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Continued ankle pain

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jillian1612
jillian1612

I fractured my fibula April 2016. It has been a long painful time ever since. Of course the pain is now nothing like it was when I broke it. It has healed and I am walking and pretty much doing most of the things I did prior, except jogging. I still wake up with pain and a limp. I was walking up to 8 - 10 km every other day. Now I am up to about 4-5 three times a week and i pay for it after. Down the outside of my ankle is excrutiating at times especially if I have sat down for longer than 15 minutes, standing up and walking is horrible. Eventually it gets easier but there is always pain and as I said it gets worse again when walking too much. There is kind of a middle ground I think but how long do I have to put up with this. I did my physio as required and I still do some of the exercises at times. I am just getting frustrated and wonder if this is normal all these months out. I am beginning to wonder if I tore my ligamants or something like that. I guess an ultrasound is the only thing that will tell me that. Anyone had continued pain? How long do I need to limp? I have stairs in my home and coming down in the morning is a nightmare and I still have to do one step then both together then another and so on. I would never of dreamed breaking a bone would turn out to be such an ongoing problem.

0 likes, 24 replies

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  • monika01
    monika01 jillian1612

    Posted

    Buy cleats and strap them on any shoes that feel comfortable. That is the only way that I can go outdoors for any appointment with help.

    I also want my life back! I just did not know that healing would be such a long process.

    Tried every med and nothing settled except for one that it is smoked for a few puffs at night. It is medical and an herb. I was terrified about trying this but it helps numb the pain.

    I wish everyone the best of luck and blessings.

    There are hard days but I believe that everything improves!

    • katydid9396
      katydid9396 monika01

      Posted

      Yes, the healing process is BEYOND SLOW! I have also come to accept that my lifeas I know it, will NEVER be the same again! I watch every step I take, planning where to put my foot down. It sucks, but I have accepted it is what it is. As soon as I visit my orthopedist next Friday to make sure I don't have an underlying issue going on, I hope to tackle the stair climber at Planet Fitness. Please keep your fingers crossed for me!!! A prayer or 2 can't hurt either! Thanks y'all!!!

    • jillian1612
      jillian1612 monika01

      Posted

      If smoking helps then its understandable. I wish you well.
  • gillian36729
    gillian36729 jillian1612

    Posted

    Have you tried a cortisone shot? This might provide you some relief for at least a few months (while your bone is possibly still healing?). Cortisone shots initially helped me a lot. 
    • jillian1612
      jillian1612 gillian36729

      Posted

      Hi Gillian with a G....hahaha  Yes I might mention Cortisone injections. I am asking for an ultrasound or MRI this week and will suggest that. Have to do something. Glad you found relief, gives me hope.
  • jan30278
    jan30278 jillian1612

    Posted

    Jillian,  It sounds so similar to what I have going on.  I fell in July, had ORIF surgery for a bimalleolar fx.  Had a complicated healing process as the outside wound was non healing due to excessive swelling (no comorbidities other than age of 59 - if that counts!).   Had 2 mos of PT starting the end of October.  So now I am over 6 mos out and have continued intermittent pain on my fibula side.  My plate goes pretty low into my ankle so I also feel at times like my tennis shoes rub on the plate and cause discomfort.  I also have tendonits and nerve damage on the inner ankle side, but this is slowly resolving and pretty well controlled w/ gabapentin.  The outer side is another story.  Same as you- mornings are awful and anytime I sit for any time at all and get up I limp.  Evenings are also terrible after resting on the couch reading or watching TV- mine for whatever reason is most painful at the bottom near the ankle but there are times that the entire area around the plate hurts- a deep ache.  I went back to work parttime at 14 weeks and like you I walk- generally for me it is about 4 miles/ day.  I still am unable to stand on my BA foot by itself, when i stand on my 'tippy toes' it is painful in that ankle and for sure not able to hop or run at all.  When I see posts that folks are back to jogging in 4-5 mos or so- I get discouraged (not that I ever jogged anyway!)- I have my 6 mos appt w/ the OS this upcoming Tuesday and will talk to him - am kind of hoping that he will want to take the hardware out on that side as I have seen that some of the folks I have read here and on FB  find that takes pain away.  Thank you for sharing- I have really felt like I was the only one that had this kind of pain.  Some days are better than others , but it always is painful in the morning and at night.

    • jillian1612
      jillian1612 jan30278

      Posted

      Yes all the symptoms you descibe sound like me, very much so. I hope you keep me up to date as to what happens, maybe it will help me also. I wish you all the best.
  • erin75750
    erin75750 jillian1612

    Posted

    Dear Jillian ot seems to me you are overdoing it with the walking! Why do you need to walk so much? It take a good 2 years for maximum and full recovery and NO youre not going to be the same as you were before the accident. Did you jave surgery and plates and screws put in? If yes then it will always feel weird but over rime youll get used to it. In the morning you need to massage your lower leg and ankle and warm it up a bit by stretching and do range of motion exercises before doing stairs! Of course you tore ligaments that a given. If you were in a cast then they shortened as they healed. This is the way it is. You may need more physio. Dont overdo it. You Broke a bone. Its not perfect now. Baby it and rest. Definitely have it checked out though you could have tendonitis or a stress fracture.
  • monika01
    monika01 jillian1612

    Posted

    Just one step at a time👍 I can feel all the screws and plates moving and hurting. Very uncomfortable and painful! However, I think that with time it should get better🙏

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