Saturday, December 25, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
"Your ankle's messed up."
That was the official unofficial diagnosis I got from Dr. Henry "Hank" F. Pelto III this past week when I went in to get the MRI results on my left ankle. You may recall my R.I.M. post from back in September; we now have confirmation that it wasn't just any ankle sprain...
1. Bone marrow edema present within the media malleolus and adjacent medial aspect of the talus. Translation: areas of fluid, likely the swelling that's been existent since this all happened.
2. Non-descernible anterior talofibular and calcaneofibular ligaments, consistent with tear. Attenuation of the deep fibers of the deltoid ligament are also consistent with tear / strain. Translation: two major ligaments gone. Completely gone. Not good.
3. Tear of the anterior tibiofibular syndesmotic ligament. Translation: Otherwise known as a "high ankle sprain"... if the ligament was still intact. Here, it's just gone.
4. Longitudinal split tear of the distal posterior tibial tendon. Focal strain of the peroneus brevis tendon just distal to the lateral malleolus. Translation: bad news. With this complete tear, any downward pressure on my foot causes the two bones in my lower leg to separate as this tendon would normally hold them together. I often feel this especially when I bump my heel on a stair step, for example.
So, now the Good News / Bad News Game... Good news... I'm not a wussy! I have been in pain all of these past three months! Bad news... surgery is likely my only option to eliminate pain and to get back to a path where I can do things like... walk across uneven ground... jog... play volleyball... without pain.
It's good to know what's up with the ankle in light of the fact of what I felt when it happened and the pain I face to this day. I asked Hank if I should be pissed at the original doctor who kept telling me it was "just a sprain, probably a pretty good one" and refused to do an MRI. He backed me off the ledge and said the path I've been on to date is a normal one and one he also would have recommended.
That Hank... he's got a way with words!
1. Bone marrow edema present within the media malleolus and adjacent medial aspect of the talus. Translation: areas of fluid, likely the swelling that's been existent since this all happened.2. Non-descernible anterior talofibular and calcaneofibular ligaments, consistent with tear. Attenuation of the deep fibers of the deltoid ligament are also consistent with tear / strain. Translation: two major ligaments gone. Completely gone. Not good.
3. Tear of the anterior tibiofibular syndesmotic ligament. Translation: Otherwise known as a "high ankle sprain"... if the ligament was still intact. Here, it's just gone.
4. Longitudinal split tear of the distal posterior tibial tendon. Focal strain of the peroneus brevis tendon just distal to the lateral malleolus. Translation: bad news. With this complete tear, any downward pressure on my foot causes the two bones in my lower leg to separate as this tendon would normally hold them together. I often feel this especially when I bump my heel on a stair step, for example.
So, now the Good News / Bad News Game... Good news... I'm not a wussy! I have been in pain all of these past three months! Bad news... surgery is likely my only option to eliminate pain and to get back to a path where I can do things like... walk across uneven ground... jog... play volleyball... without pain.
It's good to know what's up with the ankle in light of the fact of what I felt when it happened and the pain I face to this day. I asked Hank if I should be pissed at the original doctor who kept telling me it was "just a sprain, probably a pretty good one" and refused to do an MRI. He backed me off the ledge and said the path I've been on to date is a normal one and one he also would have recommended.
That Hank... he's got a way with words!
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