How do you tell if your ankle is fractured or bruised?
If you have a broken ankle, you may experience some of the following signs and symptoms:
- Immediate, throbbing pain.
- Swelling.
- Bruising.
- Tenderness.
- Deformity.
- Difficulty or pain with walking or bearing weight.
Does bruising on ankle mean broken?
As time passes ecchymosis (bruising) may occur. This can be extensive; however, this does not necessarily mean the ankle is broken. More severe ankle sprains present with significant ecchymosis over the region of injury.
Should you walk on a bruised ankle?
No. This is not an injury that you can “walk off.” After spraining your ankle, it will need time to recover before putting any weight on it. Trying to force a speedy recovery by walking, running, or working out too soon may further aggravate the damage done to your ankle in the first place.
Did I sprain my ankle or break it?
With a sprain, you feel pain. But if you have numbness or tingling, your ankle is most likely broken. Where is the pain? If your ankle hurts or is tender to the touch directly over your ankle bone, you probably have a fracture.
Should I go to ER for ankle injury?
Go to urgent care if your pain level and swelling is significant and you have difficulty walking, to the point that you need assistance, due to the pain. Go to the emergency room if your foot is bruised, deformed, or you are unable to walk at all. You may have a fracture, broken bone or serious ligament damage.
Do sprained ankles bruise?
Bruising. Bruising is the major difference between a sprain and a strain. When you sprain your ankle, ligaments and blood vessels tear, creating a bruise. The bruise won’t appear instantly but is a good indicator that you may have sprained your ankle.
Do sprained ankles turn purple?
Sprains, strains, or dropping something onto the foot can cause bruising, which tends to make the skin appear blue or purple. Such an injury will also often cause pain and swelling.
Should I go to the hospital for a sprained ankle?
People with a more severe ankle sprain — characterized by extreme bruising or swelling and an inability to bear weight on the foot without significant pain, or when there doesn’t seem to be any improvement over the first several days after the injury — should seek medical attention, Drs. SooHoo and Williams say.
What happens if a broken ankle goes untreated?
When a bone fracture is untreated, it can result in either a nonunion or a delayed union. In the former case, the bone doesn’t heal at all, which means that it will remain broken. As a result, swelling, tenderness, and pain will continue to worsen over time.