I've never broken a bone in my life. Till I broke my foot. It was a hairline fracture of the bone just on the top outer side. I heard a 'crack' tho, like a branch break. *shudder*. Had I not heard that sound, I might have blown it off. My symptoms were kind of similar to yours. Bruised and hurt like the dickens the first night. Could bear weight on it carefully next day, but pain kept coming & going. Then I lost the feeling in pinkie toe & one next to it. So that next day I called the office, they had me come in right away but verbally ordered an xray so when I went for my MD appointment I could just bring the films with me, save time. DH had to drive (it was my right foot). M.D. picked it up right away. Then he poked & prodded and pressed a spot that almost sent me through the ceiling (and I have a high pain threshold). He concluded I had probably pulled a tendon, too. He put me in one of those Frankenstein boots for 4 weeks, which was hard to walk in. He threatened to put my foot in a cast if I didn't stay diligent about wearing it. Then it was doing better and he switched to a thick compression type wrap. So I wore a sandal over the wrap. The reason he gave me a hard time about keeping the boot on all the time was because he said if I didn't let it heal right, it would never be the same and would be inviting more trouble later. Go to your doctor, let him/her make the call. But I wouldn't wait, not worth risking more/bigger problems later.

I was in a hard walking brace, supposedly for 6 weeks, but took it off after 2 (got tired of picking the foxtails out of it every day!!). Get a good ace bandage and wrap it. Elevate it when you can, and ice it at night. Use one of the OTC pain relief that is an anti-inflamatory. If it's at all possible, use crutches. It's a good 6 weeks healing. I happened to fracture a small bone in my ankle as well. The dr said it would have been better to break it than have such a really bad sprain, because you stretch out all the ligaments and tendons. Keep an eye out on just how purple and green it gets, it's a hoot. I hadn't seen such pretty colors since the last time I was kicked by a horse. NOTE: any imbedded ads are NOT my doing.

I got that horrible-looking purple, too -- makes you feel even worse seeing that! Does your job require you to do a lot of walking around? I'd make sure to have a little ice pack in a freezer, even a small bag of frozen peas to give your ankle some relief. My ankle was better within a few weeks. I agree with Marie -- if ibuprofen and ice and elevation (when you're home) don't seem to be alleviating the pain and reducing the puffiness, is there a nurse's office at your job you can go to?

I have been running for 40 years and trail running for 20 and hiking and gym and blah, blah, blah. A few years ago I was running and stepped on a pine cone, fell off and tore all the ligaments in my ankle. I went to my doctor, had x-rays and then sent me straight to physio. My kids still tease me about falling off of a pine cone. This is not the only time I have sprained an ankle. I'm coming off of a slight sprain right now from doing ladder work in the gym and then going straight into high knees over low hurdles. I screwed up the transition and went over on my foot. Went straight to my physio and he started the healing process for me. At the very least I would go to a physio if you have one. Only go to one that you trust. They can quicken the healing and give you strengthening exercises for the foot and ankle. If you don't have one then you could go to your doctor. I wouldn't bother with an Ace bandage but rather would get a small soft brace which are available at drug stores. They go under the foot and around the ankle, are velcroed and provide really good support. Wear it when you first go back into the trails and if you have walking poles or can borrow some do so for the first few times as well. Good luck - this really is a pain in the butt.