Injuries in the time of Covid

[Yrosered]

Hi

 

My daughter has injured her ankle - she sprained it 15 months ago so I assumed it was another sprain and booked her into a local physio who she saw this morning. However the physio thinks it may be a ligament or a stress fracture but said an Xray wouldn't pick it up at this point and she will need a scan. However there is no point referring her to orthopedics because they are not seeing under 18s thanks to Covid. We will need to go privately and she can get us an MRI scan reasonably locally but she is seeing if a CAT scan would be better but doesn't know where we can access one. 

So, does anyone have an expert knowledge as to which scan would be best and if know anywhere preferably in Yorkshire where we can get these? We don't have insurance so I will be paying. 

To add urgency to this she is applying to Upper Schools right now. 

 

Any advice/recommendations gratefully received. The physio isn't a dance specialist or one we have seen before but was open, had availability and works with youth sports so with travel restrictions in mind we chose her. 

 

Thanks

[Kanangra]

Hi Yrosered. In my experience you may be better off getting an MRI - my daughter had an ankle injury the year before last and she had a CAT scan which showed that she had a lot of fluid in her ankle joint, however the cause did not become apparent till she had an MRI (which showed a haematoma on her bone). Best of luck with it all and hoping for the best outcome for her. 

[Farawaydancer]

Might be worth contacting NIDMS and asking their advice about next steps?

[Pointeshoesarethedream]

I just wanted to wish you luck in finding the right treatment for your daughter. My DD is a quite a bit younger than yours but injured her pinky toe at the beginning of December up until last week we’d been told to assume it was broken. Now we’ve had an X-ray we’ve been told it’s a sprain but further diagnostics unlikely. I was told that you couldn’t get any diagnostics privately (also Yorkshire) at the moment. 

 

So we feel your pain (or at least DD does), as DD is missing exam work that is progressing ready to get back to the studio, and also auditions for summer schools. 
 

We have absolutely no timescale for it healing. It’s really disheartening. 

[MPatti]

My DD still recovering from stress fracture from last summer.  Only MRI will show it. But if you suspect it and can’t get MRI, the treatment for stress fracture is a boot and no dance for 4 weeks...If you can’t get the boot, crutches work.  But no dance at all. After one week in the boot, my DD felt better, so it wouldn’t hurt to try one week Of no dance, no walking on it, to see if it makes a difference. There have seemed to be more injuries this year at DD studio ( we are in US) and my concern is they are not getting what they need virtually, then come back to studio too fast and are resulting in injury.  Uncharted territory, unfortunately.

[Yrosered]

Thanks all - ended up at A&E where the xray showed no fracture - which I believe is common with a stress fracture so they think sprained ligament. Either way, we are going for ice, elevate and as little movement as possible. The only upside of lockdown is that at least she doesn't have to get to school. And if no improvement we'll pay for the scan. But she won't be back on pointe for finals (if she gets them) I don't think. It would be nice if the physio and hospital agreed though rather than telling us complete opposites. 

Will definitely drop NIDMS a line just to doublecheck. 

Thanks again!

[Pups_mum]

If it's any help @Yrosered I had an MRI done privately last year via a company based in Leeds, though I had the scan in a mobile scanner nearer to where I live. They were very efficient - I got phoned with the results on the same day of the scan. Obviously that was all prior to this lockdown so things may be different now, but I am happy to dig out the contact details and send them to you in a private message if it's any help?

[Yrosered]

49 minutes ago, Pups_mum said:

If it's any help @Yrosered I had an MRI done privately last year via a company based in Leeds, though I had the scan in a mobile scanner nearer to where I live. They were very efficient - I got phoned with the results on the same day of the scan. Obviously that was all prior to this lockdown so things may be different now, but I am happy to dig out the contact details and send them to you in a private message if it's any help?

That would be great, thank you!

[Balletforever]

If you are willing or able to travel the Institute of Sports Exercise and Health (London) is very good and treats elite athletes and dancers. I know that they offer diagnostics and a dance injury clinic. I was one of the last patients to be seen there before the first lockdown was introduced. I paid privately and was offered an appointment very quickly. I cannot guarantee if they are running all services at the moment though. 

[Yrosered]

19 minutes ago, Balletforever said:

If you are willing or able to travel the Institute of Sports Exercise and Health (London) is very good and treats elite athletes and dancers. I know that they offer diagnostics and a dance injury clinic. I was one of the last patients to be seen there before the first lockdown was introduced. I paid privately and was offered an appointment very quickly. I cannot guarantee if they are running all services at the moment though. 

Thank you! Definitely something to consider - I'll take a look and see what they're offering. Even a zoom consultation would give some peace of mind.

[Pointeshoesarethedream]

17 hours ago, Yrosered said:

Thank you! Definitely something to consider - I'll take a look and see what they're offering. Even a zoom consultation would give some peace of mind.

I absolutely agree with this. The hardest thing for us is that other than minor injuries at the beginning of Dec no one has physically examined DDs toe. 

[Lusodancer]

On 03/02/2021 at 12:09, Farawaydancer said:

Might be worth contacting NIDMS and asking their advice about next steps?

 

18 hours ago, Balletforever said:

If you are willing or able to travel the Institute of Sports Exercise and Health (London) is very good and treats elite athletes and dancers. I know that they offer diagnostics and a dance injury clinic.

 Both of these institutions are worth asking and just knowing about. 

 

Hopefully they may have a list of local useful specialist practitioners for dance, Diagnostic services, Physios,orthopods, ostepaths, etc.... 

 

 

 

[taximom]

Look on the NIDMS website Dancers' education, healthcare and research, NIDMS, United Kingdom for lots of advice regarding professional treatment options.

Heather

aka Taximom