hello, just browsing the web for ankle injury forums and found this site. get ready for a long read lol
i am 26 years old
at age 17 i suffered a severe ankle dislocation playing basketball. this tore all of the outer ligaments, nerves, tendons, muscles, and skin. most of it became trapped inside the joint, so they had to open it up to get it all out, and clean out the joint. the injury was from a stupid game of basketball. i came down for a rebound and rolled the ankle. the foot was at a 90 degree angle (right foot) and i fell to my left, trapping the foot underneath the leg, making the arch of my foot touch my leg. so thats a good mental picture for you lol
it did compress a nerve tunnel on the inner part of ankle. not the tarsal tunnel, but one in front of it, i forget which one. my surgery doctor said it was a very bad injury, and i'd have problems for the rest of my life, and it may get worse. the best i ever got back was about 80 percent. i am now down to about 30.
i did not see a doctor about it again untill 9 years later (october last year) it just got to a point where i cant even drive a car anymore.
i have been on numerous drugs, codien, vicodin, ultram, kadian,lyrica for pain, and elavil, trazodone for sleep problems. i also had a lumbar nerve block that only made the foot feel warm, i felt no difference in pain
i am sick of pain and pain meds. im sick of being so inactive. i weighed 170 when the injury happened, and im up to 236 now. i have a constant stab pain on the inside of ankle. tenderness where the tear occured (10 years later.) i get deep piercing pain in the joint sometimes when i walk. my achilles feels like its strained. and if i try to pivot on that foot, it feels like the top part of my foot is ripping open.
my mri last year showed posterior medial malleolus spurring (is that the inside of the ankle? there is a good sized knot there now)
small fluid build up within the tendon sheath of the tibialis posterior tendon at the level of malleolus, compatibal with tenosynovitis. there is also fluid within the tendon sheath of the flexor hallucis longus tendon, however this is more likely secondary to the ankle effusion (um what does that mean? lol)
addendum to the report
there is thickening of the posterior calcaneofibular ligament with intermediate signal, consistent with chronic injury. there are also post surgical changes along the lateral malleolar region
i am scheduled for ankle fusion evaluation on december third with a guy named doctor kelikian in chicago. this doctor actually consults with the chicago bears football team. so my guess is, if any body can help me, its him. i am very scared of the thought of ankle fusion, but im sick of pain. all these docs so far have said its a 50/50 shot if it makes it better or worse. they say at this point in my life, what do i have to lose?
i would just like feedback/suggestions/opinions on this situation please. if it were you, would you go ahead with the fusion? have you heard of a basketball injury so severe? lol sometimes i think this is the worst ankle injury in the history of basketball, and im probably right. all doctors i've seen say "wow, u did this playing basketball? dang, tough break kid, you would've been better off breaking the thing, or having it cut off"
ty in advance for any replies |
