Into walking boot!

Yeah the boots are really hard to get use to they seem to hurt alot

Mandy

I had my cast removed last Wednesday, 7 weeks in plaster.

I left the hospital withought a boot or crutches. I was fairly confident as I left as I had been wait bearing whilst in my cast.

I am confident on a flat surface but very nervous on anything other than a flat surface. My ankle aches at all times and by the end of the day it is serverly swollen and uncomfortable. But within an hour or so of elevation it calms down and by morning it feels much better.

In the morning it take quite a while to loosen up, as I try to walk as normally as possible. Like you I felt safe in the cast and very vulnerable withought it, I was not offered the boot and do not want one I know the best thing is to work with the aches and pains and push on to normality.

I had ORIF surgery to repair my broken fib & tib one plate with 11 Screws. I have been walking on my ankle unaided for five days now and each day I think It feels a little better?i have my 1st physio appointment on Wednesday 1 week after the plaster came off!

Hope you ankle recovers quickly,

All the best Connor

hiya,although inever had a boot i can still relate to what your feeling,this is the nerve endings coming back to life,in a few days they should start feeling a lot better,also dont be afraid to submerge the ankle in warm water itll be fine,one other thing a physio taught me was to massgae the scars with moisturiser it will help stop the stretching sensation around the scar tissue,it will feel awkward to do at first because you will feel as though your going to hurt yourself but trust me you will reap the benifits,just a good moisturiser like nivea will be fine,it will be a lot easier for you to get,it looks a bit dodgy when a six foot five bloke walks into a chemist and asks for a bottle of moituriser for sensitive skin haha,its been over a year since i came out of plaster and i still have numbness on the back of some of my toes and foot,dont worry i have had it checked out and its perfectly normal,it just may never return thats all no biggy,good luck and takeit easy on the ibuprofen,trust me its very bad for the stomach

I'm a week behind you and want to know what to expect. What are you able to do now? What is your doctor asking you to work on? How soon are you expected to walk independently?

I went home from surgery with a fiberglass support and Ace bandages. Two weeks after surgery I was given the boot and asked to apply no pressure but simply to balance on the broken ankle's foot. I'm not sure what to expect because I'm not familiar with this process.

Hi Mandy, I was in cast for 6 weeks, boot for 2 weeks. I have been out for 4 weeks now. I felt exactly the same as you did when I came out of cast. My foot felt foriegn, ugly & not a part of me.

You need to change that thought smartly. My PT told me I needed to reconect with my foot, learn to like it again by touching it & standing on different surfaces so it starts to feel real again...paint your toe nails. Your brain can quickly begin to believe your foot doesn't belong to you & begin to have circulation problems etc...so I listened to my PT & now are feeling so much better about my foot.

I went back to work last week. I'm a nurse so on my feet all shift..Foot aches but am improving everyday. Small steps forward..1 day soon you will find yourself standing in the shower..hang in thwe. It's gets better :-)

Justine

Hi Mandy,

I was in a cast for 7 weeks afte ORIF, a boot for approx 2 weeks, and now a brace. I was delirious to get out of the cast but it took me a bit to trust my boot. It felt so good to get all the dried skin off my foot and leg. I wore a long sock under the boot to keep it from rubbing against my leg. Nothing wrong  in using a shower chair as long as you like. Anything that lets you enjoy your shower and feel safe. Be careful about over doing, once you realize you can move more freely, it's hard to hold back. Weightbearing will be painful. I gave in and took a pain pill on more than one episode. I soon discovered that ibuprofen worked better for me however. I took 600 mg with breakfast, dinner, and lunch. Keeping it in my system and using ice packs frequently kept th pain manageable. There will be swelling. It is what it is. My pain was worse on the inside side of my ankle at first and now more on the outside. The motion of a heel to toe flex is painful. After the first two weeks of weightbearing, I've noticed a quicker improvement. I started using a cane when I had the boot whenever my ankle became fatigued and painful. Also, I used it on uneven surfaces or in crowded or unfamiliar places. The doctor put me in a laceup style brace to continue giving me some extra support. I also asked for a prescription for compression stockings to help with swelling once I go back work. One more thing, I've had plantar fasciitis in the past so along with the PT exercises for my ankle, I've added in rolling the frozen water bottle back and forth under my foot. Feels soooooo good when your foot is tired and achy. Try not to get frustrated with pain when you begin weight bearing, it's gets better.