6 weeks after ORIF surgery.

Hi there, its normal as muscles have not been moving for weeks they get tight and stiff, physio will help, they will give you exercises to help, there are also a lot of videos on theses types of exercises on you tube.

Hi,

What you are experiencing is pretty common. I had a very bad trimalleolar fracture that required 2 plates and 14 pins to hold in place. Because of how my foot was positioned for weeks, when i got to the part where I was in a boot, my heel was at least two inches from being flat in the boot. Before I started PT, I did just as you are, gentle stretching exercises and during PT, they really addressed that issue and worked on the movement and flexibility..it took time and effort and some pain but by going to PT and working on it at home, I regained almost full flexibility of my ankle joint.

hey there lyndsay , it sounds like you and i have a lot in common x

regards to not being able to put your foot flat i was the same xx in the boot the physio built the heel up inside and over time when you eventually start weight bearing you will find your heel will gradually drop and eventually sit flat x and then they will remove the heel padding x

like you i wasnt able to get right into the weight bearing which is so frustrating isnt it when you just want to get on with it x but my advice would be listen to your own body x no one fracture or recovery is the same x your doctor i think showed the right concern but i wouldnt panic the important thing is you have an appointment to see the pysio and thats where youll start getting the right advice and exercises.

i was sent home without seeing the physio and just given 3 exercises and found the boot and weight bearing opened my wound so i took the bull by the horns and self referred for physio stopped all weight bearing and allowed wound to heal which has set me back time wise with weight bearing ,

i do expect to see raised eyebrows when i see the physio on friday that here i am now almost wk 8 since surgery and still not weight bearing but as i say with a big sigh continuity of care isnt always great so who ever is dealing with you dosnt always have the whole picture as to why you sre at that stage in recovery instead of further on ! and like you such as when your cast was not positioned correctly x i remember them explaining the reason behind them pushing my foot painfully back while they put the cast on like omg nightmare lol but reading your plaster outcome of poor position i feel your pain x but even tho my heel couldnt touch the floor just by very slowly doing the stretch exercises and putting frozen gel bags under the foot and at the front crease where it swells i found relief and it does eventually get there x follow the physio stretch exercises religiously x it really does pay off and you will definately start seeing results x

i had the same worries and fears as you xxxx i hope this helps a little bit x

Hi

I was the same, it took a week or so after being put into the boot I realised I was actually fulled flat in the boot. In the mornings (i dont sleep with it on) it was quite painful putting it back into the boot - but this went after a couple of weeks.

If you can do some toe stretches with a towel, band if you have one - this really helps get the foot moving until you start physio.

I've been in the boot 4 weeks now and was due to start physio 3 weeks ago but there was an admin error so have kind of just got on with it with basic stretch exercises and am able to partial weight bear with one crutch.

Sounds like it will take a while just as with the many ankle breaks/twists/strains/sprains/etc I have had just take time.

Thank you all for your replies. I will continue the stretches until I see the physio and I'm sure I will get there. It's a little frustrating being unable to weight bare yet but I'm sure the doctor knows his job. 😃