I took a nasty fall and hurt my leg

This is a crazy question but can you break your leg and still walk? I took a nasty fall off the bed and hit my lower leg really hard on the dresser, it's bruised from the point of impact all the way down to the bottom of my ankle. It's still swollen and this happened 8 days ago. It hurts really bad if anything brushes up against it. The bruising is still getting worse. If I had a digital camera I would take a photo of it. It looks really really bad. It hurts when I walk. The strike point was half way up my lower leg on the shin bone. Even my ankle is swollen with really heavy bruising. I would have gone to the Dr. but I don't have insurance and can't afford a small break in my bone. If I have to I will go get it x-rayed but what can they do if it's been 8 days?

It could be just very badly bruised, or it could be broken. The best thing to go is go to the doctor and get an xray. An xray can be done after 8 days. It will be harder to read than if it were done right away because of the extensive bruising, but they will still be able to see if there is a break or a fracture.

You have to get to the doctor right away!! After 8 days there hasn't been improvement and is getting worse. Go to the ER and let them know you don't have insurance. You could be causing more harm by walking on that leg.

It can be broken.
My mom tripped on a rock years and and refused to go to the dr.
She walked on it holding a chair and my dad made her go to the dr over a week later.
It was broken in three places.
They can xray it and put a cast on it.
My mom had to have a cast for over abot 4 months.
You should go have it checked.

They would likely put a walking cast on you, seeing as you can get around on it 'okay' already...definitely do not put off going to the Doc; as others have mentioned, you could be doing more harm than good...more bruising showing up over a week after the incident, is not a good sign!

It sounds like you could have a stress fracture, or a hairline fracture somewhere along the long bone, and shin area...Keep it iced, elevated, and stay off of it as much as possible if you can manage it.

Originally Posted by faith's_mom

more bruising showing up over a week after the incident, is not a good sign!

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A couple years ago I fainted while answering the front door and fell to the floor hitting my forehead on something and in the process hurt my foot.

I have a hard time getting up from the floor, and my foot was so sore that I had to belly crawl (bad knees and kneeling on my knees really hurts) to the couch and pull myself up. I managed to get myself into a chair from there, and got some ice on it. I didn't go to the doctor for a week. During that week the pain was not going away, my foot was badly swollen and was horridly black and blue. I finally went and got an xray.

Turns out that based on the xray I had broken my foot in 3 places and dislocated 2 toes.

They gave me a splint and I was to go back a few days later to have a cast put on. However, they opted to not cast it instead telling me to stay off of it and use crutches. An impossible task for me given my weight which makes it hard for me to hop along on crutches, not to mention the fact that I had such a sever ankle injury on my other leg that my brain doesn't register a foot on that leg without me directly looking at it, so I have poor balance.

So during the time I was supposed to be staying off of it, I had to weight bear lightly on it as I walked or transfered from chair/chair/bed/toilet etc. It did it more damage and caused me pain for months and months later until I went and got an orthotic for my shoe. But if I walk without the orthotic, my foot gives me huge grief.

So the sooner you get it looked at the better.

I have tomorrow off work and I will go to see Dr.
The spreading of the bruise and the lump I have on my shin bone that is so tender to the touch is concerning me. After 9 days now it should be getting better. I can still walk thats why I was wondering if it's possible to break a bone and still walk. It just hurts and burns real bad!

I think it's absolutely awful that people in America can't afford to go to the hospital or the doctor... universal health insurance is such a good thing. x.x

My Dad broke his arm in two places while playing hockey... and managed to finish off the game, before realizing that he had to go to the doctor the next morning.

You should go to the doctor, or the ER. Maybe they can 'free ride' you or whatever it's called, where they just try and comp you as much treatment as possible.

Please go see the doc asap. You certainly could have broken or cracked something. Stay off of it as much as possible, but get to the doc! It shouldn't be that bad 9 days later unless you seriously injured it.

Originally Posted by Jalindal

I think it's absolutely awful that people in America can't afford to go to the hospital or the doctor... universal health insurance is such a good thing. x.x

My Dad broke his arm in two places while playing hockey... and managed to finish off the game, before realizing that he had to go to the doctor the next morning.

You should go to the doctor, or the ER. Maybe they can 'free ride' you or whatever it's called, where they just try and comp you as much treatment as possible.

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I hope you'll go to the ER and get an x-ray. If it's not any better and in fact probably worse in 9 days, you really need to get this looked after.

From what I can gather reading threads here, most Americans do NOT want a universal health insurance plan because they might have to pay more taxes.

I'm with you on this one, thank God for universal health care - I don't ever have to worry about whether I can afford to go to a doctor if I might have broken my leg. That's just a shame.

Originally Posted by Jalindal

I think it's absolutely awful that people in America can't afford to go to the hospital or the doctor... universal health insurance is such a good thing.

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The U.S. is 'way behind the civilization curve on this issue. But the good news is -- we have a lot better chance of getting universal healthcare now than we did a week ago today!

You could have fractured it.. I just dont see how you could walk on a broken leg, but people here have done it. Back in Jan. i was hit by a truck outside of my house, and i broke my femur bone, in 2 places, where the bumper of the truck hit my leg. Though i was not consious after being hit, i could NOT imagine being able to walk on my leg if i had been consious. Even now, almost 10 months after the accident, i am still in an incredible amount of pain, and need to get surgery on my leg again. Part of the reason for this is, when i was told i could start putting pressure on my leg, i just ditched the crutches, and started walking. Even though she told me to start slowly, i was so fed up with not being able to walk, i just stopped using them. Now the one fracture isnt healing like the other one, so i have to go get the rod taken out, the surgeon will do something, and replace the rod. If you dont do something about this now, if it is broken, it will start to heal on its own, the wrong way, if it hasnt started to heal already.

Originally Posted by CarolPetunia

we have a lot better chance of getting universal healthcare now than we did a week ago today!

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That is sooooo true!

Oh jeez! That sounds really nasty You really do need to get that seen too.

'Not broken just bruised' vibes coming your way

Hi,

Sorry about your leg.  It sounds very painful.  When my daughter broke her elbow, the doctors did the x-rays but wanted her to wait a week before casting so the swelling could go down.  I'm sure they can still do the x-ray because they are looking at bone, not tissue.  The x-ray shouldn't cost  much - make sure you tell them you are a CASH  Pay patient.  They will probably give you a discount.

It's important that you go - I know you can't afford it - but if it's broken and it goes untreated there's a good chance it will heal wrong and cause you pain the rest of your life, and trust me, you don't want that.

Good luck to you,

Linda

lindagkelly said:

Hi,
Sorry about your leg.  It sounds very painful.  When my daughter broke her elbow, the doctors did the x-rays but wanted her to wait a week before casting so the swelling could go down.  I'm sure they can still do the x-ray because they are looking at bone, not tissue.  The x-ray shouldn't cost  much - make sure you tell them you are a CASH  Pay patient.  They will probably give you a discount.

It's important that you go - I know you can't afford it - but if it's broken and it goes untreated there's a good chance it will heal wrong and cause you pain the rest of your life, and trust me, you don't want that.

Good luck to you,

Linda

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Hello and welcome to the site!


I just wanted to point out that this thread is from 2008.