8 months orif Tibular, Fibula, and Ankle surgery ....Still very painful

Did you have PT to help you through this? Its so painful. I feel bad for you. Get yourself some help. 

Good luck to you!

Rose

I’m not an Orthopedist and I can’t make medical judgement calls, but from what you’re writing you did a lot of damage.

It seems as though this should be normal, it’s going to take quite a long time before you can recover... I feel the pain for you, I broke my ankle too 8 weeks ago but not as serious as yours.... sorry to say you’re going to have to hang in there and let it heal.....Do the obvious,

Ice, leg up above your heart and Motrin.....My injury was a lot less serious and I’ve been told at least a year to possibly recover at 90%.

I fractured my tubular I n 1 place and broke my big toe....

I’m still limping and it aches all the time....Are you walking? If so needless to say take it light.

That’s the best I can give you.....

Get better quick!!

Ouch!! I’m just 4 weeks post op and have two plates, god knows how may screws and I assume a tightrope fixation ( I met my surgeon, literally 10 min. prior to my surgery). I did almost everything you did except no bone through the skin (I’m sure I’d of passed out if that happened). Did you have a tightrope  fixation?  I’m assuming I’ll be practicing RICE for the rest of my life, especially since the ligaments were involved and I need to walk and have balance for my job. I found it interesting that “Compression” was the most important factor ( at least from all the I’ve read and god knows I’ve had lots of time to that!) If you are still in pain (and how could you not be after that!) you might want to go back and get another CT scan and/or x-ray to double check  that you healed as expected and if so take ibuprofen, elevate, ice (love my ice-man), wear ankle supports/compression socks and pace yourself....Good Luck!

I still get that feeling in my femur. I broke it all the way across but no bone came through my skin. This was about 1 1/2 years ago. Hurts really bad to touch too. I'm sure it's ok, but the tenderness of it will probably last a couple years. I have had 3 knee replacements and probably a 4th coming up. The tenderness goes on and on.....

My condolences to you on such a devastating injury. I hope you are coping well emotionally-- that is quite a burden to bear.

I couldn't compare my injury to yours-- I suffered a bimalleolar fracture with severe sprain but that is mere child's play compared to your massive damage to bones and soft tissue.

After reading many, many patient stories on this forum I would venture to say that what you are going through is 'normal' in the sense that severe ankle damage can be very difficult to recover from. It seems that in severe cases pain and other symptoms can linger for months and even years. But each individual case is different for a multitude of variables unique to each victim's situation.

Conventional treatment for chronic ankle injury aftereffects is indeed dismal- often just icing, elevation, and painkillers. These ar mostly just symptomatic approaches.

You left much unsaid in your very brief description, but there are important points to know.

1) If you are employed, then does your work require you to stand or walk a lot? That right there is a crucial issue, both in recovery and your ability to continue to function at work.

2) Did your ankle joint heal in good alignment, or is there a stability and movement problem? This is something your attending physician can answer based on his expert observation and final x-rays.

3) You obviously sustained terrific internal soft tissue injuries from what I can surmise. This would be the source of much of your current suffering and limitation. These tissues need to be healed, restored, conditioned, strengthened, and stabilized before you can have hopes of a complete recovery. That is what targeted and appropriate ankle rehab physiotherapy is supposed to do. It is not a one and done affair but rather an ongoing, perhaps lifetime commitment.

4) There are many other variables involved in your recovery, including nutritious diet (no inflammatory junk food), age, pre-existing medical conditions (if any), your stress levels, emotional resistance, and so on. All these factors should be addressed.

5) There are other complementary treatments that may be worthwhile investigating, including PRP, prolotherapy, light therapy, Graston method, and PEMF.

Wishing you the best recovery.