Ankle-gate: The plot thickens...

Alternative title: OMFG I hate sprained ankles!

Ok - so this is the last ankle post, I promise. 

I had a physio appointment last night and he was really concerned that I still had a lot of pain while walking.  He pondered the problem and tried a couple of diagnostic methods on my ankle to try and isolate the pain.  He frowned, then mumbled "uh-oh".  The conversation went like this:

Me:  Did you just say "uh-oh"?

Him:  Uh, yeah.

Me: ...

Him: Uh, well, it seems that you have a secondary sprain, above the ankle.

Me: whaaaat?

Him:  Yeah, that happens with a severe injury.  The lower inversion sprain and the pain and swelling that causes disguises the secondary sprain.

Me: So, since it is secondary, it isn't as severe and will heal up quickly. Right?

Him: Uh....so no.

Me:  Uh, so how long are we talking here?

Him: *mumbles*

Me: ???

Him:  it can take months.

Me: Mother fucker! OMFG!  (then I realize there is a young teenager around the corner)
Him: so, we can tape it for a couple of days to help, but since you can't really exercise the tissue in between the tib/fib, it will just have to heal on its own.  A brace might help too...but...

Me:  *sigh*

So, for those of us that are sort of fascinated by injuries (horse, human), I had to look up a "high ankle sprain"  to read the gory details.  Luckily mine seems to be minor.  A severe high ankle sprain can result in the ligament pulling away from and fracturing the bone and requires surgery!

Started with this...

It a nutshell, a high ankle sprain causes the tibia and fibula to pull apart (gross!) a bit.  From Wikipedia: "A high ankle sprain, also known as a syndesmotic ankle sprain (SAS), is a sprain of the syndesmotic ligaments that connect the tibia and fibula in the lower leg".

and then this, for good measure!  All in one quick fall.

If the ligaments are injured and are not adequately holding the tibia and fibula tightly together, then they can start to splay apart with the high load of weight bearing, leaving the ankle unstable and painful when walking, which is what I was experiencing.

On that note, this is the last we will speak of the ankle.  I'll leave you with a picture of Copper zooming through the snow a couple of winters ago. 



zoom, zoom!  Copper, probably.