Recovering from a Broken Ankle

Athlete & Clutz here :)

Hopefully you 'just' broke it (as opposed to tearing any tendons or ligaments)... because breaks heal quite cleanly in FAR less time (weeks instead of months) and the rehab time is far less (months instead of upwards of a year).

Since it sounds like you haven't done physical therapy yet (I've had ankles, knees, back... and in a few months will be adding my shoulder to the list... once you've injured one area you can be proclaimed 'competent' to oversee your own PT in a single visit unless you need their machines. AKA I do my own PT on my ankles and knees, back is new so I'm still learning, and shoulder is new so I'll be in full time), you WILL NEED it. In office 3x per week (typically) for the first month, and then once a week for a time. DO YOUR PHYSICAL THERAPY RELIGIOUSLY. All the exercises they give you, as many times a day as you are allowed to. ASK about 'overdoing' & 'pain levels'. Some injuries you can't overdo your therapies, some you can. Some injuries you can do a gazillion of one type of therapy, but need to be very careful of not overdoing others. Some you have to push through pain, others if you feel pain you need to stop immediately.

How well you heal (barring infection) is about 90% dependent on how well you take care of yourself/ do your physical therapy (and 10% luck). If you take it seriously, your results will be several hundred times better than "I don't have time" / "It's hard with _______ (kids, work, whatever)." Follow orders EXACTLY, or you could end up with years/ lifetime worth of problems. The time to heal is immediately after injury when everything is still in flux, healing, and rewiring. Not in a year from now, or longer, when life 'settles down'.

Stay off it when they say to stay off it. WORK it when and how they say to work it.

I really can't emphasize that enough. DO NOT CHEAT. DO NOT LET "LIFE" BECOME AN EXCUSE. DO WHAT YOU'RE TOLD.

Not doing so can result in lifelong problems you will regret forever. Accept babysitting help. Let the house go to pot. This is 2 months of your life versus the next 50 years.

Why all the caps? Because in a few weeks (or less) you're going to feel grand, bored, embarrassed. You'll want to do more than you should. Don't. Really. By the time physical therapy rolls around you're going to feel so much better, and have so much to "catch up on", PT is going to lower in priority in your mind. Don't let it. You're going to want to get OUT of your braces and wraps. You'll want to wear a pair of shoes the stupid things don't fit in. Or just nip out for the paper. Or just help your child get something from somewhere. Or just, or just, or just.

There will probably be some nerve damage. Almost always is. ALSO a lot of weakness. Put these together, and if you cheat AT ALL for the first several months your foot will hit a 'numb' spot in your stride and your ankle will turn and you'll sprain it. Go sprawling. Minor to massive reinjury creating permanent damage. PT & practice/time will strengthen your ankle AND allow for your brain to start accommodating for 'numb spots' in your stride (expect your hips to hurt as your brain figures out how to compensate so that you don't turn your ankle on those spots). In a year, unless you're using the weighted saucer, you won't even notice the numb spots. Your hips won't hurt. The muscles will have build up in your ankles and calves that 'protect' your ankle and keep it strong so you don't fall and tear anything up or rebreak it.

It's going to be boring. Plan for it.

I have broken my tib/fib. It was compound and complete. If you do what the doctor says you should be fine. My story is a little different. I developed a non-union. I had pins and screws. I saw a new doctor. He went in a did a debridement. Today I was told that I have staph. Im scared to death. He wasnt there today. He is suppose to call me tomorrow. I have been dealing with this since 2005. Needless to say it has caused much hurt in my life. Sorry that is a sad story. You should be fine. Just do what the doc tells you! That is important. It is funny Im setting here with a cast on too. Im hoping that this staph can be exterminated and that is what is causing the non-union. And once I get on the right antibiotics it will heal. I dont know. I hope so.

new to this site.... J.

I broke my ankle back when I was 21, got the same surgery you had & still have the plate & screws today (I'm currently 34). Since I was young when it happened I'm assuming the healing process was likely a bit quicker than yours may be, but the healing itself wasn't awful. Drink a lot of water & if you feel it swelling inside the cast, put it up for a bit.

I did not have health insurance at the time so there was no physical therapy for me. I'm assuming your situation will be different so just really try to follow along with whatever they instruct you to do. I did see another poster put something on there saying that there's 'almost always' nerve damage, that was never an issue for me, so don't freak out about that unless your doctor tells you to!

What sucked for me the most was that it happened in May, on Mother's Day in fact, so pretty much my entire 21st summer which should have been chock full of the beach & bars, was spent in a cast or limping around regaining strength.

Be sure to eat lots and lots of fruits and veggies, especially veggies, and as many different ones as possible. Your body is working overtime to heal and repair and it needs additional 'building blocks' to do so. And, you need to make sure you avoid negative foods as well. For example, sodas/pop contain phosphoric acid and consuming it leaches calcium from the bones. Too much animal protein creates an acid condition in the body. Our bodies like to be slightly alkaline and so it takes calcium from the bones to do that.

I would also second doing everything that your are told to in physical therapy. I have never broken a bone, thank God, but I know others that have. Regaining former use and movement directly relates to how will you do your homework. Good luck!

Oh, if it's difficult for you to eat lots (9-13 servings minimum) of fruit and veg, let me know, I have some great ideas on how you get more! D.

You have good answers already. I broke my right ankle about a dozen years ago. My mama laughed at me when she heard; she said that as a child I always pouted because I never got to go to the hospital - my idea of adventure, I guess - and now I could make up for it.

The nutrition is very important - and the patience is as well. I borrowed a wheelchair to get around my house, because it was faster and more comfortable than crutches. Our house has a full flight of steps and I learned to go up and down carefully on my derriere. All steps happened to be scary for me; I hope they aren't be for you. The hardest part of going upstairs, as I recall, was learning to get from a sitting-on-the-floor to a standing position when I couldn't put *any* weight on one foot. Whew!

This is a time to call in favors from friends and relatives if you can. Obey your doctor's rules about what to do and what not to do. Don't assume you can be a hero. Whatever your husband and children can help with, be thankful, but don't over-depend on them. I hired (cheap!) a friend who was then unemployed to come help with things I was having trouble doing myself. She did ironing (I couldn't stand long enough) and some of the housework - and she rigged a rope-and-plastic-bag deal on the banister so I could get lightweight items up and down stairs without having to carry them. She also took me out once in a while, and it was nice to get outside the house!

Some dear friends got together and gave me four weeks of professional house cleaning (and I liked it so much that the ladies still come).

Think what you can do to keep yourself busy and useful just as you are! Plan every day. You'll want to pace yourself. Since your body is using a lot of energy to heal, you'll tire much more quickly. But a good attitude day by day can really help you. I found myself interested in alternative ways to do things - even making the bed or fixing a cup of tea had to be done differently! The computer and the cell phone became my friends.

Whatever your doctor says about rehab, do it TO THE LETTER - not less and not more. I didn't have insurance to cover rehab, so my doctor (bless him) gave me rehab assignments I could do at the gym I already belonged to, after I was permitted to drive. Working with real rehab people would have been better, but it was successful anyhow.

Don't *worry*... just follow the instructions you're given, look on the whole thing as an adventure, and don't feel sorry for yourself. You'll learn a lot.

Oh, and by the way, my doctor said that after my ankle healed, it would probably "forecast the weather" - become achy - and I might end up with arthritis in it after a while. Neither has happened.

It will get better! I broke my foot/ankle/leg while I was 5 months pregnant, had 3 Surgeries( all while pregnant) I have a plate & 4 pins. It was a long 3 months that I couldnt walk or bear any weight at all. But a year later I am back to allmost normal. I cant wear heals anymore ( which I really miss) but other than that theres nothing I cant do. There are days that I am really stiff & sore but its not the worst pain ever! I hope all heals well. ps - I was 31 when I broke myself

( and as a side note- I had a differant acct until last week under A-teamsmommy but had some email issues so I had to close my email & decided to just get a differant screen name)