Do I have a serious injury?

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Perfect timing as I'm trying to get ready for a 5K!!! :-/

On my way down the stairs at work today my heel got stuck on the stair somehow, causing me to bounce/slide down 4-5 stairs. The fall caused me to kind of bend my foot back and drag it.. as well as hit my knee. I was able to make my way back to my desk to call and report the incident and told them I didn't want emergency attention since I am able to walk.

The top of my foot near my ankle is starting to show some coloring (red, not purple or blue yet), and I'm feeling weird tingly pains in foot occasionally.. but I'm able to walk and was able to drive home. It hurts but is not unbearable. My knee hurts too but only if I put a lot of weight on it or press on it.

So... should I just ice it? I feel like if this were a break I would be in a lot of pain so I'm guessing its minor sprain... Does anyone have any idea??
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Replies

  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
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    A doctor might know.
  • M1chelles5
    M1chelles5 Posts: 107
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    Really...you need to get an x-ray!!!!!

    You could have a hairline fracture. I'm recoving from a badly broken leg, so please get it checked!
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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    RICE

    Rest
    Ice
    Compression
    Elevation

    You'll be fine.
  • connielancaster
    connielancaster Posts: 9 Member
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    I would def ice it but since you are a runner you really might want to have it checked out just to be on the safe side.
  • sarajane31
    sarajane31 Posts: 18
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    I'm no doctor, but I know when I broke my ankle there was *no way* I could walk. So, my guess is you didn't break anything. But is it serious? I have no idea... Good luck!
  • BandForAlyAnne
    BandForAlyAnne Posts: 321 Member
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    A doctor might know.

    lol. exactly
  • msliu7911
    msliu7911 Posts: 639 Member
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    A doctor might know.

    I'm sure one would. Just thought I'd check the boards seeing that we've got a lot of smart people on here. Thanks for your valuable input.

    :wink:
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    You'd be surprised, I broke my toe and it wasn't nearly the kind of pain you'd expect. But there was red swelling. I'd have it checked out.
  • SammyKatt
    SammyKatt Posts: 364 Member
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    Really...you need to get an x-ray!!!!!

    You could have a hairline fracture. I'm recoving from a badly broken leg, so please get it checked!


    Yep! You could have fractured it or sprained it. Sprains take forever to heal too! I sprained my ankle back in January and I still have problems with it.
  • msliu7911
    msliu7911 Posts: 639 Member
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    RICE

    Rest
    Ice
    Compression
    Elevation

    You'll be fine.

    Thanks! I will do this tonight.. and if tomorrow it seems worse then yes I will go get it checked.

    By the way I love your screen name and husky pic!! :)
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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    I'm no doctor, but I know when I broke my ankle there was *no way* I could walk. So, my guess is you didn't break anything. But is it serious? I have no idea... Good luck!

    ^This. If it were serious, you would definitely know. Just the fact that you have to ask tells me that you just bruised yourself up a bit.
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
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    A doctor might know.

    I'm sure one would. Just thought I'd check the boards seeing that we've got a lot of smart people on here. Thanks for your valuable input.

    :wink:

    Asking a doctor is the smartest thing I've seen on here. Because, you know...they're licensed to diagnose and assess these kinds of things.
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    I'm no doctor, but I know when I broke my ankle there was *no way* I could walk. So, my guess is you didn't break anything. But is it serious? I have no idea... Good luck!

    ^This. If it were serious, you would definitely know. Just the fact that you have to ask tells me that you just bruised yourself up a bit.
    Not true. Bad advice.
  • BlueStar1989
    BlueStar1989 Posts: 130 Member
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    I would get it checked out by a doctor just to be safe. Its better to find out something is wrong before you hurt yourself even more.
  • msliu7911
    msliu7911 Posts: 639 Member
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    Really...you need to get an x-ray!!!!!

    You could have a hairline fracture. I'm recoving from a badly broken leg, so please get it checked!


    Yep! You could have fractured it or sprained it. Sprains take forever to heal too! I sprained my ankle back in January and I still have problems with it.

    Oh no! I'm sorry to hear that.

    Makes me certainly want to go get it checked out now. Its after hours though.. and I'm not sure that this is quite "emergency room status" so I will wait until tomorrow.
  • saragato
    saragato Posts: 1,154
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    For tonight/today I would try to keep as much weight off it as possible, levitate it, and ice any swelling areas. If you're still able to walk and you're not in a horrendous amount of pain by moving anything then you can afford the hours to see if it's something that will go away with some time and maybe an over the counter pain reliever.

    If by tomorrow you're in the same level of pain or worse then I would get to a doctor simply as a precaution. It may be nothing but it's better to go and be told that than stay away and wonder if it's going to be a problem in the long run. Take for instance back in '10 I had an 8 hour shift at a job with no break or sitting and came away with a very sore knee that had me limping. I have a known joint disorder that dislocates things and puts them back in on their own so I waited 2 days (the day after my shift was a holiday) and then sought medical attention. I ended up needing physical therapy and a cane for several months and had I not gone it would have eventually gotten worse to need surgery. Long story short, better safe than sorry.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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    I'm no doctor, but I know when I broke my ankle there was *no way* I could walk. So, my guess is you didn't break anything. But is it serious? I have no idea... Good luck!

    ^This. If it were serious, you would definitely know. Just the fact that you have to ask tells me that you just bruised yourself up a bit.
    Not true. Bad advice.

    Whatever. I have had my fair share of foot and knee injuries.
  • msliu7911
    msliu7911 Posts: 639 Member
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    You'd be surprised, I broke my toe and it wasn't nearly the kind of pain you'd expect. But there was red swelling. I'd have it checked out.

    Hmm wow.. red swelling is exactly what I have. I would expect a break to be all colors of the rainbow. :) This is good info.
  • entropy83
    entropy83 Posts: 172 Member
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    If you ice, use a towel to protect the skin and do so for no more than 20 minutes at a time. Tomorrow, you will most likely have stiffened up and will want to go to the doctor on your own accord.
  • megacy
    megacy Posts: 80 Member
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    Also, broken bones can be brought back to 100+%, sprained, strained or torn muscle, ligament or tendon cannot.