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ouch moto! good luck with that. i wouldn't expect to be in an hobbling in an aircast in 8 weeks (thats the normal amount of time spent in a cast/splint before going to PWB/rehab), but everyone heals differently, and every OS has a different opinion on when to start weight bearing. my injury required 1 plate/pins and 1 screw and i am still on crutches 8 weeks post op....however i to am expecting to go to FWB this week, but I am far away from being "normal".
whatever you do, listen to the docs, eat very healthy, stay away from booze (because that creates a horrible amount of swelling).
wow...i am a motocross racer. On January 3, 2010 i started out on the track as usual for a day of practice before the big race the following weekend, it was not to be. As i rounded the very first corner i was confronted with the very first obsticle on the track which was by my standards and skill level very small. I thought nothing of the small obsticle and half heartedly twisted the throttle to jump it. I didnt clear it, i landed short and a bit sideways and the bike suspension compressed then bucked me sideways through the air. Naturally, i stuck out my left leg to land and took the brunt of the bike, speed, and my weight on that foot/ankle. When i stood up, i immediately felt the bones give way and knew something was wrong. I waved for the medics to come to my aid and they escorted me back to my vehicle where we removed my boots and riding gear to reveal a severly deformed and clearly broken ankle. They loaded me up in the ambulance and took me for an hour long drive to Cleveland Clinic in Weston, Florida. I was given plenty of morphine along the ride and only suffered mild pain and discomfort. Upon my arrival at the hospital, i was taken for x-rays which i never saw but could hear the mumblings and see the puzzled faces of the attending er doctors. The ER doctors told me they would probably release me and send me to a specialist the next day because the break was beyond their expertise. I had a clean break of the fibula, but my tibula was shattered into about six pieces at the ankle. At some point, the attending ER doctors decided to perform a closed reduction ( re-aligning ) of my fibula, that was fun...NOT !! As they doped me up and got ready, i knew what was coming from past experience with my wrist. As the meds set in, the orderly's held me down and the doctor began the barbaric ritual of closed reduction. I had enough med in me for 3 men according to the doctor but was still trying with all my might to kill him and all the orderly's failing to hold me down. I am not a big guy but i am a pretty healthy and fit guy and years of motocross have given me some pretty good strength. When that was over, the on call specialist arrived and immediatley decided i was to go nowhere except directly to the OR for an external fixator to be applied to my lower leg. I spent the night in the hospital for pain control and was released the next day. The specialist ended up taking my case and ultimately being my surgeon. He explained to me that we needed to wait a bit for the swelling to do down and for the fracture blisters to heal up. My lower leg and ankle developed a ton of huge fracture blisters. Well, i finally had surgery on January 21, 2010. I had two plates and about 14 screws inserted to hold my ankle together. The operation was about 4-1/2 hours long. I went home after one night in the hospital with a soft cast. I went back to the doctor on January 26th for a post-op check up. We unwrapped the soft cast to reveal two hug incisions and a couple of smaller ones where the plates and screws had been inserted. Everything looked good and the doc said come back in two weeks we will remove the stitches and take some x-rays. I have cut way down on the pain meds but do still require some here and there. I am hoping to be limping around in an aircast in about 8 weeks and then back to normal in about 5-6 minths. I hope to be back on my bike at the motocross track doing what i love in about 6 months, even if it's a much slower pace untill i fully recover. Thanks for listening to my story. This is my first ankle/leg break but i had an very bad break on my wrist about eight years ago. I thought i was never gonna heal but i did, and i will again. So will you !
I thought doctors usually would let patients see their own xrays. But from the way you described, your ankle seem to be in a really bad state.
I wish you recover fast and eat healthy! I found myself cutting so much on sugared drinks and alcohol and salty things after I got my fracture!
Infernosian - My OS and PT told me to keep the leg elevated to keep the swelling down. I did follow orders about weight bearing and it's important to do so until the bone starts showing growth. My PT explained to me that while there is support with the rod, etc., they still need to "set" into place and putting weight on them too soon may affect them.
As to foods - I did the same research but ended up taking D3 (1 2000 iu sublingual tab a day) and B12 (1 1000 mcg sublingual tab a day) - I took them together. I also drank a lot of milk (I use goat milk because of allergies but figure it might be the same overall impact) and ate lots of fresh green salads in addition to my regular foods. Tried to make sure I got good lean protein every day. I started with the best intentions of eating all kinds of healthy, bone strengthening foods but ended up doing mostly this.
I also found that when I was getting depressed about progress all I had to do was look back a few days or weeks to remember where I was and how far I'd come. At first - when I was non-weight bearing - it was remembering sitting on the ground holding my leg together (at least that's how it felt) and not being able to do anything and the pain ... compared to that the sitting on the couch with my leg elevated and non-weight bearing was not so bad. This forum is the best thing I found to keep me going and its helped me so much. I can't thank everyone who's posted here before me enough for keeping me going and helping me keep myself together.
Diana
My stitches were due 30 Jan, but I only got it removed today.
To my amazement, my leg only had 9 stitches; 5 at my knee, then 2 each near the knee and ankle. I wondered how did the doctors manage to insert 1 metal rod and 2 screws with such small incisions. The largest incision at my knee was only about 4cm and I guess they pushed the metal rod into my leg through this incision at my knee, then make 2 small incisions around my ankle and knee to screw the rod in place.
Also did xray today and my fibula seems to be the same, the gap didn't close up much. Saw that there seem to be quite some white area around the gap for my tibia; hope that was part of the healing process.
So now I'm still on crutches but my right leg is not in a cast nor any bandage. The doctor said I could put 30-40% of my weight on my right leg (yup, I've been doing that) and I really hope for a speedy recovery by March - given 1 month leave to stay at home.
Infernosian - My OS and PT told me to keep the leg elevated to keep the swelling down. I did follow orders about weight bearing and it's important to do so until the bone starts showing growth. My PT explained to me that while there is support with the rod, etc., they still need to "set" into place and putting weight on them too soon may affect them.
As to foods - I did the same research but ended up taking D3 (1 2000 iu sublingual tab a day) and B12 (1 1000 mcg sublingual tab a day) - I took them together. I also drank a lot of milk (I use goat milk because of allergies but figure it might be the same overall impact) and ate lots of fresh green salads in addition to my regular foods. Tried to make sure I got good lean protein every day. I started with the best intentions of eating all kinds of healthy, bone strengthening foods but ended up doing mostly this.
Good luck and fast healing.
Diana
Oh, my swelling is almost gone by now, just that muscles seem to be getting really weak and I still have numb spots around my ankle. I would say I probably had only 20% range of motion at my ankle.
My doctor said I could put 30-40% of my weight on my right leg. Now I can rest my leg on my ground without fear.
Been drinking milk (300mg calcium/200ml) and eating lots of meat. Eating an apple a day too. Hopefully I would not need to use crutches by March!
Infernosian,
It really is amazing how small the incisions are isn't it? Mine was exactly the same. I can't believe how they manage to get that rod jammed down through the leg through that little hole. I can't even hardly see the scars from the rod and screw insertions anymore (4 months out). My healing took extra long because of the open break and that took almost 3 months to heal where the bones came through the skin. I'm afraid that scar will be visible for quite some time. Best of luck. It seems to be the consensus through the posts here that once you start weight bearing you make pretty quick progress. It really was the case with me.
I still get hell lot of pain from dangling my right leg in mid-air, especially so when I just got down my bed, after prolonged period of my right leg staying horizontal! I'm now not in any cast nor bandage... is it advisable?
But nevertheless, the swelling seems to be going down, but the ankle and feet still feel a little numb. I could bear almost 50% of my weight on my right leg, but with restricted movement at the ankle and knee! Muscles are still stiff around where the metal rod is, and I occasionally get pains from within.
Now my arms, armpits, and left leg aches. I could see significant muscle deterioration at my right thigh already. Now my right thigh looks so much thinner than my left thigh! Need lots of exercise on my right leg when it gets better!
Thanks for all the replies. I know it will be a long slow recovery and i am prepared. I know the timelines i have in my head may be off a bit, thats cool. I am going to ask my doctor next visit if we can leave my cast off so i can shower more easily and scratch, etc.
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