I sprained my ankle 6 weeks ago and am still having a good amount of pain. I work as a chef in a nursing home. Is my career as a chef over?

So what’s your question exactly?

Um…
1) No, I don’t think your career as a chef is over.
2) What did the doctor say?

Skateboarding for 20+ has taught me a few things. One of them is that ankles take a long time to heal. It is one of those things that will never heal unless you stay off of it. I’m not shocked that yours isn’t healing. Stay off of it for a few weeks and you should be alright.

@roundsquare I am to see the doctor on the 22nd but last appointment she said to not go back to work until it feels the same as it did before my fall and keep going to physio

I sprained my ankle last September while playing basketball and it took a good while before it was back to normal… so yeah, relax – and don’t wear heels! :)

I sprained my ankle and 6 MONTHS later it still hurt. Nothing showed up on x-ray, but the MRI showed that I cracked the top of the talar dome. Six weeks is not surprising that you would have some pain, but I wouldn’t go too much longer before you get it checked out.

If you sit and move your ankle joint slowly, you may be able to differentiate between tendon/ligament pain (sprain) and something deeper (bone). There are also two different joints in the ankle. The top part where the ankle meets the leg and the bottom part where it meets the foot. My orthopedist gave me a shot of cortisone and marcaine into the upper joint to help figure out where the pain was coming from (which of the two joints).

Wow it’s amazing at what’s on the inside that they don’t always catch. I had a similar thing with my knee. We did an xray and ultrasound only to find nothing. Then an MRI showed no cartilage left. The doctor said she wanted to give my ankle a bit more time to heal then we’ll look at the possibility of an ultrasound.

I sprained my ankle in high school basketball and this helped me…..a lot.

Wrap your ankle really tight with with tape, not one of those stretch tapes. Wrapping gives you the “feel” that your ankle is better and holds done the pain. You can apply the sticky tape over the stretch tape, to assist in its removal, when its ready.

If it’s a sprain or even a hairline fracture, I highly recommend a homeopathic ointment called Arnica. It works wonders. 2–3 times a day (especially before going to bed), in a few weeks, you should be right as rain. As most others have said, it really helps if you stay off of it too! Best of luck.

What type of shoes do you wear in the nursing home? Do you stand on a rubber mat?

As others have said, ankle injuries take a long time to heal. It may be wiser for you to start thinking about how you’ll live with the pain and what type of pain management you’ll need to choose.

If this were me, I’d wrap my ankle, take some Ibuprofen, wear some Crocs, stand on a mat and get back to work.