Have you torn a ligament in your foot/ankle?

[rogerg (Roger)]

A couple of weeks back I misjudged a step while doing astrophotography. The result of which was a torn ligament in my ankle, where it has torn small fragments of the bone with the ligament.

I've been in a moon boot for 2 weeks, will be for another 2. It's feeling OK though, and from day one have not had a problem standing on it.

I will need to decide if I have surgery or not (to repair the ligament or not). The decision is not clear cut.

Has anyone been through this process and have experience to contribute? To be honest I have plenty of opinions from those who have not so am only interested in opinions from those who have had a similar problem and either had or not had surgery.

My concern is long term effects (from either having the surgery or not having the surgery).

Figured I may as well canvas a larger audience here, as I only know one person who has been in a similar situation.

Thanks,
Roger.

[Osirisra (Ken)]

I tore two ligaments on the right side of my right foot about 15 years ago while practicing grappling at my martial arts school. The snapping sound I'll never forget, it was like a starter pistol going off, amazingly loud.

I never got any surgery, just strapped it and stayed off it for a while. It ok now except for some loss of strength and flexibility. Some times it aches something fierce but that not too often.

[Paddy de Klerk]

Howdy Roger, Know the feeling I do. February 2012 saw me do the same to my right ankle. Ouch for sure. Astronomy related as well. Step on a caravan we use for a dark sight collapsed.
Option of a boot or much physiotherapy for the next 6 weeks along with a non "shrink" type of tape strategically applied by a highly qualified sports therapist .The prime treatment being the use of a spatula like tool (a large paddle pop stick of stainless steel) with a gel like lubricant. This was used to spread inflamed tissues. Uncomfortable procedure initially but each session became more tolerable.
No mention of surgery was mentioned as a remedy.Not sure if ligaments can be stitched.! For a period after I did wear an elastic "sock". Took it easy from there as the trauma took some time to become less obvious. Did a fair bit of walking after the 6 weeks travelling in Turkey with minor discomfort.
Todate its all good & i Think I might be able to feel the actual location of the severance. Twas a bad tear & not something I`d wish on anyone. Hope this gives some assurance to your inquiry .
As a PS the caravan step has since been repaired . Paddy

[Matt Wastell (Matt)]

Hi Roger
I ruptured ligament in my ankle playing football when I was 16 - 27 years ago now.
I was in plaster for 6 weeks and had months of rehab afterwards (physiotherapy and exercises). Fortunately I belonged to a professional sports club so I had the very best assistance from that regard. I have had no issues since.
Surgery was not an option at the time so I cannot really comment on that.
Given my experience, it is the work you do afterwards that will ensure no issues later on.
Good luck with it all!

[pmrid (Peter)]

Hi Roger. I rolled an ankle on the way to work about 12 years ago - and kept going, thinking it would be OK. It took a couple of days before I went to a doctor and that led quickly to seeing a specialist in ankle injuries and surgery. One of the outer strap tendons at the outer aspect of the heel had torn badly and required serious surgery to try to re-connect the torn ends of that tendon. The surgery involved having to apply some sort of patch to the damaged tendon and by all accounts it went as well as hoped. But subsequently, the foot was immobilised in a boot/cast thing that this doctor's surgery nurse applied - and did it badly because it placed the foot at a bad angle - too much toe-down. And the result was that the patch did not survive the pressure and I now have an ankle that is permanently weakened.
I don't know if there is a moral to this story or not - probably not. Just that if you have the surgery, keeping off the foot as much as possible would be absolutely essential. I couldn't because I had to go overseas for work and that was a disaster.
Peter

[OzEclipse (Joe Cali)]

Roger,

Haven't had ankle surgery but had a major knee reconstruction done. In 1994, I had a bad ski accident on the south east slopes of Mt Kosciusko. I snapped my anterior cruciate ligament, tore 3/4 through my medial co-lateral ligament and tore cartilage. I had major swelling and bruising. The surgeon advised me to wait and let the swelling subside as he could do a better re-construction if everything was back to normal. I took my time. The swelling mostly went in 7 weeks but wasn't completely gone until 5 months. If I didn't wear a brace, the knee would laterally dislocate and I'd end up on the floor.

I had the surgery after 9 months- June 95. I had a lot of pain for some months afterwards and some pain from scar tissue or disturbed nerves for the next few year but by 1998 all was OK. The past 11 years I've danced salsa for 2-3hrs at least 2 sometimes more nights a week with no ill effects. My injury was particularly bad and so my surgery generated more scar tissue than most arthroscopic surgeries. They did the ACL with keyhole but had to put a 100mm zipper in the inside leg to get to the medial. No regrets and glad I had it done.

You need to look at what life will be like with/without the surgery and make an informed choice. Even other people who've had ankle surgery won't be able to tell you what yours will be like. Others I know who had quite similar but not identical injuries to me had very different experiences post surgery. Don't be afraid to get a second opinion from another surgeon.

Best of luck

Joe

[louie_the_fly (Stew)]

Hi Roger. Years ago (in about 1990) I tore the ligaments in my left ankle playing indoor mixed netball. I was on crutches for something like 6 weeks, and it took probably 10 - 12 weeks to be able to walk on it properly again. Still gives me grief at times.

Then in 2009 I had a cricket injury that required a full elbow recon, like an ACL type operation, but in the arm. Basically, my bicep muscle ended up under my armpit. Within 2 weeks I had an operation that required metal sutures to reattach the ligaments and reposition the bicep muscle, and I ended up with a scar Harry Potter would be proud of. My arm was in a back-splint for 11 weeks. I can tell you that my arm is now in much better condition structurally than by ankle will ever be. If your surgeon recomends it, and you can afford the time &/or hospital costs, get it done.

I also got turf toe about 3 years ago. Funny story. Long, but funny. Thought it would heal OK by itself, but it hasn't.

Good luck.

Stew.

[rogerg (Roger)]

Thanks everyone for your detailed replies, it is very much appreciated Makes me feel better to hear various outcomes.

I think I'll just reply once rather than individually but thank you each of you for your individual responses.

It is reassuring to hear from people who have not had the surgery.

A little more on my story: My right ankle rolled down hill to the right (sideways) when a step I thought was 30cm was actually 60cm and I had 20kg of photography gear on my back. I heard a pop from my ankle and it all went warm & fuzzy. 5 minutes later the pain had subsided, I checked it didn't feel broken, did up my hiking boots tighter, and got on with 3 hours of astrophotography. The following day I could balance on it fine but hobbled about without full mobility of the ankle. Went to the GP another day after that, and his XRAY's showed the problem. Moon Boot, and on to a specialist/orthopaedic surgeon from there.

Swelling has been what I would call minor and bruising appeared 8 days after the event and still evident.

I have been to my specialist once so far. He's says he does 300 ligament re-attachment surgeries each year. He came well recommended. At that meeting he immediately could see what I'd done - snapped a ligament (I don't recall the exact name). He said it is very unlikely it will ever heal on its own. His suggestion was to not have the surgery (this coming from a surgeon). He was willing to do the surgery and made it clear money grabbing surgeons abound who would recommend I immediately have surgery, but he didn't think I needed it unless I took up football, gymnastics, SAS, etc. He instead wanted to see how it goes and if the other muscles don't tighten up to take over the load or if I find it uncomfortable for some reason in the future to then consider surgery. All the news from this meeting all came as a shock to me because I've never had an injury which doesn't just heal its self, the concept of a injury which the body won't heal took me by surprise. The mention of surgery was a bit of a shock but then also was the prospect of living with a weakened ankle!

A bit shocked from finding it wouldn't heal naturally, the thought of it not healing really made me wonder how could my body handle this, surely I will end up with many future complications. Would it really hold up well to my skiing, hiking, photographing on coastal rocks, etc, I started to wonder? Hence my mind starts to debate surgery or not.

Talked to my physio and his opinion was different to the surgeon - if it's broken completely get it surgically re-attached. I think I trust the surgeon but it's hard to know.

I am a bit scared to go to another specialist but know I shouldn't be.

In two weeks time I go back to see the surgeon again, to see how the foot has gone in the total of 4 weeks in the moon boot. I'm building up the list of questions!

The surgery would in theory give back full strength, require 6 weeks plaster + months physio and rehab. There are possible complications and no guarantees, but chances of success is high.

Feels a bit like a no win situation.

One thing I've learned from all of you is to give it more time and not stress so much immediately now, my time frame (now 2 weeks just gone) is short compared to most of your stories and so I probably don't need to rush to any conclusions.

Thanks!