I might have a broken leg, but don't know for sure.

[vonsmog]

I know there are a few doc's on this site, so maybe the PP forum brain trust can help me out. A little background, I got hit with a puck right above the ankle while playing ice hockey on 7/28. It swelled up like a balloon when it happened and I had ice on it within 5 min. Iced it for three days and it seemed like it was getting better. I have full movement of the ankle and can walk, even run on it. But the last two days in the morning, it feels like a icepick is being jammed into my leg! I can barely put weight on it. Then the sharp pain goes away and it turns into a dull ache. I have been working and walking around like this for over a week. Last night my doctor, who I also play hockey called and asked how it felt. He thought it might be broken and I should get a X-ray to be sure. But then I asked what would they do for it, and he said most likely nothing, as I am walking on it, and most likely just a crack. So should I bother getting radiation that I don't need, and have it tell me what I think I already know. Or could there be a problem I should be worried about? The photo was taken a week after it happened and you can see where the puck hit above the ankle and how big the bruising is. So what say you doc's should I get a X-ray or not bother?

[Typ616]

Modern X-rays use so much less radiation, it's not an issue anymore, it's not like an MRI...

[bivenator]

Please don't avoid having an Xray of your foot done in order to avoid radiation exposure. That should not be a factor in your decision making.

[IROC]

Originally Posted by bivenator

Please don't avoid having an Xray of your foot done in order to avoid radiation exposure. That should not be a factor in your decision making.

+1. Your lower leg is also an "extremity" and can take huge doses of radiation with little adverse effect. A medical x-ray is a complete non-issue.

[ThomO]

If they use gamma radiation try not get mad afterwords

[KFC911]

Paging Doctor Toby....please pick up the PPOT curtesy phone

You need to visit one imo....

That said, I broke my big toe almost exactly one year ago (big azz log fell off the wood splitter and got me good...). My next toenail clipping will finally remove the last of the discolored toenail that has been growing out....the break was totally behind the visible portion of the nail when it happened...I KNEW it was broken...docs couldn't have done anything that I didn't do imo.

'Bout a month ago, I'm pretty sure I cracked my Tibia (again) right below my knee. First time was playing basketball 27 years ago....broken Tibia, torn ACL (atrophied from being in a cast, thus removed along with general knee "cleanup"). This time I thought I was gonna go see a doc, but I could walk on it fine, and it didn't hurt EXCEPT for bending it (just at one point), but it hurt like HELL. I chose to let it heal without a cast...I know how much my leg muscles (in general) would have atrophied in a 4 weeks.

BOTH times...I feel sure I made a correct decision "for me" and both healed up just fine on their own ....If I had the injury you have pictured, I'd be seeing a doc (and I've had numerous severe ankle sprains too over the years)....YMMV.

ps: Oh yeah...while my last injury was still only a week old, I was playing "tennis balls" with one of my adopted doggy packs. Because I was not using my usual throwing motion due to my leg, I REALLY regretted it the next day (and for about 10 days)...felt like I had messed up my rotator cuff or something....that's OK now too. This aging process REALLY sucks imo

[pavulon]

It looks painful. If I were in your situation, I'd probably see how it unfolds for a while. If it got worse, I'd get the x-ray. If it gets better, then all good. If it was causing me to sit around a fair bit more than usual, maybe ice and elevate it a bit and consider a baby aspirin each day with some anti-inflammatory med to help. YMMV.

also, the gamma rad. comment above was pretty funny!

[wolds]

MRI does not use ionizing radiation. It's based on a magnet

Originally Posted by Typ616

Modern X-rays use so much less radiation, it's not an issue anymore, it's not like an MRI...

[Nathans_Dad]

Get an XRay. The amount of radiation is miniscule.

One of the doctors has spoken, lol.

[Baz]

I stayed at a Holiday Inn last night......

[sammyg2]

I say ignore it. Staff infections related to broken bones in the lower legs are fairly rare .............

True story: back in my yoot, I climbed off my dirt bike at around 60 mph. No, not on porpoise.
I was convinced I had broken my foot.
My riding buddies knew better, calling me a pussy and saying I needed to tough it out, it was only sprained.

So I did.
I limped around for a month or so but never missed a day of work.
Two decades later I was having foot problems and the podiatrist asked, why didn't I get my heel screwed back together correctly?
I said huh?

It had healed by itself but was no where near the place is should be.
She asked if I had any back problems, check. Surgery two years after the foot injury.
She asked, howz the knees?
Both shot, one operated on and the other gets by with cortizone shots.

She said oh well, too late to undo all that structural and alignment damage now, just live with it.

To make a long story longer, the lesson here is that it's perfectly OK to go to a doctor an have him tell you there's nothing wrong or that there's nothing he can do (unless it has to do with a rectal exam ).

But not going to a doctor when you really should is just dumb.

[vash]

my leg glows from the all the Xrays..

one time this very attractive Xray lady was shuffling my limpy arse around. i was trying to be all cool and funny, while she tried to position me into various yoga position..personal fav was trying to bend the extremely painful knee for a particular pose..

i'm holding this position while she runs behind the shield..i hear the thing go off just as i realized i was not wearing the lead underwear/nut shield..i was stammering."wait..wait.." BRAAAAARAP!

now my nuts glow. i think they shrunk too.

get the xray..dont flirt with the tech..get the underwear/nut shield.

[Tobra]

There are a few things in that area that you would be concerned about. If it is cracked, you probably don't want to be walking on it, as that is a weight bearing bone. You may have injured some muscle origins, but it looks to have hit the tibia just anterior to the coronal plane, which is better than posterior, which is where a number of tendons and some fairly large vessels and nerves.

I would be icing that thing about 20 minutes out of every hour for the next day or two, while I was awake. It won't throb so much if you elevate it. Imagine if you had a boot full of water, raise your foot high enough that the water would run out of the boot.

Oh, and get an x ray

[livi]

Yup. Arguably wise to get an x-ray and if possible skip the aerobics until its done.

[vonsmog]

Well I called my doctor to set up an x-ray as it hurts more now than it did all week. He sent me his x-ray of his leg that he has been walking around on for a month! The ortho wanted to put screws in the ankle to hold it together, and he said no thanks. Said the recovery time would be the same without the hardware, so he is just babying it. Said he out from skating to the end of oct. Will have to get a copy of my x-ray to post.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by Tobra

.... it looks to have hit the tibia just anterior to the coronal plane, which is better than posterior, which is where a number of tendons and some fairly large vessels and nerves.

Yeah, that's what I was gonna say.

[speeder]

So I assume that you will get it X-rayed now? Legs and feet are pretty important. That must have been one hell of a slap-shot.

Your photo brought back painful memories. This was my foot in 2004 after a car fell on it and shattered my heel into 17 pieces that they could count on an MRI. There may have been more.

Good foot:


Bad foot:

[Tobra]

How the heck did you get hit with a puck on the inside of your ankle and break the bone on the outside? Did you twist and fall after it hit you?

That is not a particularly stable looking fracture. I probably would want to put a plate on it.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by speeder

So I assume that you will get it X-rayed now? Legs and feet are pretty important. That must have been one hell of a slap-shot.

Your photo brought back painful memories. This was my foot in 2004 after a car fell on it and shattered my heel into 17 pieces that they could count on an MRI. There may have been more.

Good foot:


Bad foot:

I am no expert but I think I see the difference there. Ouch.

[speeder]

The worst part is my dog thinks it's funny.