Recovery after broken ankle

[bpmd210 0]

I was very disappointed I never set off the airport detectors. I was hoping I would and had my kids all pumped up for it.

[ThePurpleCobra 0]

I was very disappointed I never set off the airport detectors. I was hoping I would and had my kids all pumped up for it.

haha cool

[Hazard14 0]

good lord you make no freaking sense and have ZERO understanding of trade off.

which leaves you with a hole in your bone, making it much easier to fracture.

true.

sure that it would give you increased mobility and decrease pain,

true again. so far so good. And I like not living in pain.

but is it worth the chance of fracturing the bone again. i think not

what? did you stop reading after the comma in my quoted post? the holes will fill back in with bone in about 3 months

it fills back in, and you'd never know the holes were there. if it means im out another 3 months for a grand total of 6... or even if it puts me out of beer league for a year to heal properly...

I've got thin ankles, it's almost a certain fact i'm going to have problems if we left the hardware in.

it's an easy choice between a year of hockey (at the absolute max) or 50+ years of being uncomfortable because i've got screws in my ankle.

i was talking about that 3-month period in which the bone is still O-tech

[Luckystrike 0]

well, i'll add my story in here. I had reconstructive foot surgery last year and i'm still recovering. they fused 2 bones in my mid-foot area and put 2 screws through that, cut my heel bone in half and shifted it over towards my instep and put a screw and pin in that and lengthened my achillies tendon. I was on crutches for 12 weeks, in a boot for about another 6 weeks after that so I know the pain your going through.

My advice is if you can get the screws/pins out, do it. I had the screw taken out of my heel and the doc said it could take upwards of 9 mos for the hole to fill in (it was a big screw). But what he did was fill the hole with a fake bone compound so it would keep it fairly strong while that was healing. I was back playing about a month after that and haven't stopped since.

about the only thing i'm still dealing with is the pain. And like most of you have said, I think its weak and atrophied tendons and ligaments. It's been a little over 10 mos. since my surgery and I still have enough pain that I can't run or skate at 100%. I had an MRI a couple of weeks ago and they didn't find anything so I hope that its just taking a long time to heal and not something else. I guess patience is the key to recovering from something like this.

[ThePurpleCobra 0]

tomorrow is the day i get my hard cast off, i cant put all my weight on that ankle as of now but i'll listen to the doc about building strength

[ThePurpleCobra 0]

got the cast off today and i saw the x-ray and you can still tell the bone is broken but the space around my ankle bone was even again so he said that was the biggest thing. He gave me a walking boot and said it was safe to walk on it. I tried walking and wow its weird. I dont know why he is having me walk on it if its still broken.

Edited July 3, 2007 by ThePurpleCobra

[Hazard14 0]

got the cast off today and i saw the x-ray and you can still tell the bone is broken but the space around my ankle bone was even again so he said that was the biggest thing. He gave me a walking boot and said it was safe to walk on it. I tried walking and wow its weird. I dont know why he is having me walk on it if its still broken.

the bone is in the stage where a hard cast isnt needed to support bone growth, the walking boot will supposrt/cradle your foot in a way that the bone can still heal. i know it feels weird, mine just stopped feeling wierd, it takes some time getting used too

[ThePurpleCobra 0]

so eventhough I could see the bone is still cracked its alright to walking with the boot on and not worry about it disrupting it's healing?

[Hazard14 0]

im not telling you to walk on it if you dont want to, but it seems alright and IMO if it hurts then thats your body telling you that your not ready to walk on it

[Wolfpack_1986 154]

if you dont feel comfortable go to another orthopaedic doctor... get a second opinion

[Hazard14 0]

that too

[bpmd210 0]

Check out this place - http://www.roll-a-bout.com/

This is what I used. Easier than crutches, and fun to boot.

[ThePurpleCobra 0]

do you think skating is more safe (on my ankle) then running when he says I can now run? (if that makes sense)

Edited July 11, 2007 by ThePurpleCobra

[bpmd210 0]

I was told no skating for 90 days. Day 91 I skated. It felt fine except for stopping in 1 direction, I don't remember which. Running was painful though because of the constant impact. I did some incline walking on the treadmill, and worked myself back in to running. You're young, though, could be different. I was 44. My doc told me I can do whatever I can tolerate.

[Hazard14 0]

do you think skating is more safe (on my ankle) then running when he says I can now run? (if that makes sense)

i think that light skating (meaning not to fast, with proper technique ofcourse) would be safer and easier than running

[ThePurpleCobra 0]

I go back for the final x-ray the 23rd and he said at that point i could run, so i'm guessing if he said i could run then hockey would be fine. the 23rd will be day 51

Edited July 11, 2007 by ThePurpleCobra

[Hazard14 0]

my 12 week follow up is tommorow, im hoping that i could start light skating as of....soon

[scorer75 9]

I'd be careful assuming that skating is better than running.

Having broken my ankle some years ago with pins inserted at the time, and having a broken ankle once again, I urge you to think of the mechanism of skating and running.

While running may provide a greater impact on the ankle with the weight of your body, this does not necessarily stress the bone. Skating on the other hand puts more torsional stress on the ankle with turns and stops.

My experience says that you can run before you can skate, but your experience and type of break may be different.

Bottom line, none of us are willing (or should be willing) to start skating a week or two earlier at the risk of re-injuring ourselves.

[Wolfpack_1986 154]

anyone have any updates on their ankles? I go back the 24th (day 40 since surgery). At which point, i should be getting off crutches. w00t

[ThePurpleCobra 0]

i go back the 23rd for what he said should be my final x ray so we'll see. I can walk right now its just weird with all the swellling.

Edited July 19, 2007 by ThePurpleCobra

[Wolfpack_1986 154]

yeah, mines still pretty swollen, and i can feel all the screw heads. ones reaaaaallu sticking out... like visibly so.

[Hazard14 0]

im walking pretty nicely already with minimal to no pain and swelling, got a little limp but its alright. should be able to start running soon

[ktang 34]

yeah, mines still pretty swollen, and i can feel all the screw heads. ones reaaaaallu sticking out... like visibly so.

If the screws are inside the skate boot and stick out so much, they will really hurt when skating.

So, whenever you get back to skating (don't rush it), you can try this:

2 strips of foam along the incision / line of screws. I cut some pipe insulation lengthwise.

On top of that, a donut of foam, with the hole over the ankle knob, if you have screws or tenderness in the area. I tried some Poly-Vinyl foam, but it didn't work as well as a donut cut from a dense foam-rubber mouse pad.

Maybe others have some ideas, too.

[Wolfpack_1986 154]

yeah, this one is sticking way out... the swelling is going down, so i noticed it. my solution is screw removal. ;)

[ThePurpleCobra 0]

Just was cleared to play hockey today, seven weeks since breaking my ankle. Not too bad.