Ice

Oh Christina expect a long haul my angel. I am 6 months in and still putting ice on. Be prepared for a lot longer than you expect x xxx

Dear Christina

Elevating and ice are your friends and you are likely to find them helpful in controlling pain and swelling for at least two months and it could be considerably longer. Do not forget that stretch stockings can also bring a lot of relief by reducing swelling.

Recovery from a TAR is a long haul bud you might get some comfort by running a video on my progress at twenty weeks. Google Yogesh TAR

Cheers Richard

You never stop putting ice on it, at least for the next 6 months. I'm in my walking boot and I ice it 3 to 4 times a day, depending on irritation. Also, when you're finally moving around you'll want to keep the swelling down. If you have screws and plates, my PT told me it takes anywhere from 8 to 12 months for your body to get used to the screws and plates. Not a picnic for sure.

I had surgery 2 weeks ago for a trimalleolar fracture/dislocation and have been icing ever since I came home. I usually have an ice pack on both sides of my splint where my ankle is. Sometimes I have to ice my knee because it gets sore while I'm elevating my foot. It's also the same knee I had 2 acl surgeries on back in college.

Ice ....you cant get enough of it. Ive got through so many fill up ice bags Ive run out twice. no fun i can tell you.  good luck with recovery, bt dont be too hasty as its a long haul.    sx

Christina,

I didn't opt for surgery on my fractured/badly sprained ankle injury, but for the first month or so it was badly discolored and swollen up. I didn't ice it much during the acute swelling phase, nonetheless the swelling had mostly subsided by month 2.

There is some controversy about icing an ankle injury (RICE protocol) during the first few days. The foot is swollen because of a healthy inflammation process that rushes immune cells and signal molecules to injured areas to jump start the healing process. So it it believed that icing during the critical first hours/days interferes with a natural healing process and can prolong recovery in the long run.

However, the inflammatory swelling that continues long after the crucial first days is counterproductive, so this is where icing really shines to help reduce swelling and pain from lingering inflammation.

In an ankle injury, the damage to soft tissues like ligaments, muscles, tendons, and all the other intricate connective tissues can be considerable. Add to that the fact that we are starting exercise and walk on a recovering foot-- it adds to the inflammation and swelling. So it is no mystery why so many ankle patients have swelling for many months to come.

Consider too that even people that have never had a foot injury often have swelling during the day or in evening, especially if they must stand or walk a bit. This is just physics-- gravity at work, with body fluids, toxins, and debris settling down in lower extremities. People with poor circulation, like diabetics, can have noticeable swelling.

To reduce swelling and hasten your recovery to non-swollen feet, icing and elevating feet are useful. Exercise and movement will help keep circulation in better shape. A non-inflammatory diet of non-processed, sugary, or allergenic foods (such as gluten grains) will reduce your body's overall inflammation. Systemic enzyme supplements have helped some to combat inflammation.

I usually don't need to ice my ankle, but when I do I use a reusable ice pack designed for atheletes and pain sufferers (in its cover case and with a strap for attaching to body parts-- to refreeze just pop it in the freezer). I would not mess with actual ice-- such a hassle.

Some people swear  by alternating hot and cold foot baths-- it is therapeutic because thermal changes stimulate healing and get circulation going better.

There are adjunctive devices that may help you get to the next level of healing on  that foot-- red light therapy, low energy lasers, and detox ionizing foot bath appliances (which can help you with whole body detoxing too). Beware though that there are believed to be a lot of ineffective cheap foot ionizing detox foot bath products on market.

Good luck, and I hope to see you dancing and prancing around town in a very short time.

Good info!