I ruptured a tendon to my big toe and released a ganglion last night and spent an agonising few hours in A&E. There was little they could do other than to tape up my toe Kismet shoe stylee and administer pain killers

They said if there was no reduction in the swelling and pain in two weeks to come back

Has anyone suffered the same, is recovery possible in a couple of weeks or will it be months?

Has no one else suffered the limp of Captain Ahab?

Has no one else suffered the limp of Captain Ahab?

That’s an enormous wail. 😉

I’ve broken my ankle and I’m in a ‘boot’, so it could be worse! 6 weeks is the usual prognosis.

What do you mean by released a ganglion?

Also, is the tendon strained (ie partially torn) or completely ruptured (ie completely torn in two)

“What do you mean by released a ganglion”

It seems the ganglion was growing within the tendon sheath. When it ruptured it escaped. A bit like the Alien, but it didn’t break the skin. It presented itself like a hard lump below the skin.

EDIT – I don’t think the tendon was severed as I still have some movement in my toe albeit painfully.

Ok good to know. If you have any doubt then head to a GP and say ‘I have been told that my tendon is ruptured and I was wondering why haven’t I been booked in for surgery to have it fixed?’ It is a perfectly legitimate question, and the longer a ruptured tendon is left the greater the chances of it not being able to be fixed as the tendon ends begin to get ‘tacky’ and unreceptive to achieving union.

Generally the treatment for a strain (partial tear) is pretty aggressive- basically loading it as much as the pain will allow, unless you have been given a very valid reason not to.

The treatment for a rupture (complete tear) would normally be surgery, again unless there is a specific reason not to.

It sounds to me like someone has used the word ‘rupture’ when they mean ‘strain’, which does happen, but my advice would be to get this confirmed. You would be doing yourself a massive favour by getting yourself a physio appointment anyway, so another good reason to pop along to the GP’s.

Re: ganglion, they are benign (non-cancerous) lumps but can be a bio-mechanical PITA so I’d say best thing for now is to carry on as normal but remember to mention it to the GP and physio- especially the physio!

Pain- you might be hobbling for as much as 3-6 weeks unfortunately, but things that you can do to help are:

1. Contrast bathing. This will benefit you by both by providing immediate pain relief as well as reducing the swelling, which is most likely one of the main causes of your pain.

2. Elevating your foot above heart level and doing ankle pumps (bending your ankle back and forth so that your toes alternately point towards you and then away from you). However don’t spend your life lying down- getting up for a hobble every 30-60 mins is good for a whole host of reasons, one of which is that it will up your heart rate which in turn will help to wash away the excess fluid in your ankle that is causing the swelling. It will also help to prevent any secondary injury through non-use, which are frequently more debilitating and chronic than the original injury.

3. Pain meds. Keep on top of these, as they are accumulative, but of course always follow the instructions or you will knacker your liver very quickly. Paracetomol and Ibuprofen can be taken together, and people often space them apart so that you are halving the time between pain meds. (Aspirin and Ibuprofen CANNOT be taken together!!! Only take one OR the other!!!!)

Awaits the “I’ve discovered a Victorian Bio-mechanical exo skeleton, covered in ivy, in a forgotten attic and now i’m restoring it to full functioning order. I shall walk again!” thread from mcmoonter.

Thanks Perchypanther. I’m a bit more mobile today and the swelling has subsided a bit. The ball of my foot is still tender although the trauma was to the upper side.

I’ve found stranger things in the attic than Victorian biomechanical exo skeletons. I’m sure there are some 3D models of corn on the cob style seed heads which break down into components from an agronomy laboratory

I appear to have suffered a retinal rupture too, I misread PP’s post as Shermer75’s 😳