READ MY MRI!! - Do I need ankle surgery?

Hm... Can’t say I’m of much help in interpretation of the report, per say, but have you attempted conservative treatment (strengthening particularly)?

Pics?

Unfortunately not... my doc has those.

Yes, i’ve developed a strengthening program with a PT and have been doing that for a few months but to no avail.

In my practice, we usually amputate when we see an MRI that bad. If you want to run fast, you’d probably be better off doing both feet at once and getting two titanium prosthetics.

I hope you’re kidding??? Is it really bad?

Bump bc im legit curious abt this...

Absolutely - you need surgery within the next week!

You serious? Bc I’ve had this pain for 2.5 years and I miss running more than anything and I didn’t type this all out just to not be taken seriously

You have some tendinosis and minor ligament damage. Your mri is essentially normal - this is based on your mri findings being very similar to what would be found in asymptomatic people.

You may very well be offered surgery.....if this does occur I think it is reasonable to point out the evidence to support such an intervention is st best limited.

Read this. http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=8845201

Bump bc why not

Everything I bolded in your post tells me that you DO NOT need surgery. You need to find a good physical therapist who does manual therapy and can set up a comprehensive strengthening program. Regardless of surgery or not, you'll be in PT for a while. Surgery would just delay the process due to extended healing time. Get a second or third opinion.

Radiologist here, agree with one of the above posters, these are essentially normal MR findings in anyone who uses their feet. We have all sprained our ankles at one time.or another, and these minor thickening on the ligaments are incredibly common. Assuming they are truly intact it does not sound like there is anything surgical. And be careful, if you seek surgery some orthopedist who needs to make a boat payment may be happy to oblige, which can lead to its own problems and complications. PT, rest and bracing should be attempted.

Tendinosis, as opposed to tendinitis, is tendon damage on a cellular level. Moderate to severe cases of tendinosis can be treated somewhat effectively with PRP injections (platelet-rich plasma), which involves extracting some of your blood, centrifuging it to spin out red blood cells, and injecting the result (a plasma with a much higher concentration of platelets, as the name suggests) into the affected area to speed up or, in cases where the area has a limited blood supply, to induce the healing process. This is an expensive treatment not covered (to the best of my knowledge) by insurance, but it has been shown to be somewhat effective in helping out chronic injuries.

As RastaMon pointed out, your MRI results are not an immediate cause for concern. You don't have any major degeneration in the tendons around your ankle. He's right - surgery is invasive and can have unintended repercussions, can lead to side-effects which might be less bearable to you than your current predicament. This treatment, combined with the proper PT and strengthening, may be helpful to you.

I'm not a doctor. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Congrats - you have a normal MRI! Unclear what they would fix in surgery considering you don't have tears or anything of the like. Get into PT and some manual therapy. That's about a clean of an MRI as they come for runners

RastaMon wrote:

Radiologist here, agree with one of the above posters, these are essentially normal MR findings in anyone who uses their feet. We have all sprained our ankles at one time.or another, and these minor thickening on the ligaments are incredibly common. Assuming they are truly intact it does not sound like there is anything surgical. And be careful, if you seek surgery some orthopedist who needs to make a boat payment may be happy to oblige, which can lead to its own problems and complications. PT, rest and bracing should be attempted.

An orthopedist does not need this person to make a boat payment. Their surgery slots are booked out; they don't have slots that must be filled.

Essentially no structural damage. You should be able to run it. However I assume you would have done so if not for instability or pain. One thing that doesn't show up on MRI are nerves, so check if one of the nerves aren't pinched down somewhere causing the ankle to be unstable/weak or painful.

Do you play one on T.V.?