Torn Ligament?

[Kaleidoscope Eyes]

Has anyone ever torn a ligament, or even a tendon or a muscle, before? Last week I tore a ligament in my foot. I'm fine to walk on it as long as the pain isn't too bad and as long as I wear sturdy enough shoes so there's no twisting going on (the ligament in question stabilizes the foot from twisting outwards). I haven't actually seen a doctor specifically to look at my foot. I'd spend a $20 copay, maybe get an MRI, for them to tell me that the ligament is either torn, sprained, or terribly bruised. The pain is better this week than it was last week, the swelling and bruising are slowly receding, and I have been assured by a doctor that I'll be fine to walk on it. Admittedly, it was a dermatologist... xP He does know a lot about almost everything medical though, and I know he wouldn't offer advice or a diagnosis on this if he wasn't certain. He was indeed quite certain after he saw the bruising pattern, I described the incident, and he poked it a little while trying to check my skin through the purpley color. This certainly explains the pop I heard, and why i almost passed out. I have a high pain tolerance, so after the initial moment of swearing I was able to calm down and realize it wasn't terrible. My finely tuned injury radar told me the bones were in place, and a quick wiggle of my toes showed the bones moving normally across the top of my foot (it hurt though). Still, the internal shock was apparently a lot....

Now, here I am. I feel like much less of a wimp for having to crawl down the hall with what can only be described as "white static" across my vision until I could lay down for a while. I actually feel brave for not crying and for honestly mistaking the pain as nothing more than a deep bruise. I'm faced with how to treat this though. It's too late in the game for ice, except to encourage the swelling to go down. I'm taking ibuprofen for the pain, and it's also helping encourage the blood from the bruise to dissipate a bit. Is there anything else I can do, except take it easy and wear an ace bandage to minimize twisting?

Post-Script: Gawd, I talk too much. I have bolded the actual question so it stands out for those who don't want to read the whole story. Heh.

[INFERNO]

I've torn several muscles, including some in my neck (not very pleasent) and affected the tendons or ligaments in my right hand from getting pissed off and hitting a wall far too hard without properly clenching the fist.

There's not much to do except wait it out. Some pain medications may reduce the pain and using the area as infrequent as possible would also speed up the healing. If you put a device around the area, be sure to not have it too tight and reduce circulation. Muscles are fairly easy to tear, tendons and ligaments take a lot more force to break. Usually, the bone may break before they do although it depends on the stressors.

I don't know how long it would take to heal, although I'd say several months would be a generous estimation. The less you use it, the faster it can heal (providing you still do allow circulation to it). It also depends on the severity of the damage. Going to a doctor may allow you to get tests done on it, etc..., but overall, you'll hear the same story: rest, maybe pain meds, and take several months (possibly half a year or more, depending on the damage) off.

[byee]

Oh, knee inury here. It was awful, I was limping along for months before the big baby I am finally decided I'd give in and see the doctor. So, I know how you feel, and how you 'feel'.

If it's ripped, torn, or bruised is unknown at this point, Jessi. What my doc told me about my knee after twisting it and turning it and making me howl and scream in pain was to take 1 Aleve twice a day for 3 weeks. And, Voila! It was better after 2 weeks!

I suppose I was lucky, but if it's ripped, it needs to be surgically corrected (and the sooner the better). If it's swollen or bruised, the Aleve (anti inflammatory) reduces the swelling and all is well again.

but, as they say, your mileage may vary.

[Rutherford The Brave]

Oh yeah my ACL tore it a long time ago, I had to wear a brace that went all the way up to my thigh. It was like a metal death trap cause it kept your leg straight.

[Kaleidoscope Eyes]

The doctor was pretty certain that it'd popped, but he did assure me that I could keep walking on it as long as I took it easy and wore shoes that kept my ankle and foot from twisting (which I am doing). He honestly sounded like he'd seen it more than once before, rattled off the specific ligament he suspected it was, and all that. He had me flex it certain ways, treated it the way my orthopedic always used to treat me when he'd check my scoliosis. I know some ligaments do need surgery to fix, but from what he told me and from my own research, this will heal up if it's stabilized and if I don't use it any more than I need to. If I don't see any improvement within another week, or if the pain gets markedly worse I will see a doctor to make sure. The pain feels more like a persistent, rather sore, "I'm healing" pain than the sharp and nasty, "I'm going to fall off" kind. Also, for what it's worth, it hurts noticeably more when I walk around in my socks than when I wear shoes. I'm guessing the whole stabilization thing is indeed a good idea. xP

Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely be keeping an eye on it for the coming weeks to make sure it's getting better.

[adam dockery]

yea i tore my achilis tendent, it tore all yhe way through so it rolled up the back of my leg. Most pain i have ever felt in my life! I couldnt walk for 3 weeks. and had to have surgery. I would really advise everyone to stretch befeor sprinting, cause tearing ur achilis sucks sooooo bad