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  1. #26
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    May 2015
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    Brett- I am also getting my hardware out because of an infection which can't go away until it comes out. It's no big deal to take it out most people just leave it in to avoid going back in for surgery, but it's very non invasive.

  2. #27
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    Dec 2015
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    Great to see this thread still alive. I had referenced it when I had my pilon fracture in October of 2014.

    History: Hit a big double on my mountain bike, overshot, ditched the bike and landed to flat, my ankle everted outward 90 degrees.

    Surgery was the next day. It was a mess in there. Comminuted fracture with a loss of 2x1cm cartilage loss on the talar dome. Multiple small fragments of cartilage were floating around along with bone fragments that had to be removed. I also had a midsubstance tear of the deltoid ligament that required another incision on the medial side of ankle to repair it. The syndesmosis joint also rupture requiring two screws to go from the tibia into the fibula to hold them in place to heal.

    My left ankle broke the big toe and had a massive bone bruise on the calcaneus as well as a chip avulsion fracture malleous.

    Im guessing I hit the ground going 30mph+ and just piledrove my legs into the ground.

    My heel was completely numb throughout my healing process. I figured I toasted a nerve and would never feel on the bottom of my foot again. Feeling slowly came back throughout the year, which is awesome, there is something very strange about a numb heel when walking.

    Fastforward to January 2015 I had the syndesmosis screws removed. I was weight bearing right around new years and had been in PT since around thanksgiving. I was feeling great, my gait was pretty screwed up but I WAS WALKING! My PT was pushing me constantly and we were seeing great progress through all of January.

    Somewhere around February I woke up with my ankle very swollen and red. It was Sunday morning and I figured I just overdid it. Stayed in bed most the day with what I remember as a slight fever as well. Barely slept that night. Woke up and it was more swollen, and so sensitive that I couldn't even have a bed sheet touch it. Call up my dr and he tells me to come in immediately.

    They lance it and pull out a bunch of puss. He tells me that they need to take me into surgery that day and clean it out. He sent out the puss for culture to see what the infection was caused by.
    I get admitted to the hospital later that day and it get put in an isolation room, which later I understood why, the culture came back as MSSA Staph. So after all that progress, all that bed time, I am back in the hospital sitting on my ass. Two surgeries later, they removed all the hardware they could and are pumping me full of vancomysin (hardcore antibiotic). I get sent home at around day 8 with a PICC line and antibiotic pump. I have to wear a fanny pack with a pump that pushes some hardcore antibiotics into me for 6 weeks.

    Fastforward to summer. Ankle feels great, I get released from PT and have a fun summer biking and freediving (including hitting all the major ski resorts of my bike in Colorado and Utah). Somewhere around mid-summer start getting pain when first waking up in morning. So after it feeling great initially, I am actively seeking help to see what happened. I have major pain in the morning in the anterior ankle. When I wake up in the morning it takes about 5 minutes of stretching to even get out of bed without experiencing shooting pains. I can generally go a day with normal activities but it becomes stiff in the evening.

    I will update with more progression as It happens if you guys are interested. I feel this thread is a great resource for those with pilon fractures as it helped me a lot when I was nwb with mine.

  3. #28
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    May 2015
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    19
    ok, going to dr tomorrow to get a date for hardware removal. in the midst of this stress, asthma has started. great and oh yeah, they no longer will cover the one of two antibiotics i am not allergic to, and the nebulizer liquid. just really?
    i made a list of questions for the dr, my shrink friend is coming with me, but things I'm reading on the internet (i know i know) say if you had pain with the hardware, chances are , you still will. how the hell can that be and maybe I'm reading the wrong articles? anyone have experience with hardware removal and pain or lack of afterwards. i am now ready to be scraped right off the ceiling, it's freezing in ny and i am now limping like i did months ago. i guess the cold and metal isn't a great combo. thanks for any info.
    bett

  4. #29
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    Dec 2009
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    944
    jeez. checking into this thread for the first time. pilon fracture a week ago today. home between surgeries for a few days with my external fixation on, plates and screws in a few days. took a weird little tumble on skis- nothing special and ended up with this. faaaak. avid runner and skier, modifying my expectations but cautiously hopeful and impressed with the courage i see here. no real pain yet (except that first night) but girding myself for a long haul. will post when my head gets back on right.

  5. #30
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    Jun 2006
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    Read up on Kelly Cordes's ice climbing accident and gnarly pilon fracture (he blogged about it a bunch). And then check into what he's doing now. Keep the chin up.
    Quote Originally Posted by Ernest_Hemingway View Post
    I realize there is not much hope for a bullfighting forum. I understand that most of you would prefer to discuss the ingredients of jacket fabrics than the ingredients of a brave man. I know nothing of the former. But the latter is made of courage, and skill, and grace in the presence of the possibility of death. If someone could make a jacket of those three things it would no doubt be the most popular and prized item in all of your closets.

  6. #31
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    May 2015
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    bett here- off the gabapentin as it made me rather nuts. got a date for pre surgical testing and a date for surgery, feb 25 (or is it the 26th). i am beyond nervous. anyone have stores of success after hardware removal? i've now become from funky to depressed and scared. to death.

  7. #32
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    Sep 2015
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    159

    Metal fatigue of hardware in ankle

    Quote Originally Posted by Mike89 View Post


    Red7 - While your PT is correct that you shouldn't be in excruciating pain the only way to start getting some of that flexibility back is to put as much pressure as you can handle on the foot. One exercise that helped me was just standing next to a wall or table and slowly shifting weight from your strong leg to the injured one as much as you can take without pain. It will slowly get better and trust me I was scared as well to give it a strong push, but just started walking without my boot this week and was shocked how fast I've been able to start feeling better. If your doctor thinks you can start weight bearing with the bone I would trust him or as I stated to Menschita, go get a second opinion. Pilon fractures as I'm sure you have heard are pretty horrific injuries to the joint and bone, so a good doctor is crucial. I was lucky enough to have one of the best surgeons in California with a highly competent team work with me the last 8 months. I trust them fully and if you don't feel the same way it might be a good idea to see someone else just to understand your options.

    Sorry for the diarrhea of the mouth, but I feel like I have been working with an incredible orthopedic staff at UCSF and since I've had a ton of problems I have been working through lots of different options for improvements. Happy to add more tailored advice if you have more questions because I know this injury sucks!
    Hey Mike and others. Thanks for the post. Here's an update. I'm now at 8 months post op and I have come a long way and can walk without too much pain and a slight limp. I can walk without any limp but it hurts a lot more so I only do it any certain situations.

    So I went to a different ortho for a 2nd opinion (my surgeon was in a city 2 hrs away where mx track was) about 6 weeks ago and he took new xrays. First thing he said was man, I sure hope your surgeon added bone from a graph (which he didnt). Next thing he said was, I'm concerned it's a non-union or you have an infection because the bone isn't healed that we'll (I'm not sure if I can add a photo of xray here. They had me get a triple (nuclear?) bone scan and they couldn't rule out an infection but radiologist doesn't think there is a non-union or infection. I didn't think there was or I would be in more pain but you can see in xray where a triangle in the tibia looks not very dark in the xray so it's not dense.

    There is an ortho on a mx forum that is supposed to be really good and does a lot of surgeries on mx guys so I sent him my xrays to look at. His comment was bone is definitely not healed, that I should not ride, ski or have any impact, and that the 2 metal plates and hardware would definitely be fatigued after 8 months. He said it's not designed to be supporting the bone for so long (before bone gets dense and takes over supporting). He said I should have all hardware removed, bone compressed to stimulate growth? (I have no idea what that means) and have new hardware installed. He said if not the hardware could give way at which time I'll be in a world of hurt.

    However, the past 2 weeks have been my best to date so I feel like it's getting better and have no desire to start over with new hardware. My hope is I can get bone strong enough that I can get fatigued hardware out.

    Though I do think this ortho is a bit of a doomsdayer, I wouldn't be surprised if the metal is fatigued because the xrays do show a gap between bone and plate so it might be flexing when I walk.

    Mike- you mentioned you work with UCSF. Is the metal fatiguing a legitimate concern and am I playing Russian roulette by not replacing it? I did get an Exogenous 4000 bone stimulator and have been zapping it so maybe that's what's making me feel better.

    My goal is to be good enough next winter to move to Colorado and buy season passes and teach my 7 and 11 y/o to ski for a couple months as a last hurrah since I realize I will eventually likely need it fused which will greatly effect my ability to ski.

    Thanks for any help you can give!
    Last edited by Red7; 02-04-2016 at 07:26 PM. Reason: typo

  8. #33
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    Sep 2015
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    Here's my most recent xray where you can see the area where the bone is not solid even after 8 months
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  9. #34
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    Dec 2009
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    good luck all with your decisions about how to move forward, wish i had some meaningful advice but i am just 2-1/2 weeks post-op here. got my external fixation off and plates and screws (a shit ton of them) installed. those were my first surgeries ever- man that sucks. keeping your foot elevated sucks, the "grapefruit foot" sucks. the tingling burning from the sutures sucks but had my follow up which went well, switched over to the cam-boot and started PT which does not suck. my dr says to live in the boot and rarely take it off, whereas my pt says i can stay out of the boot for extended periods of time- what do/did you all do with that?

  10. #35
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    Feb 2016
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    1

    Random Pilon Fracture Questions

    Hi all, I am now 4 weeks post op from my "accident" stupid hockey! lol been playing for 30 years and just now I decide to lose and edge full speed about 3' from the boards and a split second later I'm on my belly looking back at my ankle pointing the wrong way. Didn't really hurt til later that night but more frustrating because there goes my winter.....no more hockey, snowboarding, vball, or any sport for that matter. I guess one positive thing from this is I weigh about 20 less lbs. from giving up beer and eating better. So now starts my questions for the veterans out there that are a year or 2 post op. What is life like that far in. What are your limitations? I was told I will probably never run or jump again which limits me on a lot of my activities. Is there anyone out there at least trying to run or jump or is the risk of completely wearing out the cartilage too strong. Another concern is Range of motion. Where should I be after PT. Is 100% realistic or will it never be the same again? Last question. If I can gain access to a bone stimulator, what are peoples thoughts. Are they worth a damn? Thanks!

  11. #36
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    Dec 2009
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    doubled9- take this with a grain of salt because I am in roughly the same time frame as you but everything I have heard tells me that the statistics are that there will be limitations to your activities- less because of strength than because of range of motion. That being said, medical statistics are just that- statistics and every fracture, treatment and PT regime is different so it will vary pretty widely. Cartilage wear is more if the repair did not make the joints perfectly smooth and co-planar which is part of the point of the surgery and fixation in the first place so that depends a lot on the skill of the surgeon and again the particulars of the fracture (and how the healing goes also) as I understand it. Personally, I am working hard on my ROM to get as close to 100% as I can- seems unlikely though compared to my other foot at the moment. That is all you can do as I see it.

  12. #37
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    Apr 2014
    Location
    Santa Barbara
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    3

    Long Recovery for Tib/Fib Pilon FX

    Hi Red, I had a skiing accident 2/23/14 w ORIF surgery 3/7. NWB for 2 months. PT for 3 months and went back in Dec 14 to see about HWR. No go. Still wasn't healed. Disappointed to say the least but now understood the pain I was having. Still broken. Hated the hw. I finally started feeling good this last Dec and went back to my surgeon nearly 2 years later. All healed, so I scheduled HWR for 1/25/16 and am back walking again. Still pain but so much better. I have some very large holes (8) you can distinctly see in both tib(3)/fib(5). Should eventually fill in. Stay positive. I have a high threshold for pain too but it didn't feel right. I'm 48 and it just took longer for my bone to finally heal. Everyone's journey is different and in time if no infection/non union, you'll get there. Hope sharing my experience helps.

  13. #38
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    Sep 2015
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    159
    DJM19- Thanks for sharing your experience! A couple questions for you. Was your original hardware in that entire 23 months or did they change out the hardware due to metal fatigue? It sounds like you had the same hardware in which is encouraging because I finally learned about Wolff's law so I've been pounding the payment with lots of walking and even light jogging, extra weight bearing with squats and dead-lifts to stimulate bone growth but I feel like I'm playing Russian roulette where I'm in a race to get the bone solid before the metal snaps and so does my bone. However, I feel like the bone is getting stronger by the day. It started out quite painful but 6 weeks later and I feel like things are really starting to turn around so I know the bone is becoming more dense even though I haven't had an xray. Unfortunately, my surgeon never discussed Wolff's law and instead gave me the impression that the clock was ticking and the more I used my ankle, the sooner I'd need it fused. Maybe that's true but if I'm not using it enough to get the bone to heal then what does it matter. In other words I waisted several months by babying my ankle when I needed to get out and start using more than cycling and swimming which were good for the joint but does nothing to strengthen the bone.

    Questions 2: After they removed your hardware, how was the recovery? Were you in a boot NWB for a good bit or could you walk immediately and just have to baby it so as not to cause a fracture where the screws were? Did they tell you how soon you could resume normal activity?

    It may be ambitious but my plan is to walk and gimp-jog everyday, increase weight bearing with progressively heavier squats and dead-lifts, and keep using my Exogen 4000 bone stimulator (which I also stopped using until 6 weeks ago because my surgeon had told me it wouldn't do any good) with the hopes of getting my hardware out around the 1 year mark. I plan to move my family to Tahoe next winter to get season passes and teach my 7 and 11 year olds how to ski so I have one goal in life right now and that is to get this ankle in shape so I can get the metal out and be skiing next winter. I think ski boots with the metal plates still in would be painful as hell so I've got to get the metal out a few months before the ski season so all the holes will fill in.

  14. #39
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    Dec 2009
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    944
    any tips for working on dorsiflexion? it seems that i go to a certain point and hit a wall. its hard for me to even get to a stretch on my achilles tendon, it stops in the front of the joint before i get there.

    edit: or anyone get good (lasting) results with talus mobilization?
    Last edited by lemmycaution; 04-07-2016 at 06:26 AM.

  15. #40
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    Dec 2009
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    maybe this thread is just becoming my blog, but.....

    now i am 14 weeks PO. went in for my "12 week" appt with my surgeon last week- i had been "toe tap" weight bearing, and went to FWB, no cane no nothing- weird sensation to come in on crutches and then walk out of the hospital into Manhattan (I live in Brooklyn) on my two feet after so long being so careful. Advice i would give anyone is be very diligent with the PT- as soon as i was able, i started stationary bike every day and in all my spare time working on ROM. i am def not 100% and probably will never be as i see it (especially inversion on my ankle) and i still cannot squat but using your feet as normally as possible helps a lot. I could feel my bones getting ready to bear weight but even at 12 weeks i was not quite ready, i felt much more ready at 13. i am thinking i am pretty lucky as i dont think i did much damage to my cartilage (it was not really a huge impact injury with me) and no infection/rejection issues. going back in a few weeks to talk about hdwe removal which sounds good to me. already put on my ski boots and i have the dorsiflexion for that already- still cant walk down stairs without dropping the last couple inches yet.

  16. #41
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    May 2015
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    19
    ok, bett here. all hardware removed feb 25. feels better but now waiting for the two,or three incisions (one small one in center of ankle) to fully heal, as if anything rubs against it, the pain is not good.
    the weather in ny has been cruddy which affects my pain level a lot.
    going to gym/pt 5 days a week, but pt which is all done according to medicare, only once every two weeks. don't need it. dr thrilled with everything, pt thrilled with everything, and i would be thrilled if i could find shoes that didn't rub the incisions. so far, i keep them covered with gauze when out, unless the weather warms up and i put on sandals with little support but no rubbing on the incision.
    still do my 2-3 hours at the gym, they told me to slow down the treadmill (was doing a mile in 22 minutes, not trying to win a race but that's how i walked) so now doing a mile in half an hour and holding on with one hand . if they think I'm ever letting go…..yeah,not happening.
    press 70 lbs with leg press, then the same with toes, and then the last one, with the right leg only (only ten times for that one). doing all the other ankle things they want, i may pull the thing i don't know the name of where they put a belt like thing around my waist and i walk straight ahead, first front, then backwards, then drop it to my back of knee and bend.
    i am for sure, at 18 months the VP of the pt place.

    getting kind of tired of the pain, but now i think it's mostly weather related, probably arthritis, (swell) and the incisions healing. almost done.
    glad the dr and pt are so happy because I'm not always smiling.
    just checking in and letting everyone know where I'm at.
    pilon ankle fractures with a dislocation are not for 67 yr old women.
    grrrr

  17. #42
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    Apr 2016
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    Slow and Steady

    Hi all, I'm so glad to find this forum. I'm about 9 weeks post-op a pilon fracture of left tib/fib with plate and screws. I've been NWB up until about a week ago and now PT has me doing short walking with boot and walker. It's been gnarly, that's for sure. And I'm NOT an athlete but a 57 y/o woman who fell off an improperly installed handicap ramp! Seriously. Healing has been slow but steady. I also have common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) (crappy immune system) so risk of infection after surgery was big concern. So far so good although one incision is still a bit pinkish. I also had pre-existing peripheral neuropathy (from previous chemo many years ago) and the numbness in the fractured foot is severe, and affects my balance. My current mobility is wheelchair 90%, walker 10% with boot only. It is good to know that so many others have healed from this injury and that recovery is slow for most of us - not just me.

    The CVID is probably why my surgeon said it's not necessary to remove the hardware if it isn't problematic. Anyone still have hardware past a year? I'm curious as to how long it can stay in.

    Probably most of you had to have the "cage" or external fixation. I only had the cage for a week but my dr said he's had patients that were in the cage for months - he said they develop "cage rage."

  18. #43
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    Jun 2016
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    expectation to walk normally

    First I feel very lucky to find this post which has lots of information about what to expect.

    My wife unfortunately failed off during bouldering (around 10 feet height) and right now has a external fixation installed. The diagnoses was "Closed Displaced Pilon Fracture of Left Tibia", we are looking for another surgery of ORIF in a week. It looks like not an easy task to get recovered to the new norm and keeping her positive is another challenge down the road in addition to the PT.

    I'm very glad to see lots of you recovered very well and able to do sports again. My biggest concern is that would my wife be able to walk normally. By normal I mean if she can walk several miles a day so she can travel like before, and will she be looking normal instead of crippled cause her work requires attend lots of public activity and public exposure.

    Right now I'm trying to let her not thinking too much about the consequences but focused on recover and getting ready for the ORIF surgery (can't do before swelling gets better). But for long term we need to adjust the expectation so she won't get frustrated.

    Thanks for your advise. I hope you all a speedy recovery and best of luck.

  19. #44
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    May 2015
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    I'm coming around to 19 months post accident. dr thinks I'm awesome, pt thinks I'm awesome.
    and I'm still crying 5 days out of 7 from pain. shoes? sneakers or very limited. incision freshest-19 screws and 2 plates removed (that the hospital won't allow me to have) feb 25th.
    i wonder if i ever will be semi normal again.
    sorry for the bummer but I'm not in my 30's and i guess i really did a beauty of a job (one freaking step, while taking care of my husband who had an ankle fusion. you cant make this up)
    i go to therapy/gym/pt now 5 days a week as my dr thought i was becoming obsessed. walk great on the treadmill that i hate, let the pt do what ever it is he's doing now (some thing on my foot and then attaches weights, i think, at the toe area). great great great.
    but i don't feel great.

  20. #45
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    Dec 2009
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    i am now about 5 months PO. went in for my 16 weeks and surgeon said the hdwe has done what it is going to do, the bone is healed so it is up to me now, cleared for whatever i am able to do. doing pt at a place 2x/week and on my own at least 3x- it does steadily get better, limited what you can do when you are NWB or PWB. i lost a lot of strength even though i started pt 2 weeks PO, not sure why especially in my foot. i have 3 plates and 14 screws and my surgeon says to only take them out if they really become a bummer, not sure on that yet. started running again, not far- up to 1.5 miles + stairs for like 10 minutes. if you can do it, and have a delicate midfoot impact (no limp, no bounding), there is nothing like it- my mobility is best when i get back. not sure i will ever be able to run close to i used to but maybe slowly i can get there. its a serious injury but there are degrees of it also- i had a bad break but no complications, healed well and did not (i dont think, unconfirmed) screw up my cartilage. i also had medical leave so i could really focus on the PT.

  21. #46
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    Jan 2017
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    Came across this forum and this specific thread while trying to do some research on pilon fractures. Ended up with a tib/fib pilon fracture on my left leg from a dirt bike crash where another rider tried to force a pass on the outside while coming into a tight, slow corner, falling into me and my bike (which I was already supporting a slide from with my leg). Leg lost. Accident was Dec 3. I went to the ER, they splinted it and sent me home to see my local ortho on Monday.

    My first surgery was December 14th, where he plated the fibula (which had split off a butterfly fragment which is still just floating around in there) and installed an external fixator due to a fracture blister on the tibia side that he couldn't cut through.

    Second surgery was December 30th where the tibia was plated and screwed and ex-fix removed.

    On January 11th I followed up with the ortho, and on the 13th my stitches were removed and they put me into an aircast boot, even though my foot could barely get into it and even then they had to undo most of it. The sore that was left from the blister was still a major concern, and treating that was priority #1.

    Once I started treating the sore more aggressively, it's been healing and is actually looking like a healthy, healing wound now, and is noticeably shrinking every couple days. Since that started to look better, I've been doing non-weight bearing PT on my own, at the suggestion of my ortho, but my next follow up with him isn't until Feb 8th.

    I'm going through basic ROM exercises at least 2X a day, and then also practicing shifting my street bike (off on the side stand) just to have a good idea of where it's at once a day - plus, it offers a bit of strength training without any weight bearing. The ankle is stiff but I'm seeing improvements, but the ball joint from the ex-fix pin is actually more painful and stiff than the ankle! I'm doubtful, but hopeful until all the chicks are hatched, about being able to make the start of our race season near the end of March - but not counting on that happening at this point.

    Otherwise mostly in a holding pattern until the 8th when I can see if everything I've been doing to support healing has worked or not. Last night decided to try sleeping without the boot partway through the night as it was driving me bonkers. Foot seemed fine in the morning, so will probably try it all night tonight.

    Either way, was just glad to find this thread and see that other people have been able to return to their activities in reasonable times (depending on the break of course)!

  22. #47
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    Jan 2017
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    Pilon Fracture

    Im 21 and on 12/3/16 I slid into the boards playing hockey and suffered a pretty good pilot fracture. I broke my fibula clean in half and busted my tibia into about 5 pieces. As I was playing in Maine and live outside of Boston I ended up being transferred the evening of 12/4/16 and having my fibula repaired (1 plate, 6 screws) along with getting an external fixation device on 12/5/16. I had that for three weeks then had 3 more plates and another hand full of screws inserted to repair my tibia. After having a splint for two weeks I am now in a removable aircast. I take it off if im sitting around and to sleep. I have been doing a series of ROM exercises and am scheduled to see my doctor again 2/14/17. I hope ill be cleared to start PT then as he suggested. He said I would be non weight bearing for 10 weeks from my final surgery which would be until 3/10/16.

    I can move my foot a bit without any discomfort but when i go to extend it i feel as if it hits a wall and wont go any further down. Has anyone experienced this? I still have some numbness in my foot and toes but feel it is improving. I can move my toes a bit but not anywhere close to full ROM. Is this normal?

    As an active outdoors man and athlete i hope to get back on my feet sooner than later. I'd really like to be back on my skates for my senior year of college in the fall. I managed to not break the joint surface some how so i hope thatll help. I also am curious when ill be able to drive again as its been quite the hassle getting around without that freedom.

    Any info or insight is appreciated!

  23. #48
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    Jan 2017
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    Quote Originally Posted by mabcd9 View Post

    I can move my foot a bit without any discomfort but when i go to extend it i feel as if it hits a wall and wont go any further down. Has anyone experienced this? I still have some numbness in my foot and toes but feel it is improving. I can move my toes a bit but not anywhere close to full ROM. Is this normal?

    As an active outdoors man and athlete i hope to get back on my feet sooner than later. I'd really like to be back on my skates for my senior year of college in the fall. I managed to not break the joint surface some how so i hope thatll help. I also am curious when ill be able to drive again as its been quite the hassle getting around without that freedom.

    Any info or insight is appreciated!
    Sounds like we're in about the same position - my toes/foot have really benefited from regular massage to loosen up the tendons in there - doesn't always feel good, but it's really helped. I do my ROM routine 2x a day (min) and then once a day I go down and get on my street bike (motorcycle) and just work on getting into position and shifting (bike is off and on the kickstand).

    Gently stretching the ankle ROM up and down, yes, feels like it hits a wall....doesn't hurt, just doesn't want to go further. I gently stretch it out with my other foot (for extension) and on the floor (for pulling it "up"). The "towel bunch" has helped with the toes and foot (along with regular stretching and massage). My foot is still tingly a lot, which is really annoying, but the feeling is coming back along with the tingling.

    Your tibia sounds a little more messed up than mine (which had one big break and a couple cracks) but my fibula broke a hunk off. Between the two, 2 plates and 18 screws later....

    My next follow up is the 8th, hoping for good news. My race season is SUPPOSED to start towards the end of March - making round 1 isn't looking too good, but I really, really want to be ready no later than round 2 which is the end of April. This winter was supposed to be hard core off-season training - the last two months all I could do was do some upper body/core strength, and so much for any other kinds of training :/

  24. #49
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    Jan 2017
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    So just got back from my 6 week post-op (technically more like 5 1/2) ortho follow-up. News is as follows:


    Another 3 weeks of only toe-touch weight bearing, BUT, that being said, my ortho is of the opinion "wait until it's healed completely, then go full weight bearing (boot then wean off the boot)." He seems to be under the impression that after the next appointment (March 1) there's a really good chance I'll be weight bearing, but until then, 3 more weeks of crutching around.
    X-rays looked good, everything was where is should be, and the ankle joint looked pretty smooth.


    Range of Motion was looking good, he said overall I was doing great. Still dealing with the last bit of what remains from that fracture blister, but other than that, things were looking good. He saw no reasons at this point that i wouldn't return to full normal activities, although I'll probably always be aware of the ankle, other people probably won't.


    Got cleared to get on a stationary bike with no extra resistance, so will start doing that a little bit in addition to what I've already been doing.


    So, basically, I'm no miracle child, but things aren't looking bad, either....and come March, there's a good chance I'll be walking (well, or attempting to).

  25. #50
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Posts
    16,337
    keep working!

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