[Closed] ankle injury question.

Has anyone experienced over the top comments or medical professionals. Has anyone done what I have and actually couldn't ride for months?

Ask for a full explanation, failing that get a private consult.

The consultant appeared gob smacked when he saw the MRI results and said this is a bad injury that is typical to those that he operates on. He said nothing more and sent me to a physio in the next room and said "see you in 3 weeks".

This is fairly poor form.

You are entitled to a second opinion on the NHS, but if you have left the consultations with questions I would be clear what questions you need answered and phone the consultant's secretary and ask her to pass them on to the consultant before you ask someone else.

I work in personal injury law, its amazing what difference having private funding and the goal to return the person to their pre injury state makes to a treatment pathway. The funding issues and guidelines within the NHS may be behind their conservative approach to your treatment.

This is private... I have bupa

danjthomas - Member
This is private... I have bupa

Go back ask all your questions and set out your recovery aims at the start. Where do you want to be back to as a starting point for treatment options.

Then I would definitely be asking for an explaination, doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.

My advice is get moving on it! Dont do anything that will risk injury ie extreme sports/football or jumping down flights of stairs like I did on mine. You will unless its fixed with surgery have a weak ankle for ever and I have found that if I walk on anything other than tarmac I have to wear boots to stop my ankles from rolling over too easily-only benefit is no connecting ligaments mean it dont hurt much but is disconcerting when your ankle bone hits the floor and you lurch sideways.
Go back to your GP/consultant and play merry hell and ask that (if you want surgery of course) you want it fixing properly not bodging!
I now sometimes regret my MTFU attitude to serious injuries and not getting them fixed at the time.

Shows how crap private heatlhcare can be nearly as bad as the NHS ehh :-)!! Don't panic, i work in the NHS in an A and E department as a clinical specialist physiotherapist (whatever that may mean, we get very odd job titles once we do more than "normal" physiotherapy). Ankle soft tissue injuries can be nasty and do occasionally need surgery, however the foot surgeon I refer patients to rarely operates to reconstruct ankle ligaments as people recover well with this injury right up the the level of a full rupture. I suggest you follow the physio advice to exercise the ankle to regain range of movement, use ice and elevation for the swelling little and often through the day until the swelling has resolved. An ankle brace or support will help for the next few (2-4 weeks for day to day use then 1-2 months on return to sport. Walk within your discomfort levels only and take your time to recover, soft tissue healing time is much more prolonged than people normally think. You need further rehab input (good physiotherapy), consider seeing someone else if the one you have met is not helpful, maybe see your GP and get referred to your local NHS department! Don't panic about the MRI findings we see bone bruising with all sorts of ligament injuries around the knee and ankle, it will settle but again will take time (google BML or bone marrow lesion for more info). Again most ankle soft tissue injuries do not require surgery I have seen plenty including full blown dislocations that needed manipulation to reduce, that have recovered brilliantly to full contact sports. Rest, ice, elevate do your exercises regularly get good follow up physio and seek a good foot and ankle surgeons second opinion if you are not happy. Good luck!!

Definitely get a second opinion, but for what its worth I would agree with MTBPhysio. I absolutely destroyed my ankle skateboarding a couple of years ago. But following the physio's advice, and taking it slowly I've built my strenght back up and now I'm back skateboarding, MTBing and started barefoot running. Just take it slow and use it.

I did my ankle quite badly skateboarding many years ago. Ended up waiting the next day to go to the minor injuries unit after finding a 12 hour wait in A&E. By which time it was near the size of a football and because of which the X-ray didn't show a great deal. Anyway, the nurses weren't sure, so they sent me to a consultant who just seemed to read the nurses notes and repeat them before kicking me out the door.

Didn't find out until 8 months later, when I went back to the GP and asked for physio, that it had indeed been broken.

The physio was great and explained it well (much better than the ones the consultant sent me to to explain RICE).

All in all it took two years to fully recover.

MTVphysio - thanks for that. That's the kind of message I needed to here tbh. I will be religious in my physio and also I won't try to run before I can walk properly!! I will be going back in three week and will be asking the consultant if he could give me a better explanation of what his aim for my recovery is. I understand there will be a weakness but as long as I can do my running/biking and general circuits I will be happy.

I will be going back in three week and will be asking the consultant if he could give me a better explanation of what his aim for my recovery is. I understand there will be a weakness but as long as I can do my running/biking and general circuits I will be happy.

Not to knock the professionals but it's YOUR body and YOUR future. You need to communicate what you consider normal life and activity to be. As you are currently private this should help with access to physio etc much quicker. Ask about all the options available.
If your willing to put in the hard work then they should be there to help you.

In my experience people get to a functional recovery (everyday life tasks are OK) but don't keep up the exercises to achieve a full recovery.

My own experience (Weber type A 1) was pretty typical, cast for 6 weeks for the bone to heal, then physio to regain mobility and strength, plus LOTS of proprioception exercises to gain stability and control.

The last bit is what has made my previously sprained and broken ankle my better ankle, so get good advice and follow the physio's exercises to the letter. Ps mine was on the NHS 🙂

That is poor. If it's any consolation, I've generally found that socially inept consultants are professionally excellent- I guess you have to be good to get ahead if you can't schmooze. My lead consultant for my hip op was useless at communicating but good at fitting legs to people.

Go and see Mark Batt

http://www.bmihealthcare.co.uk/consultant/consultantdetails?p_name=Mark-Batt&p_id=40455

Him and his team quite simply are the best in the country for this kind of stuff - if you are paying good money you may as well get the best there is.

I broke my right ankle really badly back in 1999, my foot was kind of hanging of the bottom of my leg pointing at 3 O'clock. Not only were the tibia and fibula badly broken, the talus had broken by smashing into the bottom of the tibia when my pedal struck the floor. I was also told two of the ligaments were torn.

Anyway, I received similar shocking after care treatment to what you describe. The physios were just rubbish, rubbish at best, giving me pointless rotating movements and a stupid rubber band. In the end I just gave up going to see them because I would always come away totally depressed from their negativity.

I decided to do my own physio. I was limping for about three months, within six months I was back on the bike riding cross country and after a year I could hike ten miles or more. Now I run, do kickboxing, yoga and all sorts. It just takes a long time.

Shows how crap private heatlhcare can be nearly as bad as the NHS ehh

The consultants work for both, they train up on the NHS then start doing private work (typically one or two days a week) when they've got the experience.

Keva - Member

a stupid rubber band

Resistant bands are very effective! Especially in the early stages where you're quite limited in what you can do.

[i]Resistant bands are very effective! Especially in the early stages where you're quite limited in what you can do.[/i]

yeh but it wasn't effective enough for me which is why I devised my own physiotherapy sessions! I also told the orthopedics I wanted an MRI as it was obvious to me there was something else wrong with the joint which hadn't been addressed during the initial plating and pinning op. When it was eventually organised (months later)fragmented bone was found in the cartledge between the talus and the tibia. It was then more months before I could get an arthroscopy to have it removed - and again more physio. I was told I'd never run again, so I started running around 2004. By 2008 I was running 41min 10k cross country.