tendonitis?

[fultzie]

hi ladies!

una consultita (a little consultation):
i think i have tendonitis in my ankle. this is just my lay-diagnosis after surfing webMD, but it´s red and swollen and sore on the front of my ankle (the tendon-y area) and it hurts to rotate/walk/just sit here. it was fairly gradual (over about a month), which makes me think that it´s not a sprain. i´ve always had bad ankles, and kept turning them on a hiking trip a few months ago...

i know i should go to a dr, but i´m studying abroad in south america and my goal is *not* to experience the medical system here. i only have about a month and a half left, so i thought i´d stick it out....

so the consultation bit:
i was taking spinning classes until about a week ago (when my ankle went from "annoying" to "painful"). can i continue (after some vitamin-I)? and can i ski on it? i asked a friend of mine (a runner) and she gave me a horrorfied look and said that i could give myself a stress-fracture. is that true? (i always thought that biking was a joint-friendly sport :p)

how long does tendonitis generally take to heal? and what can you *do* for it?

¡muchísimas gracias, chicas!

cheers, and enjoy the increasingly beautiful weather if you´re in the northern hemi!

[spazzdog]

Hey Fultzie!

Tendonitis is an overuse kind of injury... calls for RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation). Could also be a strained or sprained ankle... also calls for RICE, but for a longer period. And an anti-inflammatory of choice for all.

And about the S. American medical experience... think of it this way, most of the kids that didn't get admitted here in the states are attending med school down there... and will be practicing here in the near future :eek:

Go... see a doc. You might make some new American friends :D

spazzdog

[fultzie]

thanks spazzdog :) do you know if it can, in fact, lead to a stress fracture?

it was more the cost issue (insurance doesn´t cover dr´s visits while i´m here) than the fear of the quality of medicine :p but i can imagine that would be an *interesting* way to meet some new gringos! ;)

[spazzdog]

don't know about the stress fracture question... that calls for one of the docs here at TE.

Yoo-hoo! TE grrls... Is there a doctor in the house?

spazzdog

[Grog]

I definitely wouldn't ski or run on a suspicious ankle, best you can do is make it... worst.

You're not going for surgery or anything serious... Any doctor, American or other, can certainly give it a look. Indeed going to a university-hospital would be a good idea, but I'm pretty confident that you'll find quality medicine down there, almost anywhere you are. What country are you in??

[CorsairMac]

I can't help you with the stress fracture question, I've never heard of a sprain or strain causing a stress fracture - but then I've never heard of a lot of things! BUT, what I can do is give you a GREAT exercise to help strenghten your ankles that the PTs gave me when I broke mine - both at 2 seperate times.

Stand in a doorway holding on to both sides of the door frame. Lift one leg, close your eyes and let go of the door frames. Count as far as you can until you lose your balance (using the door to catch you). Try and hold the one-legged, closed-eye stand for a count of 30. Switch legs and repeat.

I know, ya'll are probably laughing now but when you close your eyes, you lose your horizon reference which changes your balance. By standing on 1 leg, you have to use your ankle to support your torso. Try it.......the first time I did I couldn't hold it for more than 3 seconds. Even now 10 yrs later there are still times I can't make it to 30.

[trigurl]

I had tendonitis in my ankle last year, the PA that I saw said go ahead run on it, ok, I did, then I ended up in PT and she said NO WAY, RICE, she did some ultrasound on it and I was better in no time! It had been so painful across the top of my foot that I could only wear flip flops for a few months!

The PT did some shock kind of therapy first which did nothing then the ultrasound, which made it better in just a few visits! I am experiencing some pain now but I am thinking it is achilles tendonitis this time. I upped my running distance too quick and have been doing more running on hard surfaces, not a good thing, so I am taking it easy on the running right now.

Ice it when you can that helps and aleve, ibuprofen one of those should help, I don't find they helped me much but the Dr. said so :rolleyes:

good luck

[fultzie]

thanks so much everyone!

well, my runner-friend took one look at my tennis shoes/ sneakers/ trainers/ runners (whatever you may call them) and about passed out (and no, not from the smell :p ). they´re a little.... worn. we figured that could be contributing to the problem, so i´ve been wearing my steel-reinforced low hikers around (during warmer months i was in tevas 24/7, which was probably not the best either).

woah, it has actually made a huge difference! depending on the time of day i can rotate my ankle again!

as for dr.s... i definitely need to make an appointment when i get home... my knees have been bugging me off and on for about a year too (and it has nothing to do with seat adjustment).

Corsair-- thanks for the exercise suggestion... i´ll give it a shot. i´ve always had "weak ankles" so whether the tendonitis goes away or not, that could be beneficial!

[doc]

FYI, tendonitis itself does not cause stress fractures. Stress fractures and tendinitis both can come from the same thing: overuse. So if you have tendonitis from overuse, and keep going, you will possibly progress to stress fracture because 1)you continue your overuse and 2) your support structures i.e tendons, are not functioning properly.

Makes sense!