Suggest Treatment For Swelling In The Feet Post Injury

Posted on Sun, 3 Jul 2016

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

Sun, 3 Jul 2016 Answered on

Tue, 26 Jul 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : I fell off a horse 3 days ago. Stupidly enough I was wearing Birkenstocks which fell off. I thought I may have sprained my left ankle. But while trying to drive home, pushing in the clutch hurt my entire foot. There's still some swelling in the ankle, and the top of the foot swelled up on the second day. It's still swollen. It doesn't hurt if I'm not walking or touching. But anyplace I touch a little forward of the ankle and down the left side (an area about a half inch wide) hurts. About midway down my foot, the top hurts, as well. The foot hurts to bend it, but the ankle doesn't. I've been icing it. Don't know if that's the correct thing to do, as it doesn't seem to have done any good. I'm assuming it would hurt worse if something was broken. Should I wrap it?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (49 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Need X-ray to rule out bone injury.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
The presence of swelling on top of foot with pain is suggestive of a hematoma formation. The possibility of bone injury is there. Keeping the foot elevated on two pillows can help to reduce the swelling.
You need to consult an orthopedician and get an X-ray done. Wrapping a crepe bandage will provide rest to the area. Avoid weight bearing on the foot for a few days and all the painful movements.
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.
For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal

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