United States
It's been over a year that I have been dealing with R ankle pain. It started with a sprained ankle in August 2025 after stepping in a gopher hole on a downhill incline. I was able to hobble home with the expected pain (not my first sprain.) I did all the usual remedies and it improved over time. But unlike my other sprains, there wasn't complete recovery. After a moderate amount of weight bearing activity, the ankle would start to hurt, swell a little and would ache into the night. I had quite a flare in October right before a scheduled R hand surgery. I went to my PCP to verify that it wasn't something significant. There was no fracture that they could see so we adopted a wait and see approach. Hand surgery, bilateral cataract surgeries and a holiday season later, still no improvement in the ankle, so I made an appointment to see an ankle orthopedic specialist in February 2026.
It was an interesting experience. Summary: saw the nurse practitioner, who verified no fracture per x-ray. Pain probably from nerve source aggravated by fallen arches: PT, orthotics, expensive athletic shoes, and special brace. Except for the shoes, everything made my pain worse. PT was befuddled and after my 6 weeks, recommended I go back to OS. NP ordered an MRI which showed a torn peroneal brevis tendon. Then I saw the actual doctor who also maintained it was nerve related. The torn tendon was an incidental finding. He recommended a different orthotic, more PT and nerve studies. No, to the PT and the nerve studies were all normal. OS still thinks it's nerve but gives a cortisone injection into the ankle to see if that will help and then I should come back in 3 months for an injection into the tendon, if needed. The ankle joint injection did nothing and I wasn't going back. It is now June. I then made an appointment with a different OS in a different practice.
This OS and his PA went over my records and diagnostics and said: if you want to get better, you're going to need that torn tendon repaired. It is an injury that we DON'T recommend PT for because it is a stabilizer tendon and PT makes things worse. This is now summer and I wanted to finish the camping season and my husband's busy work season. So, my surgery is scheduled for October 21, 2026, one week from now and 15 months since my injury. Proof positive that you need to always advocate for yourself and get a second opinion, if things aren't adding up. I just wish I had done it sooner.
It was an interesting experience. Summary: saw the nurse practitioner, who verified no fracture per x-ray. Pain probably from nerve source aggravated by fallen arches: PT, orthotics, expensive athletic shoes, and special brace. Except for the shoes, everything made my pain worse. PT was befuddled and after my 6 weeks, recommended I go back to OS. NP ordered an MRI which showed a torn peroneal brevis tendon. Then I saw the actual doctor who also maintained it was nerve related. The torn tendon was an incidental finding. He recommended a different orthotic, more PT and nerve studies. No, to the PT and the nerve studies were all normal. OS still thinks it's nerve but gives a cortisone injection into the ankle to see if that will help and then I should come back in 3 months for an injection into the tendon, if needed. The ankle joint injection did nothing and I wasn't going back. It is now June. I then made an appointment with a different OS in a different practice.
This OS and his PA went over my records and diagnostics and said: if you want to get better, you're going to need that torn tendon repaired. It is an injury that we DON'T recommend PT for because it is a stabilizer tendon and PT makes things worse. This is now summer and I wanted to finish the camping season and my husband's busy work season. So, my surgery is scheduled for October 21, 2026, one week from now and 15 months since my injury. Proof positive that you need to always advocate for yourself and get a second opinion, if things aren't adding up. I just wish I had done it sooner.
