Torn ligament - how long 'till I can dive again

[scuba5150]

Six weeks ago I suffered an inversion (lateral) ankle sprain. MRI showed a torn anterior talofibular ligament with some stretching of the deltoid ligament. So far I've been treated with NSAIDs which I took for 4 four weeks, compression with an ace bandage wrap, elevation (when feasible), and limiting weight bearing (again when feasible). After seeing an orthopedist last week, I (finally) start some physical therapy in few days.

The pain in the lateral aspect of the ankle still limits me -

So, the question is how long should it take for this to heal enough so that I can get back to diving safely and comfortably?????

Thanks.

 

[kmurray719]

I'm not a doctor, but I can share my personal experience. I sprained my ankle a few years ago and didn't tear any ligaments but the orhto said they were as close to torn as they could get without actually tearing (so really stretched I think?). He advised no diving for 6 weeks. I tried diving at the 6 week mark, with lots of NSAID's taken first, and lasted 5 minutes. It was 8 weeks before I could do a dive comfortably, and another month or so before I could dive without needing medication before and after to not be in pain. I had some complications (particularly a bruised foot bone that caused issues for quite a while and arthritis in the ankle joint) so your experience may differ from mine in regards to length of recovery time. My biggest piece of advice is to not push it too far too soon and interrupt the healing process. A longer, more drawn out recovery is NOT worth diving sooner. I speak from experience on that!

 

[scuba5150]

I'm not a doctor, but I can share my personal experience. I sprained my ankle a few years ago and didn't tear any ligaments but the orhto said they were as close to torn as they could get without actually tearing (so really stretched I think?). He advised no diving for 6 weeks. I tried diving at the 6 week mark, with lots of NSAID's taken first, and lasted 5 minutes. It was 8 weeks before I could do a dive comfortably, and another month or so before I could dive without needing medication before and after to not be in pain. I had some complications (particularly a bruised foot bone that caused issues for quite a while and arthritis in the ankle joint) so your experience may differ from mine in regards to length of recovery time. My biggest piece of advice is to not push it too far too soon and interrupt the healing process. A longer, more drawn out recovery is NOT worth diving sooner. I speak from experience on that!

Thanks for the feedback, and I was afraid that it would be a while longer before I get back in.

 

[The Chairman]

I'm not a medical doctor, but I share the same last name as the other poster.

I had a bone spur perforate my Achilles Tendon eight or so years ago. They had to remove the tendon to get to the spur. I was diving within a month after surgery. I was very careful getting in and out of the water and kept my ankle absolutely straight. I dove twice a week instead of going to a physical terrorist. When I had my last appointment with him he was amazed that I had absolutely no atrophy. Of course, he made a comment about not following his orders with therapy, but there was no arguing with the fact that there was absolutely no atrophy.

A year later, I popped the other Achilles Tendon. I went to the same sugeon and after the surgery he told me to do what I did the last time. So I did. Once or twice a week, I was in the water working my ankle. If the waves were more than one or two feet, I couldn't/wouldn't do it. Lots of spring and lake dives and since this one had complications, I did walk around the pool a couple of thousand laps. Again, he was amazed with no atrophy even though I did no professional therapy.

 

[scuba5150]

Thanks, NetDoc. I do have a lace-up type sleeve brace that the orthopedist gave me which would do a nice job of helping to keep the ankle from bending. As you mention, I'm also concerned about moving around on-board the boat and also climbing back up the ladder at the end of the dive - the pain is worse when I try to combine bending of the ankle with putting weight on the ankle. Thanks again.

 

[TSandM]

If it hurts, it's probably not a good idea.

Sprains are real injuries, and if they are not given time and enough rest to heal, the ligaments get progressively weaker, resulting in more sprains.

Six to eight weeks sounds like a minimum, but it all depends on the degree of damage, how much you weigh, what kind of fitness you had before the injury, your age and comorbid conditions, etc.

 

[karenmcfarland]

Hi there,
I would also share my experience about this as I'm also not a doctor. I had a bad ligament tear as I fell down from the stairs of my home. I was so worried that my husband consulted quite a few doctors before finally getting my treatment done from the best orthopedic surgeons on long island. The orthopedist there told me to have complete rest for atleast six weeks. My ligament was badly torn and doctor wasn't sure that it will recover properly in six weeks. But physiotherapy helped me a lot and in around 7 weeks I could dive. The complete recovery took around a month and a half where I could dive without needing pain management and medicines. Hope you recover soon!