1 month post op

Hi Matthew--

I had a similar surgery on March 10, where my malleous shattered and they placed a metal plate with 12 screws to recompose it. I was told to do partial weight bearing a week after surger and that is what I did. I used a tutor (not the big booth but two rigid sides of plastic wrapped around my leg and ankle), one crutch, and walked New York's streets for a couple of weeks. Until... I developed a sharp pain on the top of the foot from the ankle joint to the third and fourth toe. Very soft to the touch, the area pulsates with blood (?) and it's like nothing I have ever felt in terms of intensity. My toes are numb on the outside but on the inside they throb continuously. After doing an ultrasound, I was told that it is an acute tendinitis with borsitis and that I would have to stay in bed for a week, resting. Meanwhile the area of the malleous also hurts, with sharp pains probably due to the screws and the plate.

I sleep with the help of meds but it's fragmented and in short bouts. I really dislike what is happening and wish to heal faster than I am. I hope this helps!

Lauretta

Matt,

You are NOT going too slowly. Ankle surgeries require very lengthy healing times. I had the same sugery. I was 7 weeks, non-weight bearing, followed by a month of weight-bearing with a boot cast and crutches. All in all, at 12 mos post op, I was still burdened by a limp. Like you, my problems were not local to the surgery; instead, they were on the outside of the ankle and front of the foot. The problem is in getting those tendons and muscles to strengthen and stay that way. At 12 mos, I started doing Sean T.'s Cize exercise videos (kinda like Zumba). They were very effective at getting them strengthened. I am now doing his Insanity videos which are very intense with lotsa jumping. So, I've made progress. Just be patient with yourself, push it as much as you can, but don't over do it.