Dear All,
I joined the broken bone club in December 2017 following a fall at home and breaking my ankle in 3 places plus the back of my leg. Following 2 operations to install 2 metal plates and about a dozen screws I am now informed by my surgeon that I can FWB in my training shoes which is great however, I can stand, walk with crutches (not very confidently) but I cannot get my head around trying to walk without them it’s like I have completely forgotten. I have told my surgeon and she says this is quite common and we need to wake my brain up again to establish this function.
I have physio again today and I am hoping that we will spend some of the session on this but I would appreciate any tips or feedback on how others got through this.
I know others have mentioned but some of this battle to recovery is more mental than physical.
I am wishing to return to work after the Easter holiday if my surgeon gives me the okay on 5th April but of course I need to walk first.
I am based in the North West of England and thought I was on my own with this until I came across this forum which has been great and given me comfort and a desire to get through this.
I tried with 1 crutch then none or even a walking stick helped me good luck
Hi Kenny
Me too in the North West, my accident was last Feb 17, my ankle still broken, it’s s non union.
Despite being broken I am able to hobble along with a stick.
I began to walk slowly by shuffling little by little increasing my shuffle until it became a step.
Physio is great for making you take that first step.
I was first using a walking frame to shuffle with, then 2 crutches to make steps with and then one crutch as my confidence grew. As for the pain and the swelling this will continue for probably years, elevate your leg as much as you can when you can.
You’ll probably end up doing ankle classes for a couple of months to get the movement back to how it was, you will need to push through the pain because physio therapists will want you to walk on unaided as soon as they see fit. Hang in there kid.
I am in the north west also🤚😊I am 5 months post op and am just starting to feel confident.It definately is mentally hard,but I am beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel.Dont let physio sign you off to early,they did with me after two sessions and I had to refer myself back as I never had ROM.
Thanks Kenneth, I was pondering getting a stick
Hi Darren,
Sorry to hear your ankle is still broken after a year, is it still painful to walk on?
Both my physio and surgeon have been good and are encouraging me to get my head around taking those first steps. I have been told I will be in physio for as long as it takes which is good, I have never seen such a busy hospital department as this!
i am doing my home exercises in addition to physio and my ROM is improving but not sure if it will ever get to where it was pre accident.
the swelling is there but not that bad as I can get into my training shores okay but it does sting a bit if it’s down too long and that awful redness appears.
Hi Sara, it must be a NW thing 😂
Are you you now walking unaided without any crutches ‘etc’
I will certainly be in physio for a while and I am there shortly too.
I am also thankful that the ambulance service picks me up and drops me off as I cannot manage getting down my front steps on my own as yet.
It certainly is a mental battle on a few fronts but it is important to keep focused and not to let anxiety or depression creep in.
I will stick to my goal of returning to work so I have something to aim for
Best of luck, Kenny
Hi could you help, did you have a cast then beckham boot, what foot wear did you use in the house, my doctor told me to get a walking boot with good ankle support but I can't get my foot in one to painful haven't started pt yet
My goodness I think broken ankles are contagious in North West -- me too! I broke my ankle hill walking in Cumbria in December. As breaks go - I think relatively straightforward - ie I didn't need surgery. I do feel some the problems we suffer are fear - all in the mind - when I get up in the morning I can't put my foot down -- why not? I walk on it all day - I have to make a conscious effort to remind myself that the bone is healed - even if the ligaments etc are perhaps not healed. I am lucky to be able to attend a special weekly exercise class for people with lower limb mobility problems. At the local hospital and it is excellent and is helping a alot -- but progress is still too slow for me! My particular problem (and I think the same for many people) is that I can't bend the ankle properly (I think they call it dorsiflexion) so I can't crouch, or come downstairs normally and am still walking with an uneven gait.
Good luck - we'll get there in the end but we will have to work hard at it.
I was out of cast 27th nov,walked on 2 crutches for 3 weeks then 1 crutch for 3 weeks then aid free😊some days I have more movement than others.Remember to take it easy and elevate when possible
I had a couple of casts post surgery before getting the boot at around 6 weeks, I was told I could FWB whilst wearing this and the hospital also gave me a lighter boot for bed (almost like a booted slipper with support). I wore the boot in the house and still do from time to time and then I was told 2 weeks ago that I could FWB in my own shoes.
my ankle is not that swollen but I think I would struggle to get a walking boot on at this stage.
Yes, a NW thing for sure...
The fear seems to be the biggest thing to overcome, I will also have to deal with the demon of going up and down my stairs as this is where my accident happene! At the moment I am going up and down on my backside as it feels safer.
A lot of hard work and physio is required as well as breaking down those mental barriers
I will also update later once I am back from my physio session this afternoon, I hope to at least transition to one crutch
From cast to footwear.I find skechers are brill.and I bought skechers slippers as they have a slight wedge ratjer than being flat.There is good ankle supports on Amazon.
I have the same problems,I am 5 months post op and have noticed in the last couple of week I am getting alot better.Hang in there guys!😊
Just returned from physio and my ankle is swollen and now being soothed with an ice pack, don’t really have any pain just feels a bit sore from this afternoons session.
The physios got me to stand on my bad leg which I did for about 7 seconds which is not much but I will take this as progress. I tried to walk using the parallel bars however, I was putting most of my weight through my arms, they then got me to attempt to walk with them either side of me which I sort of did, again it was not great but progress. I feel now that my mental barrier of my leg not being fixed or unable to take my weight has been 80% resolved. I did notice that my knee hurt and this is where most of the pain was, the physio told me that was normal as my knee has done pretty much nothing since my fall and they did push me in today’s session.
They are also arranging for some hydro therapy in a different hospital which they say will give me some more confidence.
So I suppose it was a good session and I will continue with my home exercises before my next appointments with the physio and my surgeon on April 5th.
They have told me to get rid of the boot for good and to not put it on again, so bye bye boot.
onwards and upwards but I just wish I could have the confidence or ability to put the left foot forward followed by the right.
I hope this feedback is useful.
O yeah! What happens is I rest it, but it has to be elevated otherwise it swells, it’s when I get up from my bed or the sofa or from thevcar, it’s then that the pain shoots up to about 8/10 but then eases off to about a 4, it’s pretty constant really, the pain.
I’m presently on my 54th day of Exogen therapy which doesn’t appear to be working, I’ve been told by my orthopaedic that it’s likely I’ll need a bone graft.
Kenny,
It must be comforting to know you are not alone in your struggle to regain normal mobility--- there are many here on forum cheering you on from the sidelines.
Ankle patients all have to go through a fear of the unknown as we take our first steps after busting an ankle. Some have an easier time of it, others not so much.
It's time-proven advice to take it easy as she goes-- don't get greedy or overly ambitious to do too much to soon. Remember, your ankle bits, both bone and soft tissue, not only got clobbered in your accident but they have also been dormant and trying to heal for a very long time. This is not time to rush in where the prudent would not tread.
That said, prepare yourself for a possibly long and sometimes frustrating rehab journey. Ankle rehab exercises are absolutely essential to getting normal ankle function going again, and to prevent backsliding into a chronically unstable ankle joint.
Pain of varying degrees is mostly a given in these types of situations. You have to go with the flow, and know when to stop or back off when it becomes unbearable or just too darn distressing. Pain management is an art that we need to learn, and above all we must respect our bodies needs. Don't make the mistake of becoming habituated to painkillers-- they can stunt the healing process.
If you would benefit by a light ankle brace and shoe inserts by all means do so. They will give more confidence in the event you fear your ankle will get hurt or give out on you as you go through early stages of recovery.
By all means focus intensely on proprioception exercises to help get your normal sense of movement balance and coordination back-- sometimes ankle injuries (and subsequent surgeries) can damage nerves down there that give feedback on your body's position in space.
Hi Darren, I am sorry to hear that even pain at level 4 would be annoying after a year. I was talking to a guy in hospital last week who had a bone graft (taken from his hip) a few weeks back which has been a success.
All the very best
Thanks for your response, it certainly is comforting to know there are others out there Ona similar journey and others who have come through and can offer their own experience.
My pain management is okay, I am not reliant on any pain killers luckily enough I just take the odd one before my physio session.
I have not rushed thus far and have done everything by the book, I do feel that my ankle is strong enough to walk but as you say I will listen to my body and not take any risks.
My ROM is improving and my left to right foot movement is nearly back to full range, again another positive.
We are certainly on a long journey here and I foolishly believed that the walking part of this journey was the easiest, how wrong I was 😀
Are you still recovering or are you back on your feet?
Kenny,
I am now about 1 year after from going full weight in normal shoes. Most of the time I feel like I am 95% back to pre-injury ankle status. Occasionally, that drops temporarily to 85% or so-- injured ankles are funny in that they can be unpredictable even with passing of time.
You really don't want to ever cross an ankle by injuring it-- they never forget that trespass, not ever.
One tip passed on to me was, when you are in beginning stages of recovery walking, to walk with shorter strides rather than wide strides-- it's easier on any damaged ligaments or tendons that way. Later, when you're better, you can get back into the swing of things and use your powerful manly walking gait.