Dr. Anand P. Panchal

Typically, if you’re able to put a weight on the leg/foot without significant pain and have swelling on the outside or the inside part of the ankle it is likely a sprained ankle. In most cases, rest, ice, elevation, and foot and ankle motion to your comfort level is appropriate for a sprained ankle. It can sometimes take 2 to 4 weeks to recover, sometimes even longer. If there is significant swelling or significant pain with attempted weight-bearing, then you should seek medical consultation potentially get X-rays and get examined by a physician.

It would depend upon what type of meniscus surgery you had performed. If it was a partial menisectomy where they trimmed out the damaged and torn portion you can likely start going up and downstairs when you feel comfortable. If it’s a meniscus repair there might be a period of non-weight bearing or partial weight-bearing where Stairs would not be recommended for at least the first six weeks or so. This is typically up to the discretion of the surgeon.

It depends upon the type of elbow surgery. A simple surgery for tennis elbow can take 20 to 30 minutes, a more complex elbow reconstruction or replacement can take a few hours. It varies based upon what exactly needs to be done during the surgery.

They are called counterforce braces. They are typically a thin brace with a padded section or a section with a gel foam pad that straps around the forearm about an inch or two past the tip of the elbow. The gel and soft phone part should rest over the muscles on the outside of the forum just passed the elbow joint.

Pain is variable after the surgery. This partially depends upon exactly what was done. If a larger scale surgery such as a ligament reconstruction is performed you might have pain for a few days up to a a few weeks. If it’s more of a minor type procedure with only small incisions then you might have pain for a couple of days to a week. And in either setting the majority of the significant pain that a patient has, if any, is in the first few days after surgery.Obviously everybody’s pain tolerance is different. It is not uncommon for patients to have some mild dull achy pain even a few weeks out from surgery.

It depends upon the type and location of the elbow fracture. Many fractures can heal in 6 to 8 weeks some take up to three months. Depending upon the type and location and severity of the injury it might take six months and sometimes even up to a full year to regain function, motion and strength in the arm.

It depends on the type of surgery. If it was a minimally invasive partial menisectomy (they trimmed out the torn and non-functioning part of the meniscus), then typically 2-4 months, depending on if you need physical therapy post-op. If a repair of the torn meniscus was performed, then sometimes up 4-6 months is needed as there could be a short period of altered weight bearing after surgery, sometimes necessitating more physical therapy.

There are many alternatives to knee replacement. Depends upon the severity of the arthritis in the knee. Typically standing x-rays and a good physical exam can yield that answer. Options prior to considering a knee replacement including Cortizone injections, synthetic cartilage lubrication injections and in some settings biologic injections such as platelet rich plasma can be performed as well. Physical Therapy oral and topical anti-inflammatory’s and activity modification can also help possibly along with a off-the-shelf or custom knee brace as well.

A fracture is typically seen on an x-ray as a disruption in these bone architecture. It is a broken bone/fracture which mean the same. The x-ray would also show a dislocation of a joint. This would appearOn a x-ray as in the shoulder where the ball is not lined up with the socket. Really x-rays are needed in order to differentiate the two based upon the trauma or injury.