I hit my ankle on my fireplace mantle at the beginning of january. it hurt pretty bad then. but now, it's april, and it still swells up and causes imm?

Get an x-ray: Many seemingly innocuous injuries such as yours may be anything from a fracture to a ligament , nerve or tendon injury. When insufficiently treated , this often leads to chronic pain. Get an exam, x-ray and other diagnostic tests indicated and suggested by your podiatrist.

X-rays: Get it checked. A simple bruise should be long-healed. It's likely you cracked an ankle bone or similar injury. X-rays are the first step.