I googled "foot sprain" and discovered (to my dismay) that a severe foot sprain can take up to 2 months to heal! My foot is swollen and bruised. I still can’t put any weight on the foot (after 5 days) so (according to articles I read) I (unfortunately) have a grade 3, severe foot sprain.
Ok, so here is the deal. I have been spending my days mostly in bed. I have been icing my foot every 2 hours. I have been trying to keep my foot elevated above my heart level, but how the heck am I supposed to remain in that position when I am sound asleep?
Also, if this injury lasts for weeks or even months, am I really expected to lie on my back and keep my foot elevated on pillows every night? I have a bulging disk in my back. I was in severe pain for 4 months last summer (and several of you Y/A community members helped me more than you can possibly imagine). Now my past fear has returned with a vengeance because, while the excruciating pain I was in just suddenly "magically" disappeared last September, about 6 weeks ago I started feeling tingly, numb sensations in my body (mostly in my legs). Now that I’m literally forced to lay on my back with both my legs stretched out straight in front of me, I have been getting very irritating muscle spasms in both my legs (as well as still feeling weird and tingly in my legs and sometimes in my arms).
I can’t ruin my back in order to heal my sprained foot. I hate the way I feel when I lay on my back and elevate my foot, so I really need to know if doing this will be necessary for the duration of my injury? Also, should I try to exercise my foot a little bit while I’m laying in bed? When should I attempt to walk on the foot again? Will I be in danger of re-injuring the foot? This injury happened during an extremely stressful, emotionally draining, painful time in my life. (My 8 year ex "love" recently broke my heart in unimaginable ways.) I’m at a fragile point in my life where I really can’t accept that this "freak accident" happened to me (on top of everything else).
it’s Deja vu all over again for me. Last summer I endured terrible pain so I could sit at the computer and ask questions out here on Yahoo Answers. Tonight, I couldn’t stand another second of laying in bed, so I crawled down the stairs-dragged my crutches along beside me-and used my crutches to help me hop to the computer in the kitchen. My foot is not painful as long as I don’t put any weight on it, but my foot still feels weird whether I am sitting at the computer or laying in my bed.
***I am not in the kind of terrible pain that I was in last summer, but this situation still really, really sucks:)
I read some articles about foot sprains, but I’m desperate for information that might come from people who have firsthand knowledge of this type of injury. I would appreciate all of your input and help