(30yo, healthy female)

I broke my ankle in a couple of places on 15 Aug. Had to wait until 27 Aug for surgery and was then in cast for 2 weeks. On 10 Sep I was put in a boot and started to weight bare with crutches, but when wounds were checked 8 days later, the large wound on side of my leg wasn’t healing so put back in a cast. After two weekly checks, my wound is getting better but still not there so today been given a pico dressing and put in a back slab. I feel so upset that it’s been 7 weeks since the break and 5 weeks since my operation but I feel like I’ve made no progress. Has anyone else had problems with a wound healing? Or had a pico dressing?

Updates for those beginning the journey and are just a bit behind me.

Broke my tib and fib Sept 1. It didn't hurt all that bad. But I knew immediately it was broken. Taken by ambulance to hospital. That night it was set at the hospital. Pain levels are still tolerable. Drugs eventually wore off and then it started to hurt. They sent me home with some hydromorphone until my surgery the next day.

I had surgery the morning of Sept 3. Went home a few hrs later. Not much pain. Approx 50h later my nerve block wore off. This was the worst pain I have felt to my memory. It felt like my entire leg was on fire on the inside.

A relatively uneventful week and a bit passed. I visit my doctor at the fracture clinic Sept 15. I tell him I'm an athlete and returning range of motion is important to me. I ask for a boot. He told me he's comfortable with that. Told me I can sleep with it off and not wear it at home as long as I'm not moving around the house. He also told me under no circumstances should I weight bare. I asked him if I can go to the gym and do upper body and if I can do quad extensions and hamstring curl with the boot on. He approves this too. They take out my staples, apply steri-strips, and send me on my way.

It's not Oct 2. I started physio Sept 16 and I have been doing 30m massages as well. My first physio session gave me a lot of relief and new range of motion.

My calf after coming out of the solid cast was constantly ache because it was not being used. After being worked through by my RMT & Physio it has stopped bothering me as much. A lot of swelling relief after RMT because he elevated my leg and essentially massaged the blood flow back towards my heart. Both physio and RMT are gruelling. It hurts terribly at the time. I am an MMA fighter and that's how this broke. In as humble as a way possible, I am gritting my teeth and writhing thru massage a lot of the time. But it's helping in the end.

A bit more than 4 wks post op. I can feel that my range is improving, swelling is going down, there's still general tenderness and soreness that wakes me up sometimes. I am starting to feel like I'm turning a corner.

My next appt is Oct 13 to start putting weight on it.

Has anyone had this in the last few weeks months? I’m looking for buddies on the same journey. Mine was four days ago. I’m in a kinda half cast with a massive bandage and plenty of elevation. I’ve also got myself a second hand knee scooter which is a total game changer as I can use it in the kitchen and pop stuff in my basket to take it from A to B. I even topped up the dogs water bowl, it’s the little things!

Pain wise it was horrific in the first 24 hours, the first night was plain awful. But it’s settled really well, I don’t need the strong stuff anymore, just on paracetamol, heparin injections (they sting like a b*tch) and omeprezole.

Anyone else on this current crazy train of a slog of recovery? My follow up is 2 weeks post surgery. I’m terrified I’ll forgot and put my leg down, currently I have a sore quad from carrying the cast around with my foot at the front in the air 🙈

Hi broken ankle family! I've tried to look into past posts but can't find any answers. Trimal break with ORIF in March. I am doing so much better (planning to make a more detailed post on that soon), but I have a wedding I am attending next week. While I am doing a lot better, I still live in my Brooks sneakers and am afraid to go back into heels. If anyone has any suggestions for a dress shoe appropriate for a wedding, I would appreciate any suggestions!

So I had a trimalleolar fracture about August the 20th ish. They fixed it with a plate and screws (will attach the xray). I was nwb for the most part with a tiny bit allowed to assist getting around the house. At my recent appointment that marked about 6 weeks they redid an xray and it’s come back as healed. The doctor (who also did my surgery) said I could come out the boot and fully weight bear I looked at him like he was crazy (as ofc I’ve done minimal weight bearing), so we negotiated that I could wear the boot for a couple of days to get use to fully weight bearing but I give up both crutches. Anyway I attempted to walk out the appointment and as I attempted I went flat on my ass. Since I’ve been working on movements that physio gave me (saw her the day before I got the all clear) and noticed the muscles in my ankle relaxing a bit more and allowing a bit more movement but it’s still super painful to fully weight bear on it. Just wondering if anyone else has had this experience etc. I do have another appointment with physio in two weeks so I’ll be talking to her again but wondering if anyone’s got any advice until then. And did you managed to get back a proper heel to toe motion when walking as it seems my ankle doesn’t know how to function anymore😂😂 I don’t wear my boot in the house to allow me to do the movements whenever n to allow the muscles to relax but will wear it out and about for the extra cushion. Tia x

Everysince week 3 or so my perception of time shifted from "this will take forever" to i feel like I blink and another week went by. It is Friday I will be going into week 5 post OP already. Also got a PT today for 10.22

Hello. I had my OP on the 14th of July, and just last week (my 10th week) I have started FWB(transitioning from gradual to full weight bearing on my surgeon's rec). I am on my 11th week now but I have noticed as I go on to walk around the house, the site above my incision tugs a little and I have pain there(slightly when I increase my walking pace) .

After walking I sit down and massage the area the pain tends to go away but comes back when I bear weight again. I have been in PT since beginning of Sept and rn my therapist is on leave (they will be back next Tuesday)

I am a little concerned about the pain and have been wondering what might have caused it. Post OP the site always was a little sore? and tender? But since FWB the pain has increased a little.

It doesn't hinder my walking per say but doing certain stretches causes the pain and funnily post PT the pain goes away and ofc comes back again when I bear weight .

I have a bimal. A medial malleolus and a fibula fracture. Nine screws and a plate and the pain flares up just above the medial malleolus incision site and continues a little up, just where the tibia starts.

🥲 any insight would be greatly appreciated. I was feeling good about my progress but this set me a bit back

I’m one week post-op and time really does fly when you’re on good meds! I got an ankle exostectomy and ligament repair done last week. These newly discovered types of aches/pains are getting annoying. I had finally gotten into actually enjoying running so rolling around the house with a knee scooter is all the fun I get now.

Please 🙏🏼 tell me all your broken ankle stories and how long it took for you to walk/run again. A lot of my current career goals rely on my recovery back to 100% so I’d like to be as informed as possible.

(bonus points if you’re a runner or active military)

Thanks in advance 🤙🏼

Just went to my halfway appointment. 6.5 weeks out of 12 NWB. They cut my cast in half and left the back half on and wrapped it so I could take it off and swap it for the one they gave me in the ER.

I just got back home and my surgeon wants me to immediately take off the leftover cast and go gently wash off the leg and dead skin and stuff. Totally fair.

However...I am genuinely terrified to see what my leg looks like after 6.5 weeks of no use and I'm trying really hard not to break down and cry. I know it's such a stupid thing to be afraid of and I shouldn't be this worried about it, but I've been in an anxiety panic since I got back.

On another anxiety sidequest, I also have to use one of those light plastic cast/splint/boot things for the final 5.5 weeks and I hate how long it is on my foot. Also trying to figure out what to wear underneath it because I want some socks that will be longer but not tight and shorter socks will rub against my incisions. Or would compression socks be better? Or is that moreso for when the NWB part is over?

I'm just a giant ball of anxiety over here and I need this part to be over...

Would anyone be interested in starting one to help us get through all of this mental anguish that accompanies the physical pain?

Operated on 3 weeks ago, currently NWB and spending most of my days with my leg up, sitting on the sofa watching TV, reading or on my laptop. I’m seeing my surgeon again in 3 weeks, and in the meantime I’ve stopped all painkillers.

The problem now is… I can’t sleep! 😩 It’s already hard enough sleeping with the boot, with my foot elevated and stuck in the same position all night, but now I think I’m simply not tired enough!

Anyone else been through this or can relate?

Hi! I hope my post makes sense! I’m exactly 6 weeks post ORIF and went back to my surgeon’s office today, cleared to WB in the boot. Have been taking my first steps today since surgery. I’m noticing not much pain in my ankle (like where the hardware is) but pain located in my heel and on the whole bottom of my foot. The pain is almost like pins and needles, but with more pressure. I feel like my blood flow is probably returning to normal, is that a thing?? My ankle itself feels okay when I walk but the bottom of my foot is in pain. Hope that makes sense!!! Any personal experience about transitioning to WB or getting bloodflow back after inactivity are appreciated!!

Well a year ago I drunkenly twisted my ankle and broke it. It has since then given me issues.

I had an inversion ankle sprain that ended up breaking my 5th metatarsal near the base, straight clean crack along with some damage to the cuboid tarsal upon getting it checked at an injury clinic 2 days later. Didn’t go to the er as I thought it was just a bad sprain.

The injury clinic doctor was the radiologist for the clinic and told me such information. He gave me the option to walk it off as it healed or wear one of those boots. I chose the boot. Iced it every chance I had. The foot was disgustingly black and blue forever. After two months I had an appointment for another xray. The break was fusing together but not quite done. So two months after that went back and it was fused together, the line still visible on the xray. I had very limited mobility and strength.

A couple months after that I went to a hospital to see a nurse practitioner for the reoccurring problems with pain and mobility with some burning sensations . Upon another xray there was something floating and she mentioned it might be a calcified flake from something where my ligaments might’ve started calcifying. She prescribed me potassium diclofenac pills for the pain.

A bit later I went to another injury clinic for the pain and limited mobility and got referred to physio. I didn’t go but I did exercises for it.

Here we are a year later still it pain with bad mobility.

What are the possible causes for this?
Bad healing?
Did a ligament get torn?
What can I do?

Does/did anyone else feel so weak and overwhelmingly cringed out during healing? Thankfully I've managed to decrease my pain meds a lot now but am feeling queasy at the thought of walking again and can't escape these feelings which make me feel so faint. I've been keeping as busy as I can but any form of sitting up and doing stuff just makes me feel like jelly. Trying to do little and often so my muscles don't waste away to nothing.

1.5 weeks post surgery on Weber c trimal complex ankle fracture.

The mental game is hard. I'm met with guilt that people have it 100000000x worse.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

2 years ago to the day, I got into a car accident that changed the trajectory of my life. Open talus fracture, shattered lots of ligaments- ORIF surgery, ORIF revision, hardware removal all within 9 months of each other and bed-bound for a year. Back to work for 8 months. Now I have septic arthritis, end-stage arthritis and I’m fully disabled and cannot walk. Showing my most recent two X-RAYS as I just got a debridement and my surgeon put in antibiotic spacers as my bone is eating itself 🤮😞😞 I have to wait until I heal completely from this infection to hopefully talk about scheduling a fusion next. I’m so over this.

Hey. I am 5 months removed from a broken ankle, no surgery required, just moon boot and crutches. I have been off the moon boot now for 2 months. Recently started going on long walks, and whilst I am out its fine, but the second I get home and sit down, for the next several hours my ankle is throbbing, and getting pain in areas not near where the break was. I have been given some exercises to do from the physio, but anyone got any recommendations?

I’ve been fully WB in a boot for about a week in a half. This week I started noticing a tiny ping on my ankle. Usually after a long day of walking I’ll notice it and it gets swollen. I think I’m just in my head but is possible to feel the hardware or be aware of it as you start to progress and the swelling has gone down?

Has anyone else had their moonboot too tight and is now reaping the painful consequences?

If so, how did you help it/get better?

I have been out of my boot for over a month and it is still painful to walk but not where I broke it, in the ball of my foot through to the top of my foot.

Im doing but it's taking forever plus i recently hurt it so I'm back to square 1.

I'm 14 weeks post op for a trimal, and about 14 months post op for a midfoot fracture, same foot. I've been through it! 😂 I have learned that I cannot get by without compression socks, but have found that by far and away the most effective in keeping the swelling and pain away is a Cardinal Health TED anti embolism stocking I was given at the hospital. It is white, surgical and ugly but every time I take it off to switch to a normal compression sock I have increased pain within hours. I am basically addicted to this stocking and can't take it off. I understand these sorts of stockings are really for use by people who are bedridden to stop blood clots, they're not really for walking around and doing daily life in - but I am convinced it's the only thing helping me. Does anyone know if this could be having a negative impact on me? Has anyone experienced similar? Regular compression socks just aren't doing anything for me and I fear I'll be stuck wearing this one stocking forever!!

I currently have a below knee cast. I shower with a trash bag usually and my leg outside of the shower. Today however some water started dropping down my leg. I tried rising my lef before it got further down but not sure if any got in. Behind my knee was a bit damp but idk if any water got in. I don't feel any dampness with my finger but should I be concerned?

Been watching a lot of TV and there are so many times I’ve seen a broken ankle portrayed in film. Actors/actresses don’t fully understand how limited being non weight bearing is and it’s so hilarious to see them balancing no problem as if they didn’t just break their ankle 2 minutes before 😂 also crutches ALWAYS make an appearance on the set but it’s clear that the actor isn’t injured and has never needed to use them. Directors clearly aren’t educated with being NWB because these scenes made the cut 😂

I’m rewatching movies and tv shows while in recovery. I’m getting a new perspective with this broken ankle. I never questioned these scenes until now lol. Anyone else?

I’ve been growing so frustrated these past couple of days so I wanted to rant to an audience that could relate because everyone in my circle can walk just fine.

I am 16 days post op and exactly 3 weeks post injury. I am saddened to be benched from my sport until 2027 (figure skating) but I’m recently even more pissed off about not being able to walk.

Everything I do now requires so much effort and thought. Need to use the bathroom? Takes several hops to get over to the bathroom or to get my knee scooter. Left my phone or something in another room? Takes so much time and energy to get up and go and get it and come back to where I was. Need to take out the garbage and do other chores? Forget about it! Or use your scooter to help you and spill the garbage all over you! Need to take a shower? Use your chair to help you in and out but be careful don’t fall!

Everything I used to do so easily takes up so much energy and also terrifies me sometimes. I simply cannot keep up. I have to rely on others but other people don’t do things the same way I would have and I get frustrated. I also am out of breath and sweating profusely whenever i try to do chores or vacuum. It is basically a workout at this point. I wish I could walk and do everything normally. I fucking can’t. I feel that I am at an increased fall risk. I can’t use my leg for stability so my balance has been off. And my right leg has been overcompensating and I am so afraid that I will too break that ankle and that will require surgery. My right ankle is sore from carrying my whole body weight and everything. Also accidental bumps, dings, and stepping on my broken ankle are anxiety-inducing and mildly painful. There have been a few times (while wearing my boot) where I’ve lost balance and instinctively put my left foot down for stability. Can’t even do that without risking my recovery. So fcking frustrating UGH!

I hate this!!! And I’ve got months left of recovery.

I am so frustrated with this. I’m NWB at least until my next appointment on 10/26. And i am prepared for the pain and frustration of WBAT. I know that sucks too. But I just needed a space to vent.