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ligament damage.

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kirsten1991 | 15:25 Tue 08th Jul 2008 | Body & Soul
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On christmas eve I broke my ankle and torn my ligaments. I didn't go to the hospital till about two weeks later because I didn't want it to ruin my christmas. I had my ankle in pot for 8 weeks and they said the brake had fixed but the ligament damage still wasn't gone. I was in a half pot for another 6 weeks but my ligaments still wern't fixed, but the pot came off and the hospital said I would get a letter for physio, I only got the letter about a month ago, and thought it was to late. I am walking on it now and it is fine, but hurts constantly. I can deal with this amount of pain, but nearly twice a day get sharp pains suddenly, were my whole ankle locks and theres pain for about half a hour. I rang my docter and he said there's nothing I can do (but he can be a bit useless.) Does anyone know how long ligament damage can last for and if theres any way of stopping the pain a bit?
Sorry for the long question but thanks!
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so have you missed appointment with the physio? why didnt you go and get checked out?

"I am walking on it now and it is fine, but hurts constantly"
so its not fine then is it?!
"I had my ankle in pot" - you had your ankles in marijuana for eight weeks? But why?

Anyway my sister had the ligament in her knee thorn due to a motorcycle accident. After much therapy's and being on Glucosamine Chondroitin her knee is almost on the mend. She said she believe the Glucosamine Chondroitin helped her the most in her healing.

Sorry to hear of your ankle, hope it gets better soon.
You need to have proper physio, if you don't go you will have this pain for ages, so get it sorted asap.



As with other soft tissue injuries, ligament healing consists of inflammation followed by repair and then remodelling.

Inflammatory Phase
The inflammatory phase follows trauma to collagen fibres and lasts for 3-5 days, depending on the severity of the injury. Chemicals are released which produce pain, and there is bleeding in the tissues. This, together with fluid from damaged cells, produces swelling within the joint, putting pressure on nerve endings and causing more pain.

Rehabilitation time can be greatly reduced by appropriate treatment in this acute stage. This consists of protecting the injured part from further damage (e.g. the use of crutches), rest from activity involving the injured part, ice (never apply ice directly to the skin), compression, elevation and the administration of anti-inflammatory medication.

Repair Phase
The repair phase is mediated by blood clotting over the damaged tissue. Blood platelets form a mesh to initiate healing. Also present in the blood clot are fibroblast cells, which proliferate and begin to lay down Type 3 (immature) collagen tissue, between 3-21 days after the injury. The use of electrotherapy in this phase has been shown to encourage fibroblast activity that ultimately provides a structurally stronger ligament.

Remodelling Phase
The remodelling phase follows the repair phase and can last for up to a year. It involves maturation of collagen tissue from Type 3 to Type 1 and realignment of collagen tissue. When it is first laid down, the collagen tissue is haphazard and does not possess a lot of tensile strength. The ligament gradually becomes stronger through being subjected to controlled strain in a functional pattern, which aligns the fibres in a longitudinal fashion. Physiotherapy, in the form of
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controlled exercises progressing to functional activity, aid this process of remodelling.

Because the remodelling phase lasts for up to a year, there is a potential weakness in the ligament and a risk of re-injury. This risk is reduced by providing additional stability with a strapping, increasing the strength of muscles which also provide support to the joint, and by doing proprioceptive exercises to increase the patient's sense of joint positioning
my son fell over and smacked his knee on concrete - never broke the kneecap but had lots of soft tissue damage. two years on, after crutches, rest, physio x2 etc his knee still looks lumpy, hurts most of the time and you have to pick him off the ceiling if he bashes it...our experience of a+e was great, but the fracture clinic and physio was very poor - having to wait lots and being told constantly 'there's nothing more we can do'. if you can go privat, i would - you get what you pay for!!!! (and before anyone starts - i work for the nhs!!!)
I tore the ligaments in my knee just before my A Levels and did the physio after which was well worth it.

You may have done more damage by not getting the plaster on earlier so the physio is even more important to reduce as much damage done as possible.

They may spot further problems they can help get fixed rather than you compounding the problem and ending up with possibly irreversible damage.

Don't leave your ankle vulnerable to problems which may come later in life (or earlier, I'm 29 and now have arthritis).

You also need to watch other parts of your body which may be under more strain due to your problem ankle eg other ankle and knees.
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To redcrx my auntie is a nurse, and was there when I did it, she told me it wasn't worth going to the hospital on xmas eve because she didn't think it was broken and they wont really do much if it wasn't broken because of how busy A and E would be(she was very apologetic later on.)
They also said I needed physio as soon as the pot came off but physio was full so had to wait for a space for an apointment which I didn't get a letter for till about 4 months after. Meanwhile I had been to my docters atleast three times and he said there was nothing more that could done. There is always a little pain there, but after so long I have got used to it, and can do most things again.

I didn't really realise that it was important, thought it would just go away on it's own, so thanks for everyones answers, you give so much more info, thanks.

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