Broken Ankle

[rightfromwrong]

I dislocated and broke my ankle in a number of places four months ago. My foot was almost turned back on itself.

I've had a number of operations and need more.

I'm still in a wheelchair and my family's life has changed completely because of it.

I'm shocked by how something can happen so quickly and have such a big impact. I now feel quite nervous of lots of things.

Once I'm up and about again, will this anxiety quickly subside?

Sorry to hear about this , I don’t have any advice, I am just starting this experience myself having broken ankle a week ago.
it will certainly make me a lot more cautious about everything in the future. I guess just need to take things slow and build up

You may be ok. It depends on how badly it's damaged. If you haven't dislocated it or don't need an op you can back up within a month or so.

In this case, sadly, it can be a very long recovery!

I did this a few years ago. Masses of pins and plates in my ankle and leg.

I was anxious and nervous for months but I honestly don't really think about it now.

Good luck with your recovery.

Oh fairysimples that is so nice to hear. It actually made me well up for some reason. Did you do a lot of physio do you remember?

Loads and loads of specialist physio. Not just the nhs physio but I also paid for extra physio (the same physio had a private practice and I saw him once a week for months and then once a fortnight and then once a month and then every 3 months).

It took a long time for the fear to go - maybe 18 months? Thinking about it now I can't remember the last time I thought of being afraid because of it

I'm in my 50s in case that's relevant.

I have never experienced anything like this before when I first heard 6 weeks in a cast I thought that doesn’t sound too bad but I didn’t realise that when the cast comes off there is still a lot of recovery to be done

I've done it too!
Almost at the end of 6 weeks non weight-bearing.
I've broken both ankles at different times in the same year, so this is my 2nd time around.

Honestly? It hurts but you will improve. I feel a definite lack of confidence but it will pass once you get moving again.
It's a fairly common injury and I trust the docs and physios have effective rehab plans, so have just been doing as I'm told. Twice!

Good luck, OP.

Which bone did you break guerkout?

Op, I understand. And it’s horrible.

I knew that a few tears down the line I’d need a knee replacement and was fine with it. But what I didn’t expect was having some treatment on my knee and becoming housebound overnight. 10 weeks after this I had me knee replacement done 11 days ago and I’m wondering just how the hell all of this happened.

I hope it all starts to get better for you soon.

Years. Not tears. But there’s been plenty of those as well.

Not as bad as breaking an ankle but I completely shattered my elbow two winters ago needing two surgeries and metal work. It was the simplest of falls and I couldn't believe that such a tiny incident could lead to such a bad injury.

It was a traumatic experience particularly as my initial surgery was delayed due to being in Covid lockdown and I was at home in agony for days waiting. Having experienced this I feel that now I know how bad it can be that I won't cope if I ever break a joint again because those four days were purely horrendous. I was also told that the chances of resuming my career as a musician were slim which was also very hard to deal with.

The first time I went for a walk once the surgery had been done and I was safely in a cast I was absolutely bloody terrified of falling again. I'd completely lost my trust in myself to a) not fall and b) not break if I did fall. It was awful and I wondered if I'd ever get my outdoorsy self back.

It has been a long process. I've had a ton of physio over 18 months to get my elbow as good as it can be and I've achieved far more than the surgeon had given the impression I would.

I paid for weekly physio as well as attending NHS physio appointments. Sessions are painful. I'd suggest taking codeine before you go so that you can achieve as much movement in the session as possible without the pain hampering that.

I do Pilates in a class for old people (I'm 'only' 40) where the teacher puts quite a focus on exercises designed to prevent falls and protect us from injuries falling.

For general walking around I'd say I'm 90% back to my pre-fall confidence. I am extremely wary of slippery conditions underfoot though. I've got Yaktrax for my shoes for icy conditions and I avoid walks where I know there'll be thick mud after heavy rain.

I think it just has to be taken a step at a time (literally and figuratively!) starting with short simple walks on easy surfaces and gradually extending.

The new-found knowledge that a small event can cause a huge upheaval to life is harder to deal with but I think with every day/week/month that passes uneventfully that anxiety subsides.

I went in for a simple heart ablation and ended up coming out with a pacemaker as the ablation went really wrong, it was extremely stressful and took months to get all the settings right and wean off all the heart medicines. I ended up very anxious for a long time afterwards but interestingly found that having just 2 pills of a rapid acting anti anxiety medicine with me was very helpful. I never ended up taking them, but just having them in my handbag acted like a sort of security blanket! They expired after a year and I never got any more. I have to say though that I do still get occasional moments when I am jerked back into the worrying and have to consciously take a deep breath, recognise it and actively choose to set it aside.

I did almost exactly the same OP, including the angle of the dislocation.

I was three months non weight baring and 8 weeks in a cast.

It does get easier and you will get your confidence back. There’s a moment / period when you’re partially weight baring where you get so so sick of the crutches and you know you’re almost back to normal - you realise you no longer want them for the security.

Recovery takes time and your body is doing a lot of work. Rest, eat well and allow others to help you. Remember, you will have had an enormous flood of adrenaline when you fell / broke your leg (you realise what it’s really for! It makes you focus like nothing else and you almost feel it surging as pain relief!) and it’s going to take a little time for everything to recalibrate.

I'm two weeks in after breaking my ankle and am in a back slab cast waiting for surgery (hopefully next week) so non weight bearing.

I'm worried that more damage was done though as I was initially told it was a bad sprain (no x-ray done) and that after initially resting it on the day of the fall I had to walk on it normally. Which I did for a couple of days but the pain was too bad so went back for a second opinion. Even then I was being told off for hobbling in to minor injuries and I should have been walking properly...but nothing I can do about that now!

It's crazy to think that a simple fall on the kitchen could result in this.

I broke mine 3 years ago. Similar to yours. I broke my tibia and fibula at the ankle and shuttered my fibula in several places up to 20 cm or so from the ankle. My foot ended up facing outwards at around 90 degrees and hanging off my leg. By the time I made it into hospital I had no pulse in my foot. They put me down and around 30 min later I woke up. It was at the end of my leg in a huge cast! I felt so relieved! The pulse got back to my foot straight after they forced it back into place, so I kept my foot!
Nurses and doctors were visible worried when I arrived and before the surgery. I had surgery on it after they put it back as they were high chances that it would not heal straight enough for me to walk on it. Surgeons spent a good 2-3 hours deciding what to do. I had surgeons turning up by my bed just to see it! I got 13 screws, a metal plate of around 20 cm length. I think it took around 7 screws to get my bones and tendons back in an ankle joint.
It took 2 weeks in a cast of absolutely not bearing any weight whatsoever. Then a special boot that I could not take off bar showering, but I could start walking around with crutches, around 6 weeks. Physio with the NHS. They gave me exercises to keep the achiles tendon as stretch as possible and to try to bend my foot back and forth- no weight bearing. Second physio app, I could bend my foot walking with crutches- no weight bearing. I did everything the physio told me, move it as much as possible, I mean for hours on end. Then they tell you to slowly start weight bearing, walking for hours on end.
Now, if you see me in the street, you will never tell I broke it. It does not hurt. I have to keep the screws in place in my case, so I cannot move it exactly the same as the other, but I can walk, run, dance, tip toe around. I have a bit less balance on that side, but I will get stronger as times passes. The scars are not that in your face now, even the 20 cm one. My "new" ankle is wider than the other as they had to set it so for it to be stable and strong enough. It swells a bit during the day, but even so it does not hurt.
I have twisted it a bit while walking on slippery surfaces since I recovered and nothing happened! I used to be terrified of this.
I would say I got to an acceptable level of movement within 3 months, that is walking- jogging- standing for good whiles, stairs and driving. And upwards from then.
The fear took longer to recover from. I felt down a flight of stairs and I am still very wary of stairs, especially if the floor is wet.

Eat well, rest well, work on that achiles tendon as soon as they instruct you to (it will make your recovery much much easier).

Best wishes!

I'm 11 months in . I broke my tibia and fibula right down by the ankle, dislocating it in the process. I had pins and plates inserted (under a spinal block rather than general anaesthetic- that was weird!)
Plaster and a zimmer frame to start with, then after about 6 weeks I had a boot and zimmer, before moving to crutches around week 10.
Physio started in earnest then , although I had been given non weight bearing exercises before giving up the zimmer .
I still have pain and swelling if I try to do too much and I've recently had more Physio because my arches have fallen and my foot was dropping inwards. Apparently tendon damage is the likely cause.

I broke all three bones joining my ankle together and dislocated it too. Was in a wheelchair for a while then crutches. This was 5 years ago. I was then referred for physio and had weekly sessions for ages. I then went to a physiotherapists ‘ankle class’ which was circuits, it was hell and I could barely walk the next day. I stuck with it and now walk with no limp. I can easily do 8 k steps a day but if I go over that I get a little pain but nothing major. I find I’m ok walking when it’s warm but it’s worse in winter especially in the really cold spells like last week. The metalwork holding it all together must absorb the cold temperature.

I remember feeling like you that my life would be changed forever and that I would be permanently disabled but the only lasting issue is that I have to wear flats with an insole. My advice would be not to try and rush your recovery and insist on physiotherapy and plenty of it

I had a similar break to you, I'm 5 years on, I was nervous for a while, but once I got my plastic boot I even went to gigs!
That plastic boot feels so safe.
You would never know I broke it now apart from one of my ankles is fatter than the other.
I even wear heels now! (AND dance in them!)

I did the same thing to my right ankle/leg and severely sprained my left ankle. I was in plaster for 3 months, a boot for 2 months and I think it took the best part of 18 months after that to feel that my ankle was stable.
10 years on it still swells if I stand a lot, aches in very cold weather and I still don’t wear heels.
Apart from that it’s absolutely fine.

Thanks to everyone for your messages and words of encouragement.

The consultant, surgeon, physio etc all said it was a nasty break (like others on herehave had).

It's the psychological impact that's been so difficult.

I had to wait hours for an ambulance and when it arrived they came straight in and looked for a pulse as they said they were concerned I could lose my foot, and then wondered why this upset me!

I can't care for the kids and I've always been rushing around after them.

I can't look after myself easily.

I can't get to the toilet as it's upstairs, so I'm sleeping in the dining room and using a commode. I NEVER thought my husband would have to empty that for me. It's so humiliating and I've cried many times!

He's doing so much for me and the kids and I feel helpless and guilty.

I know a couple of other people who have broken an ankle recently and they are up walking again and back to work in just over four weeks. This makes me feel I'm not doing well.

My physio said I must remember how bad my break was in comparison with theirs.

I've given my head a wobble and going to be more positive!

Thanks again x

@rightfromwrong get some disposable commode liners and add some puppy pads cut into squares about a foot square to add to the absorbency. They would absorb a couple of wees. After I’d used the commode for a number 2 I’d sit in my wheelchair and tie the bag etc for my hubby to bin. I don’t think either of us would have coped with him emptying the bowl down the loo. It took the humiliation out of it.
After a bit I managed to get up and downstairs on my bum, crawl to the bathroom and pull myself up to use the loo, then lower myself to the floor and crawl back to the stairs. My wheelchair was at the bottom of the stairs to get back to the sofa.
The turning point for me was when they said I could put my bad foot to the floor and use crutches. We then went on holiday after deciding not to cancel. The physio had given me exercises to do in the pool whilst the water supported my weight. It was a real turning point in my recovery

Thanks for the suggestions! They are really helpful.

Unfortunately I can't easily go up the stairs on my bum as they have got a nasty turn in them (which is how I fell in the first place)!

Reading all your posts has actually made me feel more positive! There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks so much!

Oops name change fail!

We know how you feel now. I did cry at some point thinking I would never walk again.

I found rather difficult too the point at which they took the cast off.
I did see for the first time my leg after the fall. All my calf had a huge bruise. All black and hard. It was like part of it had been cut off. I did not have much feeling on it at all. Oh, I cried. The scars from the surgery were huge and rather grim too.
But on the positive, they gave me physio exercises to do shortly after, to move the toes, flex the ankle and stretch the achiles tendon and I felt like I was getting somewhere.
As PP says, once you get to the weight bearing part all is a brighter road ahead.
Your body heals, you start to be able to move around the house and do some bits for the family. You feel useful again.
The fear of stairs orfalling may last a while longer, but I think that is good as it makes you cautious.