Injured Leg Question - Help Appreciated!

[Born to be Wild]

Last week after moving up to Longview I took a nasty spill or two while chasing a chinook down the Naeselle river before noticing the boot foot waders I had borrowed were not felt lined soles.
I hit hard on shoreline boulders twice or maybe three times (can't remember in all the excitement) hitting my knee and shin.
I would have rather worn my leaky neopremes!

After driving to the Elocoman and my friend waking me up from a nap I noticed my right leg hard to straighten out.
But I fished and the next day or two it seemed fine with the exception of the sore shin that was sore to the touch.

Last night when i took off my socks I was surprised and shocked to see a redish/ purple heel below my ankle.
My ankle felt fine! Didin't look to good.
I'm not one to bruise or break bones but this old age bs is getting old!

Seems strange to me that here it is nearly a week later and all the sudden it is getting worse instead of better.

I have been doing a bit of hiking the last couple days while harassing Washington late strain coho's and maybe that has been a factor.
A lot of crossing rivers and up and down short but steep inclines through ice and mud. (Feel like I have been hunting winter steelhead). :grin:

My friend Brad says elevate it, nothing to mess with.
His wife says to ice pack it.
I says all I have to do is stick it out the window then. :grin:

But it does have me a bit concerned and being uninsured I'm not going in to have it checked out.

I want to go kill some more coho tomorrow being the blood thirsty demon I am but might have to give it a rest.
See what my leg/ankle looks like in the AM and maybe just hit an easy spot or two in the morning.

Any ideas of what I may have done or what I can do to improve my condition would be helpfull and appreciated.

A little while ago when I was posting a thread and pic of a coho I caught today on the main board my leg seemed to be getting stiff and pain with it.
Now it seems better or I'm getting used to it.

Thanks,
Dan



PS> My old wading shoes are severly worn out and I am waiting for my new ones to arrive.
Don't think that would possibly be the problem like a friend of mine does.
Got me some new neopremes and it sure is nice to stay dry again.
I would recomend to anyone not to wear any non felt bottomed waders/ wading shoes while fishing the rivers.
I think they are downright dangerous.

Dan

[wannacatchem]

Hey DBD, leg looks just like mine did when I tore some ligaments a bazillion years ago. Only thing you can do is stay off of it and elevate it. Tho, after a week, elevation may not help much. Ice only works within the first 24 hours of an injury. Put an ace bandage on, but don't wrap it too tightly. Make sure it's support well when using the ankle, i.e., high top boots with good ankle support.

Took mine about 4 weeks to get back to normal.

[wannacatchem]

sent you a PM

[Thumper]

Routine old age stuff. I am sitting here looking at a purple foot too. When you rip up muscles or tendons anywhere in the leg the blood kinda seeps down into the foot. Sometimes it shows up several days after the injury. It will take a week or two to be reabsorbed. No biggee. If you are taking daily aspirin you might want to stop 'til most of the hematoma reabsorbs.

[Born to Fish]

Dan,....what Thumper said. Been there, done that many times. Even then, it never ceases to amaze me when that purple area shows up below the ankle several days after the injury.

Dean

[Born to be Wild]

Cool. Thanks guys.
Swelling went down a little over night.
Maybe just too much hiking on it the last couple days.
Got to go.
Dan

[Lured In]

Yep...likely its just a serious sprain/bruise. I had a thrid degree sprain in my ankle that looked like your's, but from above my ankle all the way down. I still had a purple line just below my ankle bone nearly 3 weeks after injuring it.

Some home remedy advice (always check with your doctor). Ice it regularly, and if allowed you can take anti-inflammatories, like Aleve. Good luck and get better soon.

[OceanBlue]

Dan - this long after the initial injury, alternate ice and heat. 15 min. each. This will create an increase in circulation to the area, bringing with it collagen and other healing properties and carrying away the bad stuff.

If you have pain somewhere directly above that bruised spot (like when you put weight on the leg) and can't see anything on the surface, you should probably bite the bullet and get it checked out. Blood pooling in your foot from an injury 'upstream' could be serious.

Take it easy brutha!

[Gus Orviston]

DBD, Thanks, I have had problems getting over my foot fetish I have had for 20 years.... I am cured now :tongue:

Uh, Hope you feel better

Ifish MD

gus

[ 11-04-2003, 02:59 PM: Message edited by: Gus Orviston ]

[KingFisher85]

I kinda had the same thing happen to me a few winters ago. If FIB would get on hear, she sure had a good time watchin the Doc cut my leg open :grin:

The doctor said that I could of ended up in the hospitol awe, just another way of gettin money out of you :grin:

[jocose]

i slipped on the rocks at bonneville a few weeks ago skinning my shin and knee.. the next day same thing happened to me too. i went to the doctors office thinking something wierd was going on. my ankle was not swollen but was all black and blue. the doc said its gravity pulling blood which is seeping out of broken capillaries on your shin and knee. he told me if i had nothing better to do i could elevate my leg for 24 hours and the bruise would migrate back up my leg.. about a week later it all went away...

[Born to be Wild]

Got a couple emails also and this one really impressed me.

Hey Dan,
I use to be an athletic trainer and have alot of experience with sprained ankles. We have an acronymn called RICE. REST the ankle and don't overexert it. ICE for about 10-15 minutes in a bucket of water that's big enough for your foot. ICE at least 2-3 times per day. Ice still works even after the first 24 hours---decreases the swelling in the foot/ankle by affecting a couple chemical pathways. COMPRESSION-using an ace bandage, wrap it starting at your toes (not too tight). When you wrap, make it tighter at your toes and then gradually get looser as you wrap up to midcalf. Compression puts pressure on the tissue and keeps the fluid from accumulating in your foot (ie. the bruising you see by your heel and arch). ELEVATION-elevate your foot/ankle above your heart when possible. Sleep with your foot on a pillow, when sitting on the couch keep it elevated. All of these will work to decrease the swelling and thus help with the pain. Ibuprofen (Advil) or Naprosyn (Aleve) are wond!
er drugs at pain control and to help reduce the swelling because they are non-steroidal anti-inflammatories. If it were me, I would take between 500mg-1000mg once or twice a day for 5 days. Hope this helps. It will probably take a couple weeks to get back to normal again. I've got some good strengthening exercises if you're interested. Good luck.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">I could hardly walk this morning but I did wrap it with an ace bandage and take an Ibuprofen this afternoon and found myself jogging down to a fishing hole just before dark. :grin:
Got the skunk, but I learn something everytime I go and I will get even with the silvers tomorrow morning.

I realize that was not too smart running through a field and crossing a stream but I was carefull watching every step and it feels OK tonight.

I'll keep a close eye on it and I thank all of you that responded for your time and information that eased my mind.

Gracias,

Dan

[Birdnest]

Dan,

You have gotta rest that thing. Hiking down a slippery creek bank will end you up on an operating table. If you can't straighten your knee, it is probably a meniscal tear. Usually those are taken care of via an arthroscopic surgery. I am not saying this is what you have, but for goodness sake, give it a rest.

Joe(MRI Tech)

[ 11-06-2003, 09:22 AM: Message edited by: Birdnest ]

Put a few leaches on your ankle to drain some of the blood out of it and reduce the swelling.


The first clinical use of medicinal leeches (Hirudo medicinalis) occurred approximately 2500 years ago. This small invertebrate is particularly valuable for plastic and reconstructive surgery since it can produce a small bleeding wound that mimics a venous circulation in an area of compromised tissue. The leech produces a number of important substances which contribute to the special property of the bite, including an anticoagulant, a local vasodilator and local anaesthetic. These substances allow continued bleeding normally up to 10 hours after the animal has detached.

[DanS]

and found myself jogging down to a fishing hole just before dark

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">You've been bad, Danno. You need to elevate that leg and give it a rest. Otherwise, you're just going to prolong the healing process.

I know the silvers calling your name make it tough, but give that leg some rest. You only have two, you know.