#and seriously I cannot convey how bad my first two sprains were

[thelastspeecher]

The other day, I was at a physical therapy session (for my shoulder, not my ankle, though I am in PT for my ankle as well) and chatting with another patient and the physical therapist treating us.

The other patient was feeling bummed about his slow progress, so I told him about how, despite my most recent ankle injury being a grade 1 sprain back in October and there being no visible damage from the outside, I'm still in physical therapy for it. And I will continue to be in PT for quite some time. My ankle is messed up in a complex way that requires me to be very gradual in increasing my physical therapy and very careful about not overexerting it.

The reason it's so messed up goes back to spraining it initially nine years ago. I didn't see a doctor right away (I was at college and decided I didn't have time for that) and when I did see one, I didn't get the appropriate treatment for it. My doctor didn't even mention PT, despite my injury being so bad she was worried I broke my ankle. When I sprained it again almost as horribly two months later, she still didn't send me to PT.

And the physical therapist just nodded at me and said that's very common for ankle injuries. People don't get the appropriate treatment and suffer needlessly for years.

So here's my PSA: If you sprain your ankle, see a doctor. Make sure to check whether physical therapy would be beneficial for you; it almost always is for an ankle sprain. If you are having pain, swelling, bruising, or some combination of the three a month after your injury, make a fuss at the doctor's office if they tell you to continue doing the RICE method and send you on your merry way.

I've been struggling and suffering for nine years. A third of my life. Ankle injuries are treatable. You can recover well! But you need to seek medical help early and get the right treatment.

Don't be like me.