Looking for some insight... I really don't know where my ankle sprain ranks on severity compared to other players around, but to me, it's been a huge pain in my a**. Here's the history -Sprained on May 16th (3 months ago), no bruising, minor swelling... Could walk normally within a week, but couldn't run. -limped around for one month, just enough pain for me NOT to play soccer -went to the ER (got and x-ray), not broken. -went to my Doctor (got another x-ray) still not broken. I was given a walking boot for 3 weeks. -went to another Doctor (pediatrist, friend of family) he gave me another x-ray, still not broken -went back to my Doctor for a follow up. I got another X-ray. I was thinking "If only they gave me a card so I could get it stamped and earn an MRI" -The doctor felt around my ankle and decided I was good to go without my boot. There's wasn't much pain but still couldn't jog or run. -Started physical therapy about 3 weeks ago. Lots of balance exercises and such. This is on top of my own physical therapy that I have been doing for almost a month and half. During the same time I started seeing a sports chiropractor. He used the ART technique to free up some scare tissue. My ankle started to feel better. -about 2 weeks ago I was able to jog and run without much pain. -Yesterday, like a dummy, I played in a pickup soccer game. I didn't do much, moved slow, just passed the ball... There was a point where another player pushed his wait on my back while I was dribbling. All of that force went into my bad ankle. Now my achilles tendon hurts at the base and sometimes 2 inches above the base. It's not a constant pain, at times it will vanish throughout the day and I will focus in on another part of pain in my ankle (like the side). Today marks my 3 month anniversary... I felt that I was finally at the end of my recovery, I'm just hoping that I didn't take a huge step back by playing yesterday.
the repetition of x-rays was useless, they can only detect if the ligament has torn away from the bone taking little pieces with it (sounds nice, doesn't it?), but you don't necessarily need an MRI: they can get a pretty good idea of what's gone on in your ankle with a comparatively simple and inexpensive ultrasound image. i think you should have gotten professional physical therapy earlier: i also waited until i was almost well to start mine and my doctor said it was a mistake, that the most important help for ligament damage is while it's healing. mine is fine now for normal function, but after about an hour of soccer it starts to stretch; as my foot gets wobbly, i start to get some pain... if i don't stop then i probably won't be able to play the next week but usually two weeks is enough to get back. i use an elastic ankle brace, but find that strapping with nonelastic athletic tape works better. it's been like that for almost two years now, and it's never going to get better. since i'm in my fifties my prognosis was never going to be wonderful anyway, and it's hard to get too much sympathy from the medical profession: i don't need to play soccer at my age do i?
even though this thread is old i was thinking about it these past couple of weeks. my ankle no longer hurts, it doesn't seem to loosen up after 90 minutes, and i have stopped wearing my ankle brace... after 30 months. so things like this CAN get better when when you think they won't. . but for god's sake, don't scrimp on the care whe this happens to you. there is ultrasound diagnosis that's much more available than MRI and much, much better than x-ray that doesn't see soft tissue damage. and as sc1976 says, get REAL help. your GP should (mine did right away) refer you to a specialist; there are clinics in most large cities that specialize in sports medicine and they aren't just for pro players or triathletes.