Foot/Ankle Injury- Ugh!

[coachmolly]

Just a reminder to gymnasts and coaches alike that, no matter how seemingly easy the skill, gymnastics on grass- especially an uneven grass surface- is not a good idea. I was playing around on Saturday with some friends when one asked me to demonstrate an aerial. I figured it was easy enough (Bad Molly!) and on about my 4th or so I landed on the side of my foot and there was a loud snapping noise heard from about 10 ft. away. Yikes! I was out of town so didn't get to a doctor until Monday morning and only went to an Instant Care type place as I'm living in a new town with no local doctor at this point. They x-rayed, saw no fractures, and talked to me in the exam room for about 2 minutes giving me crutches and an air cast as well as a sheet with some exercises. No examination of the ankle, bruising, testing range of motion, or anything. A little disconcerting but I just figured there wasn't much they could do beyond crutches/immobilization.
At this point, my foot is still swollen pretty badly, especially fun for coaching and walking my dog! I've never had to use crutches before so this is a new experience. Not sure whether I should get a second opinion or just wait it out a little longer to see if swelling goes down. Anyone with experience with ankle/foot sprains that wants to share some experiences? Or tips for surviving life on crutches for the time being? I haven't been injured like this since my gymnastics days 8ish years ago, it's a nice reminder how annoying this stuff is.

 

[gymmomntc2e6]

i was on crutches for a total of 7 weeks after hip surgery last December. it SUCKED!!! was only supposed to be 3-4 but... i had a whole week without & ended up with hip flexor tendonitis (hurts like heck if anyone was wondering) which put me back on them for 3 more. ugh.

I swithced from a purse to a backpack as the purse kept falling off my shoulder & was a general pain in the behind. That made lugging things around easier. it is a pain in the butt, but you will find work arounds.

iould get a 2nd opinion

taking the dog out was never easily. thankfully my son was able to do it most of the time. When I had to do it I tried to keep the leash pretty short until we got to the area where he goes & I could give him some slack. we have a retractible leash so i could lock it short and hold the handle & the crutch ok.

most frustrating for me was simple things like trying to get my coffee or breakfast to the table when nobody was around to help. I found ways to slide it as far as i could to the breakfast bar, walk around the other side then i would set it on a side table then walk to the far sie of that then reach as far as i could to get it on the coffee table.

 

[mustlovejumping]

So sorry you have to deal with this! I am way too familiar with ankle injuries so I know exactly what you're going through.

Definitely get a second opinion!! I should have done that with my last ankle injury, but didn't for some reason, and now it still has some issues over a year later! Oh and don't try to walk on it a lot too soon.

My house is two stories so I had a heck of a time trying to crawl up and down the stairs a million times.

And did I mention you should get a second opinion! Lol. Seriously though, if I could change one thing about my injury I would have gone to see a specialist right away.

 

[teena82]

Crutches are a nightmare. I had mine for 2 months after a back tuck gone bad. I think it's harder as an adult as we're used to doing everything ourselves. I used a cheap cross body bag from Target as my purse. It made carrying things much much easier. Take it easy and let people help you. I had 2 grade 3 sprains and a broken bone. The screw helped fix the bone but all we did was immobilize the ankle for the sprains. I agree about getting a second opinion and get into physical therapy as early in the process as possible. I waited and still have issues for what seems like no reason from time to time.

 

[gymnast695]

Here goes my ankle story- I tripped off the edge of mat in the beginning of prac one day, coach figured it was just a minor sprain (I'd be good to go for states next week..), went home and did RICE (rest, ice, compress, elevate), went to a doc the next day who x rayed it and said it was not broken, so it's just a bad sprain (it was HUGE and PURPLE). Doc gave me a little brace and said stay off for 6 weeks (No states for me!:[ ). After 9 weeks and it still wasn't healed, went back to doc who said try physcial therapy and come back in two weeks. PT made it worse, went back to doc. He got me and MRI, which showed almost a complete tear to a ligament and bad internal bruising. (Didn't know that was possible?). Stayed off for another 6 weeks. It never felt better but I resumed gymnastics after 3 months of nothing (to coach, parent, and doctors dismay, but I couldn't sit around and watch any longer), and ended up rolling it on a side ariel in warm ups again. Well it's been over 7 months and I'm STILL not cleared to do gym again, and I will not be competing this season. (Out of shape and not worth the meet fees to do only bars in a few meets). So yeah, my advice-- Get another opinion and let it heal!!! Ankle injuries are dreadful!!!

 

[gymmomntc2e6]

how is your ankle? did you get another opinion?

 

[coachmolly]

So glad I'm not the only person who does seemingly crazy things to manage with crutches! I've felt like an idiot walking around my own house these past few days. My mom came to pick up my dog today and babysit until I'm back on my feet so that's one less thing to worry about, but I do miss her companionship!
I went to the Sports Medicine doctor today and got more x-rays and he examined the foot/ankle, he definitely had a better idea of what he was talking about. He suggested there might be a break in the bone that rotates the ankle joint, apparently a very bad place for a fracture because it limits circulation and can cause lots of future problems. It would make sense because my foot has been enormous, cold, and tingling for the past few days. He put me in a heavy (and expensive!) black boot and I am going to get an MRI early next week and a follow up appointment to get a better view of the joint and then we'll go from there. He mentioned the possibility of surgery if the bone is indeed broken, so I'm really hoping that won't be necessary and it can heal just by staying off of it. But definitely not the news I had hoped for.

 

[gymmomntc2e6]

sorry to hear it may be broken but am glad you went for a second opinion. crutches suck for sure. I would have missed my dog too but it eill be easier for you and it would stink to get hurt worse having him pull you off balance. hopefully it will feel better now that it is in the boot. fingers crossed for goood mri results. surgery is no fun but sometimes the only option for proper healing.

 

[CoachTodd]

Only ended up with crutches once when I hopped off the tumble trak and landed 1/2 on 1/2 off the raised floor. I did have a kid launch me across the gym last week after dislocating my shoulder .

Hope you heal quickly and well.

 

[coachmolly]

Well, I had the MRI bright and early this morning (6:40am ) and headed back to the orthopedic Dr. afterwards. It appears that the injury is actually a displaced fracture in what is, according to the Dr., "a very bad bone to fracture" as it can interfere with circulation and also contributes to ankle stability. He said the normal course of action for an older person would be surgery, but since I'm young he wanted to explore other options. So it looks like I'll be heading to the University medical center about an hour down the road for a meeting with a foot and ankle specialist to see what he thinks the best course of action is. Not exactly the news I was hoping for, but hopefully we're on track for getting it fixed.
I'm just glad I went ahead and got a second opinion because just letting it heal as a sprain probably wouldn't have ended in good long-term results.

 

[gymmomntc2e6]

wow coachmolly that is really a bummrr. sounds like it is really good that you got a second opinion. I can imagine that not healing properly would be really bad. I cant believe the first doctor misdiagnosed so badly.

fingers crossed that you get some good news @ the university. sounds like those crutches will be your friends for a while, unless you can get a walking boot.