Wow! It is been exactly a year since I broke my ankle. I have stopped seeing the doctor, physical therapist. But still not 100% back to normal yet. I would say I am 90% back. The remaining 10% not sure if I will ever get back. Got to wait and see! My ankle still gets inflexible after sitting for 2-3 hours. It takes about 2-3 minutes to get back to normal. Still have trouble standing in ski pose. So no skiing this year. Went to Lake Tahoe couple of times this year, but stayed indoors enjoying the snow from the comforts of the cabin. Still have to send that letter to the insurance about me needing the physical therapy in December. Just sheer laziness preventing me from sending it. Will do it this week to commemorate the broken ankle anniversary!
Wow 1 year! And still not 100%
April 5, 2010 at 3:24 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: 1 year anniversary, broken ankle, fracture, Insurance
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maghin said,
April 5, 2010 at 7:27 pm
That’s a shame that it’s still not back to normal. It’s now 13 and a half weeks since I broke mine and things are feeling much better, though still not normal by any means!
yaadayaada said,
April 6, 2010 at 4:23 am
I mean, I am almost back to normal. I have the habit of sitting with my legs folded and that makes my ankle go sleep… Anyway good luck with your recovery.
John said,
April 27, 2010 at 6:48 am
I broke my ankle from a bad parachute landing a few weeks ago. I am three weeks post surgery where seven screws were inserted into my ankle. I also have ligament damage.
Does your ankle still hurt?
yaadayaada said,
April 27, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Sorry to hear that John. It doesn’t hurt anymore. But it does get stiff, if I sit cross-legged. It takes about 2 minutes to get back to normal.
Hine said,
April 28, 2010 at 4:42 pm
I broke my left ankle on Oct. 1st, 2009. Seven months passed, it’s still not 100% healed. My doctor said it’s a pretty slow healing. I’m so frustrated, and want to ask him to define “slow”. Hope you’ll get back to normal soon!
yaadayaada said,
April 29, 2010 at 4:28 am
Sorry to hear that! Hope you get better soon! I am 95% fine. Hopefully the 5% will heal soon too..
Kathy said,
June 15, 2010 at 1:53 pm
Hiya
My ankle break is 6 months old and has gotten worse in the last month… probably because I walked too much on it.
I hope you are all better now. lasy year was terrible for me. I got hit by a van crossing the road in Argentina and broke a rib and needed surgery for a broken collar bone. I was recovering from that in Portugal and fell and broke 3 bones in my ankle and shattered my heel bone!!! That was far worse than being hit by a van!!
yaadayaada said,
June 15, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Kathy
Vey sorry about your ankle and collar bones. Rest is very important when it comes ankle injuries. Take rest and take care! Get well soon!
As for me, I am 95% fine now.
cinnamon girl said,
June 23, 2010 at 12:29 pm
I broke my ankle in December 2009, so it’s been about 6 1/2 months for me. I just stumbled across your blog because I was wondering if it was normal to still have problems this far along. I didn’t get much info at all from my doctor and the physical therapists always seem to be so busy that I feel like I’m on my own with this. I have similar issues that you describe. My bone has healed and I have very little pain/discomfort at this point but my flexiblity is still poor. It keeps me from taking a normal stride and from decending the stairs normally. I’m beginning to wonder if I will ever gain back my full range of motion.
yaadayaada said,
June 23, 2010 at 2:44 pm
Hi Cinnamon Girl
Sorry to hear about our ankle! Don’t lose hope! The Physical Therapy really helps. Keep at it as long as you can. I was back on steps after around 8 months. and it took almost 9 months to walk normally. And I still have issues with high heels.
sian said,
September 11, 2010 at 8:36 pm
hi i broke my leg ankle end on 07/04/2010 and it is now 11/09/2010 after 3 surgeries and several infections i am slowly getting my walking back to normal however do not have full mobility back yet i was wondering how long this will take. i can climb the stairs normally whilst holding onto the bannister but cannot go down normally i go one step at a time. when i walk for a while my foot goes out to the side.
i have had no physio so i was wondering could you give me some tips.
hope all your breaks get better
brokenankle said,
September 12, 2010 at 4:04 pm
Sian, sorry to hear about your fracture. I had a tough time coming down the stairs even after 6 months. Physical therapy is the one that really really helped me. One of the tricks that helped climbing down was, putting the bad foot first and using the cane to support. Slowly I started getting strength back. Let me know if you have any further questions
The Rum Trader said,
October 5, 2010 at 2:08 am
I broke my ankle/tib/fib falling off a ladder 5/17/10 (my 13th wedding anniversary). Four months with no weight on my foot, developed blood clots and had a PE; spent over a month in the hospital. I’m walking slowly without a cane for the most part. Flexability and stamina are my biggest issue now. I was hoping to be back to normal within 6 weeks after weight bearing but that’s proving unrealistic. My therapist says that I’m doing great but I’m very discouraged about my progress. I am so glad I found your blog tonight; it helped me reset my thought process.
brokenankle said,
October 5, 2010 at 2:24 pm
Very sorry to hear that rum trader! Hang in there! The recovery part is slow. But the therapy helps surely but slowly!
Feet Problems said,
October 5, 2010 at 1:43 pm
Its sad to say but some people never actually fully recover from breaks, sickness, accidents, etc. I had my foot rolled on playing football in high school (over 15 years ago). To this day I have problems sometimes rotating my ankle too far when exercising.
brokenankle said,
October 5, 2010 at 2:25 pm
I completely agree. After a year and half, now I am having some pain that I am planning to check out. So it never fully recovers I guess.
Sehrrell said,
February 13, 2011 at 6:18 am
Hi, I am so glad that I ran into this website. I broke my ankle November 28, 2010 and it is now February 13, 2011. I still have not been back to work after 2 surgeries. I walk on my job for 8 hours. I am scheduled to return to work on February 28. I am to start Physical Therapy this week. I am waiting for my insurance approval which is irritating. Insurances now have to ensure that you get evaluated in order to make sure that you actually need it. I am very afraid to go back to work because I have a limp when I walk and I sometimes loose my balance. I am so scared. I have also picked up weight because I have not been able to exercise like I use to. Will I every get rid of this awful limp and where all of my high heels again? Better yet, when will I be able to work out. I have tried pilates but I dont feel as though I have really worked out without doing some type of cardio. I am really nervous. I know that it may sound vain because I am worried about how I will walk and look but I am not use to this at all. This limp is killing me and it still hurts. Also when will the swelling go down? It has been 3 months now.
Sherrell said,
February 13, 2011 at 6:20 am
Sorry about that I mispelled my own name. (Sherrell) Please help me by responding.
brokenankle said,
February 14, 2011 at 2:20 pm
Hi Sherrel
Sorry to hear about your ordeal! Wish you a fast recovery. For me, physical therapy is what helped me to get over the limp. Physical therapy also helped me to lose a little bit of weight. The rest, I had to shed in the gym after the full recovery. The whole process took about a year! As for high heels, I don’t wear much, but I did stay a from it for the first year and half. Now I wear it, but there are some days, where my ankle still bothers me when I refrain from high heels. The limp did go away completely. So please hang in there. And physical therapy will help. I never went through a surgery, so not sure how is the recovery on it.
Good Luck!
mary said,
February 15, 2011 at 9:50 pm
hi Brokenankle
I broke my ankle in December 2010 – everything has seemed to go quite ‘normal’ i still havea lot of pain when i put wieght on my ankle
my physio has said today that i am not likely to get much more flexibility back in my ankle – do you think it is too soon for her to make that assessment?
during my physio sessions i am left to ‘get on with it’ doing excercises etc – should my ankle/tendon area be in any way massaged by the physio ? to help with the stiffness?
thanks M
brokenankle said,
February 15, 2011 at 11:05 pm
Hi Mary
Very sorry to hear about your ankle! In my personal, non-professional opinion, I do think that it is too early to declare that you won’t get back flexibility. I suffered from flexibility issues as well. Even though I didn’t get back 100% flexibility, I got back 90% flexibility plus no pain for the most part. My physiotherapist did massage my ankle/tendons where I was having the issue. That is what helped the most.
Good Luck!
Anand said,
July 11, 2011 at 9:35 am
Hey.. Loved your blog..
I had a nasty fall at a party this june and its been 5 weeks since I broke my ankle. I had a surgery done and have 3 screws inserted.. my leg is in cast now..d cast is due to be removed in 2 weeks time..but I’m feeling good bout it as I don’t feel any pain..will it be different and hard once the cast is removed? What care should I take once the cast is done away with? Any recommendations? Thanks..
brokenankle said,
July 11, 2011 at 1:58 pm
Anand, Sorry about your fall. I also didn’t have any pain in my ankle during the cast time period. But had trouble walking once the cast was removed. Had a limp and couldn’t climb up/down stairs at all. I had to go through physiotherapy to get the full range of motions. I am 95% there now. The remaining 5% is a mystery as to whether I would get it back or not. Again each case is different. I continued my physiotherapy exercises for more than a year. That helped a lot.
Trish said,
October 2, 2011 at 10:10 pm
I fell and broke my left ankle Feb. 2011. I didn’t need surgery. I am now in my 8th month with this thing still not being right. I went to two different PT’s. The first one 12 times. He hurt me so much when he worked on my foot and ankle. I quit him after that. About a month later, there was no improvement, so the doctor gave me a scrip for more PT. I tried a new one. Went there 14 times and didn’t get much better. I have a good bit of pain yet, some swelling when up on it and a limp. I do not have full mobility of it and wonder if I ever will. I just had an MRI of my ankle this past Fri. and will be seeing my orthopedic doctor tomorrow. I don’t know what the outcome will be, but I am so tired from all of this. I am a senior and it is taking it’s toll on me. It throws my body off balance when I walk and now other parts are starting to hurt. I just don’t know if the doctor will recommend more PT or what will happen. I should hopefully know something tomorrow. If only the pain would subside I think I could handle it better.
brokenankle said,
October 3, 2011 at 8:15 am
Trish, sorry about your ankle. We share similar stories except that the PT did wonders for me. I am able to walk without any limp. I still have trouble wearing high heels and standing/walking in them for long(more than 30 mins or so). And have lost some flexibility in that ankle as well. Other than that, it is ok for the most part. May the MRI should give you a better idea. Good Luck and wish you a speedy recovery.
Trish said,
October 4, 2011 at 4:11 pm
I got the results from the MRI after seeing my orthopedic doctor yesterday. He is now sending me to see a foot and ankle specialist for another opinion. The conclusions on the MRI is as follows, not that I understand any of this….
1. Longitudinal split of the peroneus longus tendon.
2. Mild mortise and subtalar facet osteoarthrosis.
I just made the apt. to see this other specialist on Oct. 18th. I sure hope I don’t need surgery. I am really worrying now because I am diabetic. I will keep you posted how things go from there.
It sure has me down.
Thanks for your reply to my comment. It sounds like you have had better luck than what I am having.
Christine said,
October 27, 2011 at 12:37 pm
I broke and dislocated my left ankle in August.. a week later i had surgery. A plate and 7 screws on the outside and an anchor type thing on the inside to get the ankle back into place.
The pain the week prior to surgery and after were the worst.. sleepless nights. The feeling of being useless and worthless I think was the worse for me. I look after people for a living, and then needed people to look after me.
Its now week 11 off of work but after doing as the Dr has said and with physio I am now walking without the crutches or cane and no longer require the air cast. Still have some stiffness in the muscles and ligaments, but have physio exercises to do at home.. This was my first break ever in my 40 years of living and first surgery and it all seemed hopeless at first.
I am feeling much better physically and mentally now.. so if you are new to this.. there is hope! Just relax.. your body needs the time to heal. I think back to when I first did this and think about how far i have come along.
The swelling at first was also a major issue. Everytime i was upright, it would rush down to my ankle.. going for a pee was a task as i dreaded getting up. So take your advil.. keep your foot up above your heart.. and you will get there!!