the tibia. When these two bones come together during activities, or even just walking, it pinches all this tissue here and causes pain. These patients respond very well to excision of this tissue, but oftentimes they'll get better with time or with a local cortisone injection. MRIs are not very helpful. They often don't show this lesion. We're looking at some research to see if ultrasound may be more helpful in finding these lesions, but sometimes it's simply a diagnosis of exclusion.

You've ruled out all the other things, their pain is appropriate and clinically appropriate to this sort of diagnosis, and you offer them an arthroscopy.

That will often solve the issue for them. Scenario 6 is a year-old female. She turned her ankle stepping off a curb about six weeks ago. They placed her in an air stirrup in the ED but that didn't really help. Her bruising and swelling has resolved but she continues to have a lot of pain over the lateral foot and ankle. Here are her X-rays.

What you'll notice here is some abnormality at the base of the fifth metatarsal. If you or a loved one is experiencing pain, talk to an ankle doctor at Orthopedic Associates. Specialists Aaron D. Schrayer, M. Willenborg, M. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Careers at OA. Doctors Jeffery S. Cantrell Kent F. Dickson J. David Evanich Brady G. Giesler James R. Heerwagen John C. McElroy Aaron D. Schrayer Manuj C. Singhal Ian G. Wilkofsky Michael J. April 16, Blog , Foot and Ankle 0. Eric Turner. Eric Turner is a content writer who has been working with Orthopedic Associates since early Eric started writing the day after he learned to read, and hasn't stopped since. Like Tweet Pin it. A return to regular activities may be delayed for weeks or months.

Sprained ankle treatment depends on the severity of the injury. If you suspect you have an ankle sprain and are looking for treatment options, make an appointment today with one of our NY Orthopedics locations in New York City.

Skip to main content. What Are the Symptoms of a Sprained Ankle? Sprained ankle symptoms depend on the severity of the sprain and may include: Pain, particularly when you put too much weight on the foot Ankle is tender to the touch Bruising Swelling Limited range of motion Instability in the ankle Redness and warmth Popping sound or sensation at the time of injury What Can Cause a Sprained Ankle?

Causes of a sprained ankle can include: Twisting your ankle during a fall Exercising or walking on an uneven surface Someone steps or lands on your foot which can be common in sports activities Pivoting or jumping then experiencing a difficult landing on your foot Shoes that don't fit properly or high-heeled shoes.

Both can make your ankles more vulnerable to injury. Seek medical care when: The pain is so severe, even when you have rested and iced the affected area. It's hard to walk or you can't walk at all without experiencing a lot of pain.

After days, your ankle hasn't improved. Avoid a sprained ankle by: Keep your ankles strong and flexible with strengthening exercises. Wear the right shoes appropriate for an activity. Avoid high-heeled shoes when possible.

Tape a weak ankle for added support or wear an ankle brace during sports activities. Warm up before you exercise or play sports. Watch where you walk or run to avoid uneven surfaces. My email.