So I recently broke my leg just above the ankle. I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar injury and could give me an idea on recovery time and such. Also, they had to put a plate in my ankle and I was wondering if anyone knows what those plates are made of. Someone told me I would be able to stick magnets to my ankle after this and I was just wondering if that was true or not. Thanks.
OT:Broken Bones
- Thread starter CHim
- Start date
A co-worker of mine did a very high jump on an ATV, came down on the pegs hard with his feet and shattered his right ankle. He had to have plates put in as well, and he is still not walking on it more than 3 months later. Finally just got out of the soft boot a couple of weeks ago. Still can't move his foot much more than about a centimeter each way. Basically has no calf muscle now.
They're telling him it still may be another couple of months before he can put weight on it. He's still using crutches. He has a long PT schedule coming up.
The ankle and lower leg takes a lot of abuse and torque, and it really isn't all that thick of a bone there. Takes a long time to heal.
Not sure what the plates are made out of.
They're telling him it still may be another couple of months before he can put weight on it. He's still using crutches. He has a long PT schedule coming up.
The ankle and lower leg takes a lot of abuse and torque, and it really isn't all that thick of a bone there. Takes a long time to heal.
Not sure what the plates are made out of.
I thought I heard the surgeon say I boke both but I am not sure because I was rather heavily sedated. I know I broke the fibula and dislocated the ankle, and I am not 100% sure but I thought he said I broke or fractured the tibia. On the plate thing, I was kind of hoping a magnet would stick just b/c that would be cool.
I broke my fibula a few years ago which is the small bone on the side of your ankle. Not sure this is the same one you broke but I had a plate and some screws put in to join the break so it would heal properly. I've had it in for over 2 years now I think and it hasn't bothered me since. I can't even tell I have it and I have a fully functional ankle that never acts up and gets sore like a lingering injury might do. I think it's made out of titanium which I am told will not set off the alarm at the airport. I've never tried sticking a magnet to it.
For recovery, I was on crutches for about 6-8 weeks then took 3 weeks of physical therapy to get the range of motion back in the ankle as being immobile with all that swelling makes your ankle pretty stiff. Hope that helps some, depending on what you broke you might be looking at different recovery time. I had a soft boot and not a cast and the fibula only bares about 20% of the weight you put on your ankle so I was told that bone is a quick one to heal with not as much pain.
Lower leg is bad, but I broke my femur playing football in my teens. Wow! that sucked. 7 weeks in traction and about a two year recovery period. Now that sucked. Good luck with your break and don't get discouraged.
These are way longer recovery times than I was hoping for but that is what I wanted to know. I am in a splint of some sort right now and hopefully get a hard cast Wednesday. I am on the "Super Healing Diet"(I made that up) so hopefully I will be done a little sooner.
If it was only the fibula it heals pretty quickly and is not that painful. This is what I broke and I was trying to shed the crutches somewhere between 6-8 weeks after the operation. Just depends on what kind of tolerance for pain you have. They told me not to push it and if you had any sharp pain then you should not apply as much weight when you are trying to wean yourself off the crutches.
What did the Doc say as far as recovery time goes? He/She would have the best info reguarding such. Do you have PT scheduled for any time? Bone healing takes the longest then its up to your body to see how fast the muscle can come back. Do a little research and talk to yor Doc about what you can do to speed up recovery. Ask about Isokinetics, do this when he/she puts the cast on and he will know you are serious about rehabing quickly. Just a thought, but do what the Doc says. Ask an orthopedics opinion though, not a general practitioner. Just my opinion but I prefer a specialists opinion over the general's
Hang in there. I hated crutches too but I listened to my Orthopedist and followed his instructions because I didn't want to be one of those who tried to rush it and wind up having chronic pain when I get older. It's better to have the "down" time now than to try and rush back into full activity too soon and have years of chronic pain because of it.
sorry to hear the bad news timc.
The best thing you can do to ensure a speedy recovery it is to rest and watch a lot of ISU atheletics on TV. When you think you're ready to get out of the house a bit, try going to a few games. Be sure to eat plenty of clonecones and cheer loud, (increasing your heart rate helps speed up the process). Oh, and get Cy to sign your cast!
The best thing you can do to ensure a speedy recovery it is to rest and watch a lot of ISU atheletics on TV. When you think you're ready to get out of the house a bit, try going to a few games. Be sure to eat plenty of clonecones and cheer loud, (increasing your heart rate helps speed up the process). Oh, and get Cy to sign your cast!
I feel your pain man. Not in the broken bone sense, but in a severe leg injury. It's been just over a year and I'm still going to therapy, etc.
Just make sure to be aggressive with it while being patient. Listen to the doctors/therapists and do your own homework - like you're doing here.
Best of luck to ya and I'll hope this winter is mild so you don't have to deal with trying to crutch through ice and snow.
Just make sure to be aggressive with it while being patient. Listen to the doctors/therapists and do your own homework - like you're doing here.
Best of luck to ya and I'll hope this winter is mild so you don't have to deal with trying to crutch through ice and snow.
