posted
I slipped on some wet grass outside, trying to get my new puppy to come back inside, and my ankle twisted badly. I'm not sure exactly how or what happened, I just remember falling to the ground and being in excruciating pain.
Wes came home and did his "Do you need an X-ray assessment?"
Can I move my toes? Yes. Is there excessive swelling? No, some swelling, not excessive Is there bruising? Only slight. Can I bear weight on that foot? Yes
So, we didn't go to the ER. Now, however, my toes and my foot are real tingly, like my foot's asleep. And my toes feel really numb. Wes felt my feet and said the injured one is colder than the other.
Do I need to be concerned? The pain is not that bad, so long as I don't rotate the joint any. I can bear weight if I stand flat-footed and don't try to turn the ankle any.
Any advice is appreciated.
[ January 27, 2004, 06:44 PM: Message edited by: Belle ]
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I don't have much advice to give you... I've sprained my ankle and ended up on crutches three times (in fact, I own a pair of crutches ), but I've always known that it's a sprain, and that I could feel my toes. *hugs*
Posts: 7877 | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
I would have it checked out ASAP. Loss of feeling is NOT good, and something that generally ought to be dealt with early. The temperature difference (and the tingles) may mean there are bloodflow issues.
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Yes you need to go to the ER soon. Like, really soon.
It is possible that you have comprimised(sp) the circulation to your foot.
It could be nothing and just simple swelling around a nerve causing the numbness. It could be the circulation is not good and tissue could die if blood flow doesn't get corrected.
Hard to say until you get it looked at. Posts: 98 | Registered: Aug 2003
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Doctor. Now. Do not stop to collect $200 (although that's probably what the visit will cost - pay 'em off at $5.00 per month like all the rest of us.) Self-care. Immediately.
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O_o; Yes, Belle, that is bad. My ankle is getting sympathy pains right now. There are a lot of things that could be wrong. Tingly = bad.
Posts: 4816 | Registered: Apr 2003
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A few years ago, I sprained my ankle while out dancing with some friends. Basically, a conga line, a really bad choice in shoe attire, and a raised dance floor were involved. It wasn't pretty, but I remember the main concern was blood flow. Swelling can cause the small blood vessels to be cut off which can lead to the tingling and the coldness. So whatever swelling you have... just try to get it down with ice or cold compresses. (No cubed or pointy ice... that stuff hurts with all the poking.)
Posts: 822 | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
(oh yeah: if you do go to an ER tonight... follow it up with a visit to an orthopedist tomorrow, get a specialist to see it... when i went to a local clinic to get my sprain diagnosed, they told me I just had a mild sprain, when actually I had a more serious sprain that needed a walking cast to fix, and so I wasted several weeks on crutches that didn't do me any good until I did go to an orthopedist...)
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posted
See, that's part of my reluctance about going - last time I went to the ER for a fall (yes, I'm clumsy!) they x-rayed me and told me I was fine.
Turned out I had a broken bone, the doctor missed it but the radiologist caught it.
I've lost faith in the ER system.
I figure I'll wait until tomorrow and if it's not any better I'll call my doc and get a referral to an ortho.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Belle, I looked on eMedicine. For Broken Toe, they say:
quote: When To Go to the Hospital: Cold, numb, or tingling toes. Blue or gray colored skin. Open wounds, bleeding, or drainage near the toe.
Please go. It would be horrible for you to have a Forever problem because you didn't go get it checked out right now.
Posts: 1892 | Registered: Mar 2002
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Even with your bad experience... if you *don't* go, then they *definitely* won't see anything tonight. If you *do* go, there's a far greater chance of them being able to treat it early.
Go get it checked out. You can always get a second opinion, but if you don't get it looked at immediately, you could just generate worse problems for yourself.
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I'm no expert, but I second plaid's suggestion that you also go get it checked out by a specialist as soon as you can. Go see an orthopedist or physical therapist or something!
Posts: 3546 | Registered: Jul 2002
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What would you do if it was one of your kids that was having this? Wouldn't you get them to a doctor pretty quickly? Do the same for yourself! If you don't trust the ER, try to get in with a specialist today. It may be difficult, but with a little patience it's probably possible.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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No, I'm okay - don't worry - but I could have not been okay.
I woke this morning and it was about the same. I can still bear weight on it, my toes feel a little....odd. Not tingling anymore, and there's more sensation there, but they still don't feel normal.
Anyway, it's no worse, I can move around. The ankle is still very painful if I try to rotate the joint.
I'm gonna wait it out, since it's not getting any worse and there is feeling back in my toes.
But, I realized if it was one of you guys, I'd advise you to go. I should have. It's just that last night, faced with the reality of having to get a babysitter and spending who knows how long in an ER late at night - I didn't want to.
Forgive me for being stubborn?
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
How's your capillary refill? (Press down on your toenail -- it will turn "white" underneath -- then release and see how long it takes to turn back to pink) this will tell you if you are getting adequate circulation to your toes.
I would ask if they are cold, but with the weather everyone is having, EVERYBODY's toes are cold...
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There is a major nerve that runs next to your ankle that can do really funny things. When I had my foot surgery the anesthesiologist attempted to do a anesthetic block at that nerve point on the inside of my foot just below the ankle bone. However it wasn't sucessful, and they ended up having to inject each wart individually as well.
This failed block on that main nerve left my big toe that had no warts on it, numb for over a month. The podiatrist said that nerve is funny and sometimes it takes that long to recover. I'm not a doctor, but I can't help wondering if you hit that nerve in the fall and got a "funny bone" type reaction that hasnt worn off yet. As long as you clearly have circulation I wouldn't panic. If circulation stops then you are in trouble.
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AJ, Wes said something similar. FG, don't worry my hubby checked the cap refill. He's a paramedic and he's pretty good at assessing injuries. He knows all the major warning signs, anyway.
I think it's going to be fine, it will just take some rest until it heals.
Bad timing, though - Wes and I are going hiking next week for a little getaway to DeSoto national forest. Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Aha! According to the Podiatry Network, a sprained ankle can cause swelling that compresses the small nerves in the foot, thus causing numbness in toes.
It should dissipate as the swelling goes down.
That makes sense. If it was a circulatory problem I would have known it by now.
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FG, for a very simple reason - as much as I love my hubby (and I do!) he has one major fault when it comes to dealing with injuries: he doesn't consider it major unless you're bleeding to death or your heart is stopped.
He is very bad at seeking attention for himself, for instance. I had to force him to go see the doctor when his elbow, which had just been stitched for a cut, swelled up like a balloon. Turned out he had bursitis.
I posted here, because I knew CT or Theca or some of the athletic hatrackers may take more note of a sprained ankle than he will. And, he's not a doctor, doesn't know everything.
I guess it's natural, when you see as many people die in a typical workday as he does, it's hard to take a minor sprain that seriously.
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posted
It's a sprain, nothing is broken. It's a pretty bad sprain and I should rest it as much as possible for the next few days until the swelling goes down.
He gave me some Vioxx for pain and swelling, and told me that my hiking trip was a no-go.
Too much chance of re-injury, since I'd be on unstable terrain and all that.
I'm bummed. But glad it's not broken.
Oh, and the info I got on the 'net was correct, he said the numb toes were most likely due to swelling and nerve compression.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Did they happen to tell you what degree of sprain it is? Apparently, sprains have degrees. I had no idea they even went to school (bad joke... bad joke... sorry).
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), but I've always known that it's a sprain, and that I could feel my toes. ![[Angst]](graemlins/angst.gif)
It could be the circulation is not good and tissue could die if blood flow doesn't get corrected. ![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
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