anyone with joint injuries experience this?

GirlWithCookies

Let me know if this should be in a different category. Wasn't sure where to put it.

I'm mostly wondering if anything like this happens to anyone else who has had a joint injury. Background: A little over two years ago I was in a car accident and broke my ankle pretty badly, as well as fracturing my fibula. I had surgery, did PT, the whole nine yards. Now I have progressive arthritis in that ankle and walk with a minor limp.

So, on a day-to-day basis I will experience anything from my typical joint tightness to mild pain, depending on how active I am, the weather, etc. (yes, I'm one of those weirdos whose arthritis acts up based on weather). Anyway, about 3 months ago I was getting up from the couch and out of nowhere I got this sensation like someone yanked the tendon in the ankle, causing it to snap back (towards me) and I felt a rush of intense, localized pain. I couldn't move my ankle/foot and just had to sit there until the pain subsided after a couple of minutes. My boyfriend wanted to take me to the hospital, but since it didn't last very long I said no.

Fast forward to this morning. I was sleeping and woke up suddenly due to the same pain as the first time. All I could do was hold my ankle and wait for it to pass. To give you an idea of how bad it is, the pain I felt when I had my fibula set in the ER after the accident was a 10 and this pain is a 7 or 8.

I talked to my friend who is a nurse and she said that it is probably nerve damage due to the break. She said that years ago she broke her ankle, too, and that same thing happened to her a few times.

Has anyone else experienced something like this?

HikeItGirl

It’s most likely not nerve damage, otherwise it would hurt all the time. It sounds more like a nerve is getting pinched because the ankle is sliding out of place. A chiropractor or osteopathic dr can put it back in. This happens to me once in a while since my broken ankle. You may want to continue your PT exercises for it to continually strengthen it. Do you ever roll out or stretch calves and shins? That can help to.

GirlWithCookies

It's a relief to know that it's not anomalous. I stretch and ice almost daily, but I admit I'm not great about keeping up with my PT exercises. Could you explain what you mean about the ankle sliding out of place? I should have mentioned that I have hardware — a plate, three screws and two pins.