Do I have a serious injury?

msliu7911
msliu7911 Posts: 638 Member
edited December 19 in Health and Weight Loss
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
    A doctor might know.
  • M1chelles5
    M1chelles5 Posts: 107
    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: 15,228 Member
    RICE

    Rest
    Ice
    Compression
    Elevation

    You'll be fine.
  • connielancaster
    connielancaster Posts: 9 Member
    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
    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
    A doctor might know.

    lol. exactly
  • msliu7911
    msliu7911 Posts: 638 Member
    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
    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: 363 Member
    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: 638 Member
    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: 15,228 Member
    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
    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
    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
    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: 638 Member
    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
    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: 15,228 Member
    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: 638 Member
    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
    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
    Also, broken bones can be brought back to 100+%, sprained, strained or torn muscle, ligament or tendon cannot.
  • natvanessa
    natvanessa Posts: 230 Member
    Ummm, if this happened at work you should report this to your manager right away. The reason is they will cover all of your medical costs/doctor visit (provided you were on the clock and working at the time). It's called Workers Comp and a lot of employees don't realize they have this coverage!!

    I know, because I am an HR Manager so a little red flag just waved at me when you said you were at work. Please report this to your manager, they will send you to the doc!! :smile:
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    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:

    Describing an injury to an internet forum is really not an effective substitute for an examination by a medical professional, no matter how clever the posters on this site may be. Surely you realise this, so there is no need to be snippy about getting the response that one would expect.
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    If you are going to get it checked out, you should talk to your employer about having it done through workers' comp. Your health insurance may not cover it if they find out it should be covered by workers' comp. (I used to handle workers' comp for my company and I've seen this happen. It was a pain in the butt to get it straightened out.)
  • srp2011
    srp2011 Posts: 1,829 Member
    See a doctor - it may only be a minor sprain, but they will be able to tell you if you need to stay off of it, and for how long, to make sure something minor doesn't become something major if you work out on it...
  • msliu7911
    msliu7911 Posts: 638 Member
    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.

    Wow! I agree.. better safe than sorry.
  • PuggleLover
    PuggleLover Posts: 261 Member
    I hurt my hand in gym class one day... finished school, played softball, went home and ate dinner. Finally decided to go to the ER 8 hours later... it was broken.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    Also, broken bones can be brought back to 100+%, sprained, strained or torn muscle, ligament or tendon cannot.

    This is definitely true. But even ligament and tendon would be excruciatingly painful to walk on. Even more so than broken bones.
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    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.
    This isn't your injury. It's on someone else's body and you are in no position to tell her not to seek medical attention.

    As I said, I've had a broken bone that was definitely not excruciating. That doesn't mean it wasn't serious.
  • ccbing
    ccbing Posts: 162 Member
    I work for an orthopaedic surgeon. You may still be able to walk on a foot/ankle if it's fractured. It could be a non displaced fracture or a sprain. Knee could be sprain as well. First off...I'm not a doctor. I would take it easy, elevate (above your heart level) ice it tonight. If it swells, bruises, or hurts tomorrow you should prob. get an xray. An Xray is the only way to really see what's going on. If it is fractured you def. don't want to make it worse by putting weight on it. A non displaced fracture could turn into a displaced fracture easily, then you have more serious issues :(
  • godblessourhome
    godblessourhome Posts: 3,892 Member
    my mom fell while ice skating over christmas. she insisted it was just a sprain because she could walk on it. two weeks later she finally went in for x-rays and her foot was broken in two places. she still limps when she gets tired and has to wear a brace at night.

    go to the clinic tomorrow; it is better to be safe, than sorry.
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