Sorry to hear about your accident sue. Mark's right, get started on your physio as soon as your surgeon lets you.

Take your time, broken ankles can take a while especially in middle age+ people where blood flow to extremities is not so good. My 21 year old son broke his ankle playing college basketball and they put half a dozen pins in it. He was cleared to play after 12 weeks and it broke again. Its been real tough for him. I bought him one of these to get around on and he said it was fantastic.

http://canada.goodbyecrutches.com/all-products/scooters-and-walkers/turning-knee-scooter

I can move my toe down and push my heel down and was doing that to try and stop getting too stiff etc but was told to do nothing till xray late June.Hope the physio isn't too painful. always thought I was a pretty tough old bird but after screaming the hospital down when they ripped the dressing off ( stuck on a bit with blood) and tried to take stitches out... back in this am but with decent painkillers and laughing gas to take rest of stitches out..Not looking forward to it..

Also I didn't take any pain killers just a couple of panadol maybe twice a day. The reason is yeah they take the pain away a bit but that's the problem they cover up what your body is trying to tell you. So if you are going to push your recovery pretty hard like I did you want to be able to hear what your body is telling you. It definitely means gritting your teeth quite a bit but at least it should stop you from going past the limit. The pain will be severe at times but there is pain and wrong pain. You will soon learn the difference

Agrid said..
Take your time, broken ankles can take a while especially in middle age+ people where blood flow to extremities is not so good. My 21 year old son broke his ankle playing college basketball and they put half a dozen pins in it. He was cleared to play after 12 weeks and it broke again. Its been real tough for him. I bought him one of these to get around on and he said it was fantastic.

http://canada.goodbyecrutches.com/all-products/scooters-and-walkers/turning-knee-scooter

saw one of those in the hospital. A great idea! Not much good for me as I live on a property and terrain too uneven. Since I did my leg I cringe everytime I see footballers throwing themselves around...

MikeyS said..
Don't worry Sue. Your misfortune has assured everyone else's good winds. Consider yourself the sacrifice to Huey.

I'm contemplating my first sail after 8 weeks in a VacoPed boot (great piece of kit), plus a few extra strength building weeks after a broken navicular (foot) bone, in virtually identical circumstances to Boombender. With the wisdom that should come from being in our decade of life, I think it comes down to knowing when you are confident that you don't go out too early and set yourself back even longer by being too eager. Medical advice plus intuition. So to answer your question how long?- same length in months as a piece of elastic in cm.

Not sure about with a broken tib/fib, but with my injury being able to do some mountain bike hillclimbs on bitumen, and swims to keep cardio fitness up has been great.

Ah injuries!- the price of being active. Hope you heal soon.

Yep speedboard weather today..

I've been trying to figure out whether I can take a pedal off the exercise bike and use it with one leg...to keep aerobic fitness up..not sure uf it will work

Childsplay said..
Don't do that, you'll throw your hip out on a he other side and get all out of balance. Invest the initial time in some non ankle related stretching. Your body will love you for it!??

Luckily I can still do my daily maintenance stretches the chiro gave me for my RSI neck problem although to avoid issues with that i need to stand and be active and i think its coming back to bite me now I'm sedentary..
Pics 10 days from injury at stitch removal time. I've got stitches both side but this side was the problem one.

Sorry to hear of your injury Sue,hope you are soon mended

Sue thats a major injury, focus on rest it to get better, thats not one to fast track :(

Hi Sue,
I'm sorry to hear about your broken ankle. I broke my ankle on 1/5/2014. Only the fibula. But I can tell you what you will go through. Some people will try to make you feel better by telling you a rosy story about your rate of recovery. The truth is: You will be in pain for at least 6 weeks. (Had to have a block of foam in the bottom of the bed to keep the Doona off my foot.) You will be on crutches for those 6 weeks when you are up and about. The Canadian crutches are by far the best. (You should by a 'boot'.) The benefit is that you will strengthen your arms and shoulders. You will be using a walking stick for another 2-3 months. You will limp for a year at least. Your wont be able to run for 18 months to 2 years. You should have physio twice a week for the first 3-4 months then once a week for another 6 months, at least, otherwise you will NEVER get the flexibility back. You cannot recover completely without physiotherapy. It may take 2 years for the swelling to subside. That ankle will always be thicker than the other. Two years later you might start to forget it. In the meantime you are at risk of DVTs in your calf, within days of the fracture. Get an ultrasound. DVTs in the calf don't usually progress but should be monitored. However if you do haVe one or more DVTs your venous blood flow in your lower leg will be compromised. The whole thing is no fun. You won't sail for a year or so and when you do you'll have a new respect for the role of your ankle joints in windsurfing. You'll also be **** scared of breaking your ankle again, (it will hurt), but you won't because it will be stronger(thicker) than the "good one". Good luck.
Paul.

PD said..
Hi Sue,
I'm sorry to hear about your broken ankle. I broke my ankle on 1/5/2014. Only the fibula. But I can tell you what you will go through. Some people will try to make you feel better by telling you a rosy story about your rate of recovery. The truth is: You will be in pain for at least 6 weeks. (Had to have a block of foam in the bottom of the bed to keep the Doona off my foot.) You will be on crutches for those 6 weeks when you are up and about. The Canadian crutches are by far the best. (You should by a 'boot'.) The benefit is that you will strengthen your arms and shoulders. You will be using a walking stick for another 2-3 months. You will limp for a year at least. Your wont be able to run for 18 months to 2 years. You should have physio twice a week for the first 3-4 months then once a week for another 6 months, at least, otherwise you will NEVER get the flexibility back. You cannot recover completely without physiotherapy. It may take 2 years for the swelling to subside. That ankle will always be thicker than the other. Two years later you might start to forget it. In the meantime you are at risk of DVTs in your calf, within days of the fracture. Get an ultrasound. DVTs in the calf don't usually progress but should be monitored. However if you do haVe one or more DVTs your venous blood flow in your lower leg will be compromised. The whole thing is no fun. You won't sail for a year or so and when you do you'll have a new respect for the role of your ankle joints in windsurfing. You'll also be **** scared of breaking your ankle again, (it will hurt), but you won't because it will be stronger(thicker) than the "good one". Good luck.
Paul.

My partner made wooden tent structure to hold the bedding off my foot. I have a contoured memory foam pillow lengthwise that my leg rests on. most of the leg below the knee was black and blue and very tender and its only been the last few nights that I've been able to start getting a few peaceful hours sleep. I notice my foot is pretty numb and gets very cold. Ive been massaging it and have some down booties tucked away somewhere from xcd hut camping days so if it can fit on that should help that.
Bit worrying re Dvt..on aspirin to reduce chance of clots..I had removed the compression sock as it was more painful with it on but I've put it back on after reading your post.

chris35 said..
Compound fracture of the tib/fib middle of 13 January 2016, bad landing jumping a wave( was fun getting back in). Got off the crutches and moonboot about three weeks ago and back at work now. Can walk about unassisted but have a noticeable limp and not all that fast, my balance is a little average too. Pain is more annoying than anything now, not that bad, although still cant really tolerate the bedsheets pressing on toes. First couple of months was the worst, wasn't a lot of fun to be around and couldn't really handle leg not being elevated for long. Got into the physio a little earlier than I probably should have, but definitely feel it was a big benefit, as range of movement is not to bad. Circulation system is still a bit iffy, foot goes a funny colour and swells up during the day Fingers crossed will be right for sailing next season, bad enough I missed half of last one. Personnel note to self.....one foot in the straps does not end well

Hate to think of what it was like getting in after the injury. I had it easy with immobilisation and good pain relief.. I've noticed circulation isn't good and foot numb so massage it with the other when I can. I was wondering about balance no idea what they will do with me re boots if any. Lucky I'm self employed as I can manage the pain better although business will suffer . Think my skiing days are over especially as I use hire boots. Ironic thing is I was cutting down on how often I rode the horse as I get older and lose confidence as he can be quite spooky. I always stay on but figured I was about due for an off and too old to bounce..then I go and do it bushwalking. Horse is going feral with no use - maybe time to retire him..pity as hes a great horse.

micks1 said..
Sorry to hear your miss adventure story Sue. I like all the good advice given as we care and hope for your speedy recovery. I also believe in MSM and continue its daily use.
Sue, in my previous life I was an oil field diver and following almost every dive required hours in a DDC (deck decompression chamber) . The healing affects of sucking pure O2 at equivalent 40' are amazing. Today I hear footballers/sportsman etc now use them to help body repairs.
Your doc / physio may steer you in this direction. Good luck.

Pardon my ignorance but I saw something on TV last night re high altitude oxygen helping dementia / brain etc.. Is that a similar thing? Thanks for the thoughts. 3 weeks to Xray then ??? boot??

micks1 said..
Nothing to do with high altitude stuff. Call some dive shops if you doctor/ Physio can't help in regard to chamber oxygen treatment. No hurry Sue, first get bolted together. The O2 treatment if your lucky enough to be taken on is an express healing agent. It used to be ...I'm still here.

Thanks will chase up - anything that gets me on the water quicker! I've been bolted together which is good as I don't have a cast so at least if it goes numb i can give it a massage..