Suggest Treatment For Bruising And Minimal Swelling In Foot After An Injury

Posted on Tue, 24 Feb 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 24 Feb 2015 Answered on

Wed, 18 Mar 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : My son injured his foot 4days ago at wrestling practice. Practicing a move another boy fell and landed with all his weight on the back of my sons heel pressing his foot, toes first, straight into the mat. Immediate terrible pain. Could put absolutely no pressure on it. Went to ER in the morning, and doc x-rayed it. No fractures showed up, and he sent us home saying its sprained, use these crutches to help get around. I should also say there is no bruising and minimal swelling, but now 4 days later my son can still put no pressure on it without strong pain. Also says it feels like slivers or pins and needles when lightly touch the injured area which is all around the heel and inside part of ankle. Do I take him back in or let it rest?

Answered by Dr. Grzegorz Stanko (44 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Such symptom are typical after only 4 days from injury.

Detailed Answer:
Hello!

Thank you for the query.

Sprained ankle is an injury which can heal as long as a fracture. Depending of inured tendons and joints, it may take from 3-6 weeks. 4 days is really not a long time and you can not expect he will have no pain after that time. You need to give it much more time. No need to visit a doctor once again.
He should rest, do not overload the limb, have it elevated when lying down. He may also put some lukewarm compress on it to decrease the inflammation.

Hope this will help. Feel free to ask further questions.
Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Grzegorz Stanko (51 minutes later)

Thank you. Should I put him in some sort of brace? He's a runner, and of course this needs to heal properly. And also, do I just let him judge when to put more more pressure on it? Should I push him to do that or is it better to stay off it until pain is gone? This kid is not an exaggerator or a faker so it was hard to see the amount and shock waves of pain that would go through him.

Answered by Dr. Grzegorz Stanko (5 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Brace is a good idea.

Detailed Answer:
Brace is a good idea. However it may increase the risk of veins thrombosis. So wearing it he should remember to use calf muscle from time to time.
Pain gives an information that the healing process is not done yet. So as long as it is present, he should not use the limb against it. For the healing process it is better to give it more time so the pain will be less intense. This will be a good moment to start some mild physical activity.

Regards.

Note: For further follow-up it is advisable to consult an emergency medicine specialist. Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar