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i need to put on my orthopedic boot but my ankle wont flex, what do i do?

Posted , 5 users are following.

natalia71690
natalia71690

so i broke my ankle back in December, i had surgery and now i have 7 screws. it has already passed 3 months. the doctor removed the cast and said everything was all right. so he told me it was time to start using a walking boot. the problem is my ankle is  still so inflamed that i cant bend it to a 90 degree angle the boot requires. 

 

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • oscar80077
    oscar80077 natalia71690

    Posted

    i had no surgery on my broken ankle so things can be different.

    usually they must put your foot 90° when they cast, it's very painful but necessary. if you were casted with the foot down then will take some time to strech the achille tendon.

    from my experience when screws are used the immobilization time usually is shorter.

  • sally07822
    sally07822 natalia71690

    Posted

    My ankle was the same the first time I put the boot on I couldn't get it flat.  My consultant told me when resting I could remove the boot and just slowly point

    my foot up and down which slowly stretches the ligaments.  Hurts at first but within a few days I had much more movement and could put my foot properly in the boot.  Just takes a while as you've not been able to move it on so long.  

  • amanda84923
    amanda84923 natalia71690

    Posted

    I had the same problem. I put my foot in the best it could go, but it was not at 90 degrees. I was afraid to try walking like that. I immediately got a physical therapist appointment and she put foam lifts in the bottom of my boot that met my foot where it could bend to. This allowed my foot to rest properly and made the boot less painful. I then couple begin weight bearing. I did exercises to increase my range of motion and each PT appt we took out a layer of the foam lift until I was able to get my foot comfortably into 90degrees and didn't need anything in the boot. Maybe you can find the foam lift online. Definitely work on exercises, such as point your toes towards you and then towards the ground. Practice in sets of 10 multiple times a day. I should slowly get better.

  • daren50410
    daren50410 natalia71690

    Posted

    I have had really good luck the last few days with my ankle rang of motion by sitting on a shower stool in a really hot shower and slowly pressing my foot down to the floor.  Once my heel touches, I scoot my foot back more to increase the angle and press until either my heel touches or it gets too painful.  The hot water seems to loosen things up a little better.  Afterwards, I constantly move my ankle and try to walk on it in the boot to keep everything loose for a little bit.  It seems to maintain its range over night.  This has worked well for the last 4 or so nights.

    Hope this helps some!

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