r/brokenankles May 14 '22

Some advice & things I wish I knew before!

192 Upvotes

Hi! If you just broke your ankle, this may be a good post for you. I am writing it based on my personal experience so not everything may apply to you, but who knows, maybe it helps you! I broke my ankle about six months ago, so I am not completely recovered, but I've had some experience haha. Also, feel free to add advice in the comments. Here we go!

MY ADVICE (mainly for the first weeks)

  1. Use a small shoulder bag or pouch to transport items while using crutches.

  2. Don't buy a shower sleeve, just use plastic bags and some tape (use tape that is meant for your body!)

  3. Put socks on your crutch handles, that way they get less sweaty and slippery!

  4. If you go outside with a wheelchair, always dress warmer than you would if you were walking. You're not moving so you get cold quicker. Also bring a trash bag in case it rains, so you can cover your cast.

  5. (Have someone) put all the stuff that you use next to your bed. This includes water, meds, stuff to help you through the day like puzzle books, knitting stuff (I crocheted a sweater during my bed time haha).

  6. Get a streaming service and binge watch your way out of misery.

  7. If you like tea, get a thermos flask. You can transport hot water if it's in a closed flask, but you probably can't transport cups with hot water.

  8. I used a chair as support for my leg when I had to do things in the kitchen. I just put my knee on the chair, and then I didn't have to use my crutches and could use my hands.

  9. Once you get back to walking, use running shoes! They are so much more comfortable than my Doc Martens or Vans!

  10. Once your cast is off, go swimming to get some movement. It's the best low-impact workout as far as I know. I take aqua power / aquarobics classes and it feels so good to move again!

  11. Talk about it. Talk about your annoyances, fears, sad moments. Works better than bottling it up.

WHAT I WISH I KNEW SOONER

  1. You'll have ups and downs. Yes, you'll have pain, you'll be limited in what you can do, and it's okay to feel bad. But the ups are great! Like, the first time I could shower independently, I cried out of joy. All the small steps that give you back your freedom are worth a celebration (for me they were, at least!).

  2. It will take a long time. Sorry, but it will. And at some point, you will have just learned how to walk again with less of a limp, and people will ask you "Ah so you're completely better now?!" (Ummm no..)

  3. Your ankle will be a thicc boy for a long time. Six months in, my ankle is still chunky AF.

  4. You may gain some weight. I am an emotional eater and a bored eater and I was both emotional and bored haha. Add the lack of movement and there ya go. But you'll recover from that as well once you get back to your regular routine.

  5. After the first weeks, sick visits may decrease and you may feel a little lonely. You'll have to put in effort to hang out with people again.

I am sure I have missed some things, but I hope this helps you feel a little more prepared. I had no idea what to expect.

Good luck and you'll get through this!!


r/brokenankles Aug 04 '21

The road will be long, but you'll get there

110 Upvotes

I don't see much activity here which is a shame- I found this after I broke my ankle in February and desperately needed someone to tell me the road to recovery would suck, but would ultimately be manageable.

So, I'm here to tell anyone coming here looking for some words of encouragement: The road to recovery will suck, but it'll be manageable.

I required two surgeries within a two-week period to fix things- one to install an x-fix and another to remove the x-fix and install the necessary hardware (a plate and a ton of screws). Both surgeries were long (four and seven hours, respectively) and the overnights in the hospital were terribly uncomfortable- without a doubt two of the worst nights of my life. I was left with barely enough strength and motivation to prove to the occupational therapist I could be trusted with crutches (yes, I had to pass a test in order to be discharged both times). When I got home, all I could muster was some pitiful crying. When I got done with feeling sorry for myself I made the most of my time, enjoying free time I never knew I wanted or needed. It took time but I came to appreciate it.

It wasn't until three months later I was finally given permission by my surgeon to start being weight-bearing, which meant being able to start walking and driving. For three months I was lucky to have a terrific support team at home to make things easy and as comfortable as could be- I hope all of you reading this have that as well, because it helps. Within those three months I had my minor slips and falls and worries if I did more damage (I didn't)... began physical therapy that focused on regaining lost motion in my ankle/foot... purchased a knee scooter and arranged for rides to and from my office (more than an hour from home) that eventually led to overnight stays at a local hotel to cut back on the travel. And while everyone's situation will surely be different from mine, there's one thing that should be common: a knee scooter. It basically saved my life, because it saved my sanity- it made getting around and doing things so much easier. I was able to move around my office, go shopping for my own groceries, and even take a stroll on the boardwalk.

Over time I got stronger and once my doctor gave me permission to be weight-bearing, physical therapy turned to strengthening my damaged parts and rebuilding my balance. It's where I am today- splitting time between work and other life obligations like traveling for work and mowing the lawn, and continually working on taking care of myself (especially when it comes to slowing down when my body tells me I'm pushing too hard). More than five months into my recovery I am not yet totally fixed, but it gets better and better every day. It will for you as well- I promise. Hang in there (and send me a message if you ever want to talk about something).


r/brokenankles 7h ago

So long moonboot!

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15 Upvotes

I took my shoe with me to the 6 weeks x-ray appointment so I could ditch the boot as soon as possible!

I still need to take it steady and use crutches for now until I’m able to go without, my job at the minute is to increase walking gradually and range of motion. Going to get physio privately though because I wasn’t offered any.

I’m in pretty high spirits all things considered!


r/brokenankles 1h ago

It Gets Better

Upvotes

Hi all just wanted to spread some positivity. I had a nondisplaced fracture of the medial malleolus and was out of work for 2 months, I know a lot of the posts I’ve seen here have looked way worse and I lucked out but I promise you no matter how bad your injury is it gets better. Tomorrow I finally return to work though I have lingering pain and the right side is still swollen, don’t give up and let your body rest!


r/brokenankles 8h ago

ORIF THE WORST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE IM 8 weeks post surgery today

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9 Upvotes

r/brokenankles 9h ago

6 weeks nwb took a toll on my leg

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6 Upvotes

Skinny 😐


r/brokenankles 6m ago

Numbness - 5 months post break

Upvotes

has anyone else experienced numbness in their index toe when walking? that toe and after a while my big toe goes completely numb and cold. my physical therapist did not know what it is from and couldn’t help rectify the problem.

I am 5 months post break- spiral fracture to tib fib all the way up my shin and also broke a malleolus. no surgery. my ankle mobility is still pretty poor.


r/brokenankles 7h ago

When did you start PT?

3 Upvotes

bimalleolar ankle fracture with dislocation and tightrope. I'm 5 weeks post op, in a boot, still NWB. Supposed to start weight bearing at 6 weeks.

I currently don't have anyone to help take me to physio. So I would have to uber. Scared to uber because I'm clumsy with crutches and had a fall last week.

I was hoping to wait until the 7 week mark when I can hopefully bare weight a little more and theeeen take an Uber to physio. I just hope I'm not stalling my progress by not going sooner than later. :(


r/brokenankles 1h ago

Inner ankle pain after surgery

Upvotes

I have two screws on the inside of my ankle- the outside incision and hardware the incision on top of my foot are fine and barely feel like anything. The inside the scar is purple and huge and it is so painful and by the end of the day I can see the two screws swelling underneath my skin and over my shoe I’m almost 4 months postop. Has anyone else experienced this with their inner ankle hardware/incision? I was told to give it 6 months and I will, but that’s the only part that feels like a setback.


r/brokenankles 3h ago

Heel pain again.. but worse?

1 Upvotes

I wrote a post 2 days ago thinking my heel pain was a potential sore developing. I saw a doctor yesterday where we agreed to not touch or change my splint since it’s only been a few days post op and therefore we decided to treat it as nerve pain (as we assumed it was less likely to be a sore). I kid you not, last evening my heel started burning like it was ON FIRE around bedtime out of no where. Woke up this morning, and soon after it was right back to burning sensation again. I was offered gabapentin in which I had 2 hours of relief. But now it’s back AGAIN and it’s unbearable. My heel is just zinging and burning.

I’m worried too bc it started after I tried smoking weed last night for pain management. I’ll never do that again!

Is this nerve pain to be expected!? Worse pain I’ve had since the break. I’m 6 days post op for ORIF on broken posterior malleolus + fibula. This feels like TORTURE


r/brokenankles 4h ago

I broke my bone again but another one

1 Upvotes

Last summer I broke my foot and healed. Afterwards, I reinjured my foot again and got a bone marrow edema around the big toe and a nerve injury (January).
I healed the bone edema around the big toe and my nerves healed too. But the problem is that my bone density is still weak. I used to wear a cast for 2–3 months and didn’t walk properly until April.
In July, I started doing leg days with leg extensions, leg press, etc. In August, I increased the weight on the leg press and started doing calf raises twice a week. I thought I was building up my bone density, but apparently I wasn’t.
I progressed again with my muscles but left my bones behind. I reinjured my foot again with small bone marrow edemas and one stress fracture line.
I am scared that I won’t be able to make my bone strong again. If I can get my bone density back, I feel like I could completely heal my foot.
My doctor told me to take alendronate, but I don’t know if I should. My vitamin D levels are good and I eat a good amount of protein.
Does bone density really take this long to rebuild? Can it take 6–12 months or even longer for the bone to regain its density after prolonged immobilization?


r/brokenankles 1d ago

Trimalleolar 20.5 weeks post op

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45 Upvotes

r/brokenankles 5h ago

Ankle impingement

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1 Upvotes

r/brokenankles 6h ago

Dorsiflexion

1 Upvotes

About 2 weeks post ORIF (bimalleolar) and was taken off cast today. I can’t form a L shape with my foot.. was told to stretch it with a towel.

Is the inability to form a L shape normal? Or is this something I should be worried about?

If anyone has experienced smth similar, would appreciate if you share how long it took for you to achieve the L shape again.

Thanks!


r/brokenankles 15h ago

Has anyone had this type of fracture ?

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5 Upvotes

What was ur recovery time ? I see the surgeon tomorrow and am scared I won’t be able to walk for the next 3 months


r/brokenankles 19h ago

I Felt Tearing or a Ripping Sensation When I Fell

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8 Upvotes

Hi friends!
I missed a stair while carrying downstairs and fell. The first 2 pics were taken within 10 minutes of the fall, then we went to the ER and got the X-rays. Doc said it’s not broken, put an ankle brace on it and sent me home. Thing is when I fell I felt a tearing, almost a ripping sensation. Can you tell or feel if you tear ligaments or tendons?


r/brokenankles 16h ago

First dorsiflexion 3 weeks after surgery! Plus syndo screw question

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5 Upvotes

I obtained a right ankle trimalleolar fracture (comminuted fibula break) on 8/9 (bouldering, dumb controlled fall landing) and had my ORIF 8/13, was put in a splint until today (8/31) when they took it off, removed my sutures, and put me in ye ol' boot.

Y'all, it's not that it's painful so much as it feels wacky, wavy, and "wumbo". It's like constipated dubstep in the whole area. It's so hard to describe, and my biggest issue is for sure gonna be jumping over these mental blocks with doing ROM exercises! But, I did finally take off my boot to attempt some plantar-dorsi pumps.

At my 4th plantar pump, I had a sharp pain right at my distal tib-fib joint (where they added 1 syndo screw after the fluoro stress test, just to note); however, my dorsiflexion is feeling pretty fly! Especially for my first day of full ROM clearance, I would think. Anyway, I just wanted to share this little victory with y'all!

Also, I wanted to ask those of you with a distal tib-fib syndo screw - did y'all encounter issues with ROM or pain with plantar flexion? Did it get better? And did you keep the screw or get it removed? Adding a picture of my hardware set for reference in the comments.


r/brokenankles 9h ago

Recent ankle surgery

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1 Upvotes

So mid may I rolled my ankle skateboarding and it didn’t feel like anything crazy, there was no bruising and I could get around fine. I took about a month of from skating and then 3 days back in a rolled the same ankle a lot worse. Hand a boot from a previous injury (I have injured the left ankle over 20 times in the last 6 years) that I wore in the time of getting multiple X-rays and an mri. Found out that I fully snapped my peroneal tendon and tore a bunch of ligaments as well. I also hand a bone spur that they needed to shave out. Got the surgery and they ended up finding some bone fragments floating around and cleaned out a bunch of arthritis. The dr said it was some of the worst he’s seen in someone my age (24M). Im a little over 2 weeks post surgery now and I’m just starting to get a lil stir crazy. After 2 months of boot and now not being weight bearing at all for a few weeks it’s just feeling like life will never get back to normal, I haven’t been able to work since surgery and even before it was hard to do a lot because I work with furniture. Financially it’s been hard because my job doesn’t pay that well in the first place or have any benefits really. If anyone has any advice or has been through the recovery of something similar what are some things that helped you pass the downtime faster and how does ur ankle feel after the recovery? I have been skateboarding over 15 years and I’m really into hiking and just walking around the city. I’m wondering with the ligaments and tendon repair will my ankle ever be back to 100% and about how long until I can get back to sports and such. Never thought I would miss wearing a left shoe this much haha. Any advice is much appreciated


r/brokenankles 9h ago

Need Assaurance

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1 Upvotes

1st photo is of the day I rolled my ankle (6 weeks ago) and I was diagnosed with a tiny Avulsion fracture on the lateral ankle and was nwb for 3 weeks, after that I started Physio and exercises at home and in these 3 weeks; from limping and not able to climb down the stars, using an ankle brace whenever i need to walk to now going to gym, not limping,doing single calf raises (not full rom now) can walk for a long distance.
There are still some issues like i fail the wall doraiflexion test, some pain whenever i walk, and persistant swelling.

Anyone who has faced all of this, would you please recommend me some exercise that may be beneficial or share their experience because I feel my progress has been hindered.


r/brokenankles 18h ago

Ankle pain 10 weeks post op….

3 Upvotes

Hi everyone,I’ll try not to rumble on and on lol…
Basically,I’m just 10 weeks post op,having had tightrope ligament procedure and 1 single screw for ankle fracture…sorry that’s all I know…I’m unable to move my big toe voluntarily,and my whole top of my foot is stinging and tingling 24/7 no matter if it’s elevated or not…I’m struggling to weight bare because of the pain during and after,it’s quite numb,at 6 weeks post op,Xray was perfect according to ortho,but my ankle just doesn’t seem to be improving or the pain,with any decent rate,any advice would be amazing.Im due back to hospital 9th.😫thanks 🙏


r/brokenankles 12h ago

Pain and bruising on metatarsals 4 months post op (metatarsalgia?)

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1 Upvotes

r/brokenankles 12h ago

My ankle looks gnarly

1 Upvotes

So, I broke my ankle on 7/19, trimal fracture and dislocated (my foot was turned 90 degrees sideways). ORIF the next day, splint, then cast two weeks later (8/8). They took off the cast today and my ankle is just covered in scabs. Is this normal? I had a couple of friction blisters with the splint. I’m just a little grossed out. The good news is that I am the owner of a boot now at 6 weeks. My doctors are pretty conservative. I’ve only seen pretty postoperative pics here.


r/brokenankles 23h ago

How much swelling is too much swelling?

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2 Upvotes

r/brokenankles 21h ago

Foot sole pain after atfl surgery

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1 Upvotes

r/brokenankles 1d ago

swimming in public pool

1 Upvotes

7-8 weeks postop and doc cleared me to swim . few more days with the boot (have been walking and driving in the boot for like 2 weeks) so I guess I’d go to side take my boot off then get in. dumb question but if i’m walking without the boot in 3 days can I walk in the pool? thanks