Anyone had a long lasting upper ankle sprain?? Any tips on how to get this f’ing thing to heal?
I think I got it back in August after a duathlon, but had never had one, so kept training through it. Then in late Sept. did a 10km running race in which I toasted my posterior tibial tendon and couldn’t walk for a week…
That got me into physio, where the upper ankle strain was also diagnosed.
The PTTD is healing up, but not the ankle sprain (or what I assume is a sprain).
Feels like strong ache going outward (both down and up) from around the talus bone. Worse in the morning as it feels very stiff, almost arthritic. I can ride the bike sitting down, but hurts a good amount when standing on the pedal.
Driving me buts, and been 2+ months now.
Had an xray which didn’t show anything…
Help!
Ok.
So what should have been done if you were disgnosed with a high ankle sprain was to be in a walking boot for 8 weeks. Yes, this sucks, but high ankle sprains have poor healing rate, and even more poor successful outcomes. Since you have had problems with the posterior tib, this would help it out as well.
I would see about the walking boot for about 4 weeks. It is easier to regain motion in a joint then try to stabilize one with too much motion.
Now, the reason for not so many replies? You are using words and locations 99% of people here do not know. I do. Yes, I am a doctor.
If you continue to train with this pain in the anterior talus, you are risking tightening of the soleus, which will limit dorsiflexion (foot pulling up) and can cause bone spurring on the neck of the talus. This is not a pleasant condition.
X-rays are not good for anything but osseous problems. An MRI or CT scan are more accurate for soft tissue dysfunctions.
Take the time off. Find a good physical therapist who has dealt with this type of problem (just because they are a PT does not mean they can diagnose or treat it correctly, especially because of the nature of the injury) and follow their instructions.
Good Luck
Thanks for the reply. Yes, I already have pain going up what feels like i the outside soleus, or the peroneus, basically going up the outside of my leg, and the achilles seems to be tightening up quite a bit. I’ve started going to a massage therapist this past week to tryand get both those loosened up a bit.
Regarding the boot…I seem to get mixed opinions about that. It seems that a lot of info online, as well as my current physio, thinks it is a bad idea to immobilize a sprain.
That said, it’s not getting any better…
There is a more sports oriented physio in town, I’m going to make an appointment to see her tomorrow…
Thx
high ankle sprains are notoriously slow healers as you are finding out. Made worse by type-A athletes as well 
If you also developed PTTD (your words) from a single 10K race, something else must by going on. You mentioned a negative plain film X-ray, but often ankle joint diastasis is misdiagnosed (esp if the x-ray was non weight bearing/stressed, which I assume it was). Good Google material for you, but about all the help you are likely to get here without a good hands-on exam. Best of luck.
Hi all, just thought I’d follow up…
Have been going to physio for a while and been wearing a ‘boot’ for 3 weeks. Got in to see an orthopedic surgeon yesterday…
With regards to the post. tibial tear, they feel that it was a combo of my hip alignment, pronation, and then switching to a flat shoe that ultimately caused it to tear.
The tib has actually healed up pretty good at this point.
But the upper ankle sprain…it has not healed, still a lot of dull pain. The ortho and another physio started moving my ankle around, tilting the foot down and in, and both got a very surprised look on their face, looked at each other, looked at me, etc…haha, wasn’t very re-assuring. Anyway, apparently my tendon there is quite stretched, allowing the talus to float around freely (the bone sticks way out when they flex the foot inward). They said my ankle is very unstable.
I am going in for a third xray, this time with the ortho as he wants to be there to put my foot into a specific position to see how big the gap between the bones is, and then we’ll discuss treatment options after that…
Uggghhh…
This is what I was referring to as the ankle joint diastasis from my post. Your new, stress inversion films (likely) and oblique(s) can confirm. This often requires ligament and/or tendon repair surgery. Best of luck.
This is what I was referring to as the ankle joint diastasis from my post. Your new, stress inversion films (likely) and oblique(s) can confirm. This often requires ligament and/or tendon repair surgery. Best of luck.
Thx. The ortho is a very nice guy, very experienced (20+ years). I asked him if he thought surgery would be necessary, either to directly repair the ligament, and/or to put a screw in to hold the to bones closer together, and he felt that it would not be a case requiring surgery, but of course wants to see the new xrays before deciding course of action…