Just released to start weight bearing after ankle surgery, Referred to PT but they are 3 weeks out.

Hi,

Did your Dr tell you how much weight you can put on your leg and do you have much pain?

I was given a boot at my 6 weeks appointment and said I can weight bear as much I can tolerate it. I dint have much pain at that point but only when overdo walking. When the dr referred to physio, The next available appointment at my nearest hospital was after 6 weeks and I didn't want to wait so long. I asked them if I can have it any where else and was fortunate to get it in another hospital in the county for 3 days later. A bit far to travel every week but it's worth it. First week the physiotherapist will see how you can walk and assess your pain etc by asking you to move your feet side ways and front and back towards you. I couldn't do much at that point but every session there is change. Was given light exercises to do like moving the feet front and back and to sides. Was told not to overdo if painful and only try slowly. And also try this while in the bath.

I suggest you call the physio department and request them to see if anything available sooner else where. You can also check with your GP if she can refer you as I started another physio for my back with GP referral at a local clinic but for this I had to wait 6 weeks.

Good luck

Regarding how much time you can walk depends on you how you can cope. I use a knee scooter at home. Initially I started with 5 to 10 mins at a time 3 times a day as I had lots of swelling. Now at 10 weeks + I can walk in the boot for long when I go out with crutches. At home I can walk with limping with boot and no crutches. I am now practicing bear foot with crutches.

Suggest you start slowly and donot rush. Take it easy and increase slowly if you are not in much pain. Happy walking😊

In you tube there are the same rehab exercises u will get there . My dr said he will write a prescription for rehab but he will show me what to do. (Ie the ones in you tube). I am still going to go to a physical therapist but you tube helps to show how to do it if you don't have a rehab available and need to start. They are easy and you can't mess up. Your body tells you when to stop. Good luck!

Wish you a smooth transition to walking

Greetings Dawnette,

Looks like you are getting some good advice here. I thought I would chime in with my thoughts.

After a bimalleolar fracture and sprain in right ankle, my orthopedist instructed me to start partial weight bearing (PWB) at 6 weeks. He explicitly stated 50% PWB to start (think of it this way-- if you stand evenly on both feet then each foot is supporting 50% of your total body weight).

Crutches or a walker are indispensable tools to getting PWB right. You simply have to estimate how much weight to put on that foot when you are moving around in crutches. It is important to get some gravity/weight pressure on injured foot to complete the bone healing process (but not so much that you might cause too much harm/pain, but the CAM boot will protect ankle in any case).

Two weeks later my doctor advanced me to 100% weight bearing (still in airboot/moonboot/CAM boot of course).

If you don't have a shoe on your good foot that matches the height of CAM boot you should buy some 'even-up' attachments for that shoe. Imbalances in leg height while you are ambulating in CAM boot can lead to pain in other joints like hips and knees.

Physiotherapy is absolutely essential to a complete and speedy recovery from ankle injuries. A good professional PT working for your benefit is a real plus in recovery (though some patients like me are DIY- internet and YouTube are goldmines of info). But there are a lot of ROM (range of motion) and strengthening ankle exercises you can do on your own that will give you a leg up (pardon pun) in your recovery. Your doctor should have already put you on those exercises as soon as bones were mending and as pain allowed.

There are lots of other supplemental treatment modalities that others have used with some success to complement PT. These include fascia work, massage, and infrared/red light therapy.

I would call up your physician or his/her assistant and ask for explicit instructions on how much weight bearing you need to start with, and what ankle exercises you can do now while waiting for a PT appointment.

You are fortunate to have our real world experience (on this forum) as guideposts on the way to recovery. Many of us had to learn these facts the hard way.

She gave me some stretches and we worked on walking in the boot with a cane.

Getting around with the cane pretty good slow. The muscle/tendon around the ankle is very tight on the outside and hard to stretch. It is nerve racking I feel pain on outside ankle like its going to snap, but that could just be a mental block.  The thing that hurts the most is the lower back, I did take suggestion to get the even up shoe and it has helped a lot. I went and got a massage and they massaged the bad ankle and it felt wonderful on all the tight muscles and some build up of scar tissue, it is recommended to have this done.

My next appointment is Weds.23rd So we will see what this will bring. Today is 11 weeks since I broke it, 9 1/2 weeks since surgery.  i feel like there is a light at the end of some tunnel. thank you all who replied with great answers and suggestions. 

4weeks since op and I had my cast taken off today and transitioned to the boot. I'm still not wb but will start physical therapy Wednesday . I'm not sure on what to suspect from physical therapy, can anyone help. My ankle is a little stiff but I was able to get it in the boot flush. Dr told that since my foot is flush in boot the therapy not going to be to bad . Anyone feel to elaborate