Looking for some information, and if any one else has recovered from a bruised ankle bone ??

In Feb i went to tassie for a wave sailing holiday, 4 th day of sailing, i twisted my ankle pretty bad. I got my foot stuck in the rear strap and went over the falls, i could hear tearing noises under the water.
It hurt big time, but the conditions were so good, i walked it out on the beach and then continued to sail with pain for the rest of the day. I then decided to celebrate a great days sailing at the pub, and then crashed out in the van after.

So i didn't rest it, or ice it straight away. I woke the next day with an ankle i couldn't walk on and was severely bruised and swollen.

Long story short, on return, i got an MIR, that basically said swollen and damage tendons and a bruised ankle bone.

So i rested ankle for 6 weeks as per doc instructions, no surfing/sup/running not think much of it, then eased back into normal life. All was fine, so i started running and sailing again, and then after 2 weeks, i was back with a painfully sore ankle, with no confidence to put load on it.

Doc suggested another MRI and a bone scan, and after results (same as before) he thought i might have re injured again windsurfing, so he instructed a moon boot for 4 weeks and then a further 2 weeks of rest.

I have just completed that 2nd rest stint, and started surfing and windsurfing gently again, only to have the pain return after a week ?

Has anyone had a bone bruise from windsurfing, any suggestions or am i just being to impatient and not resting it enough ?

My doctor told me bone bruise takes about 6 weeks to heal, just like a fracture ?
He said a bone bruise is a prequel to a fracture, and the pain is caused from blood leaking out of damage bone and the bone swelling in the joint.

Im fit and 36, and desperate to get back to my normal active life, has anyone else recovered from such an injury and any information would be greatly appreciated ??

Cheers,

James.

In much younger days i severally bruised both heels and broke bones in feet, the bruising of the bones as the docs said is actually as bad as broken bones and took a lot longer to heal than stated, 1) because they are not broken u do too much too early, and 2) as u said the blood and repairing of bones is still working itself out of the area. Unfortunately rest and low impact is the way to go, icing and feet up on the sore days. Good Luck

Thanks for the info Zachary, I thought that this would be a typical wave sailing type injury and maybe others might have put in their experiences and tips for recovery. If I'd known in hindsight the amount of down time this injury would have given me. I would have stopped sailing straight after i injuryed it and iced it straight away and total rested for 8 weeks plus.

Something I've learnt out of this is either put tennis balls or cut up kids noddle foam in straps, to stop them getting squash in the back of my van/car and adjust properly (looser), so I wouldn't have got stuck in the first place.

Oh and ice and rest ankle sprains properly, just took it as a minor injury, and didnt give it the time it needed, so far about 4 mths of lost water and fun time and counting.

Where is the pain? Is it over the bone of more central i.e. coming from the joint itself? Is there stiffness and restricted movement in flexion/extension compared to the other foot?
There are a lot of reasons for ankle pain but after such a long time immobilized, I would be surprised if you didn't feel both pain and discomfort windsurfing at first. My first advice would be to get a good physiotherapist and get back some of the strength that you have lost over these long weeks.

(And yes, I'm an orthopaedic surgeon and a windsurfer and have had a painful return to windsurfing after injury myself so I have a fairly good idea what we're talking about here)

SUPerSwede,

Thanks for your reply.

The pain is at the base of my ankle bone in the centre, i have full range of movement of my ankle, without any bruising or swelling now on the ankle.
I have seen a physio on several occasions, her advise was to stop any impact exercise like running etc, and ice and rest if hurts, after 4 - 6 weeks of the walking boot, to immobilise the ankle.
She did say that i should be right to road ride and windsurf, after this period, but in hindsight she properly doesn't understand windsurfing and the impact and loads that wave sailing could do an ankle, and i should have explained it better.

I think i have got close to recovery twice, and just haven't rested it enough, i can ride (20-40 kms on road bike) with out pain, but if I'm to run, surf or windsurf, bottom turning or top turning of the lip (sharp turning with pressure/load on my ankle it now really hurts, then i will have up to a week of pain if i don't rest it and take it easy. I know my first proper wave sail i did feel a little pain, but stupidly continued, instead of giving it more time.

I think i can only rest again for another 6 weeks, and then get an MRI again to ensure the bone swelling has disappeared.

Any other feed back or information would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Select to expand quote

Nerdburger said..

Looking for some information, and if any one else has recovered from a bruised ankle bone ??

In Feb i went to tassie for a wave sailing holiday, 4 th day of sailing, i twisted my ankle pretty bad. I got my foot stuck in the rear strap and went over the falls, i could hear tearing noises under the water.
It hurt big time, but the conditions were so good, i walked it out on the beach and then continued to sail with pain for the rest of the day. I then decided to celebrate a great days sailing at the pub, and then crashed out in the van after.

So i didn't rest it, or ice it straight away. I woke the next day with an ankle i couldn't walk on and was severely bruised and swollen.

Long story short, on return, i got an MIR, that basically said swollen and damage tendons and a bruised ankle bone.

So i rested ankle for 6 weeks as per doc instructions, no surfing/sup/running not think much of it, then eased back into normal life. All was fine, so i started running and sailing again, and then after 2 weeks, i was back with a painfully sore ankle, with no confidence to put load on it.

Doc suggested another MRI and a bone scan, and after results (same as before) he thought i might have re injured again windsurfing, so he instructed a moon boot for 4 weeks and then a further 2 weeks of rest.

I have just completed that 2nd rest stint, and started surfing and windsurfing gently again, only to have the pain return after a week ?

Has anyone had a bone bruise from windsurfing, any suggestions or am i just being to impatient and not resting it enough ?

My doctor told me bone bruise takes about 6 weeks to heal, just like a fracture ?
He said a bone bruise is a prequel to a fracture, and the pain is caused from blood leaking out of damage bone and the bone swelling in the joint.

Im fit and 36, and desperate to get back to my normal active life, has anyone else recovered from such an injury and any information would be greatly appreciated ??

Cheers,

James.

Hey mate I over rotated a forward and broke my leg, and dislocated my ankle... spent 3 months on crutches, 9 screws and two plates later...
took along time to get any strength to walk again, let alone sail. When I did finally get back on the board, being in the straps and twisting was pretty painful, and wave riding was the worst just with twisting in the straps. I found the best thing was a basketball type lace up ankle brace. Found it just gave the ankle enough support to take the load off my ligaments and joint...

that should help your ligament problem. As for the bone bruising it probably won't help to much..

Good luck with it. Injuries suck

Your problem is the fact that all you are doing is resting. The best rehab evidence for ankle rehab it active not passive. You will find that 4 weeks in the boot will result in more stiffness through the joint, and you will struggle even further to get back into action. GP's are good at their job, but they don't get the training in musculoskeletal medicine and generally their management of injuries like this is not current or best practice.

Find a good physio / sports physio (probably better) and get it assessed and get it moving.

Hi all,

Just an up date i went to a specialist on Thursday, he checked my 2 x MIR's and bone scan, put me through an examination and concluded, that i have a serve bone bruise of the ankle and possible a latent fracture. So no surfing/sup'ing/windsurfing/weights that effect my ankle, e.g. squats, for 3 - 6 mths minimum.
I will have cartilage damage and a weak bone for life, if i don't get allow it to heal properly, and could possible take 6 mths plus to maybe 12 mths !!!.

He said if i had left the water asap, after i twisted my ankle and RICE with 6 - 8 weeks of immobilisation boot, and eased back into activities, i should have been right.
He said i have damaged the ankle bone getting back to windsurfing / surfing to quickly and whilst the bone was already weak, i have caused an internal fracture, and not given it sufficient rest to heal.

So i will have another week off work in a moon boot, then a week of light duties, and no load on the ankle outside of walking (always with runners on), then manage the recovery until the pain goes and easy back in to surfing after 3-4 mths.

This has been a huge impact on my life and fitness.

So a word of warning to all that sail, if you twist your ankle, leave the water asap and RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) and take the time to make sure it heals properly, and if any doubt visit a doc, for an MIR and get the right advise, (specialist) as soon as possible, and not just put up, with the pain.

Cheers,

James.

Just got back from Waratah Bay / Sandy Point wave sailing , had a little catapult over mast high closeout . Dragged my back foot under the rail breaking the trailing edge of the thruster fin . Fin hit the ankle bone .Lucky it bounced of the bone , Taking it easy for a while .
Thanks to John & matt for a hand Cheers

Its was pretty sick conditions we were out in, some dirty big bombs coming thru, does show in the photos thou, it started to rain and I wanted to get out there for so stupid reason, it was even bigger the next day, only took a couple of photos before you thought you would reshape your fin with your foot. sorry to hear the foot hasn't come good James. maybe Tassie 2014