Recovery from broken tibia
Posted , 7 users are following.
I'm new to this panel. I been suffering with a lot of pain and swelling since my cast came off 3 weeks ago. I broke my tibia 3/18/19. I don't have insurance so I can't get physical therapy. I did find exercises on the web and been doing them. I have a walking boot although when I have it on after an hour I'm in agony.
I just don't know what to do anymore with the swelling/pain. I ice, elevate, ibuprofen, tylenol, epsom salt etc. I was told by ortho that I can walk on it i.e. weight bearing. I only can limp. I finally took my first shower (all the way in shower) a week ago & could stand up fine but boy did my leg/foot/ankle hurt after.
I drove my car 1st time yesterday about 1/2 a mile and no issue.
I hope I can get some positive feedback from anyone out there. Sorry this was so long winded.
Kathy R.
0 likes, 16 replies
chrissy66487 kathy2019
Posted
HI Kathy, I am new to this forum also and only had ORIF surgery 10 days ago for a triple malleolar fracture. i am in considerable pain and wont get my cast off until 11 th JULY and then another one until I visit the clinic again in a further four weeks. I am finding these lovely people are helping me by sharing our experiences as you feel so alone when you are immobile. i dearly hope you recover well soon because I am told its a long slow road. are you in the USA by any chance? In the UK physical therapy is part of the aftercare. look after yourself. keep your chin up, I KEEP TELLING MYSELF TO DO LIKEWISE!
kathy2019 chrissy66487
Posted
Aaaaw. Tx u Chrissy. I had 5 casts since March. The casts get really uncomfortable & change with the healing. I had one I named the santa clause boot lol!! They put extra double padding cuz my ankle bone kept rubbing raw in cast. Im sooo happy to be out of cast but the pain and swelling is really getting old. I'm a woman who is always on the go. This incident put me down for the count. I'm very independent too. So tx God for the b.f. he has been very helpful. Cooking cleaning laundry shopping etc. It's been a challenge though. At one point my whole kitchen wad upside down he rearranged all my tupperware, can goods pots pans etc. LOL! He just had to make it to work for him but wow! I about flipped out. I'm ocd everything has its place and I've had to learn to accept and adapt to someone else's ways. I do hope your feeling better every day! One day at a time.
chrissy66487 kathy2019
Posted
yes me too KATHY. i am pulling my unwashed hair out because I havnt been able to do my normal cleaning. Husband is very tidy and clean but I like to do it my way and because I cant take a shower or wash my hair right now I am paranoid about that, I cant even imagine doing either right now. just getting off the bed is a major trauma. i hope to look back at this in the future and thank my lucky stars that I survived. one step at a time. One day at a time. onwards and upwards. WE ARE STRONG? X
kathy2019 chrissy66487
Posted
good morning Chrissy. Idk what time it is in UK but Im in Florida USA. I hope your day is pain free. I can so relate to the hair washing or not. I have long thick hair down to my waist. I had my guy get in shower with me & stand behind me and use the hand held shower massager to wash my hair. It was a lil challenging b/c he kept going near my ears & I was very fitzy about it . Its like nobody knows your head like yourself, but he did it. I'm luckily at the stage to wash my own hair I did yesterday it felt sooo good. The crazy thing is Murphy's law kicked in during all this. The well pump kept shutting off water every 5min which was so irritating in the shower then it died & the A/C died!! Just amazing how our creator tests our patience and faith. All is good now. Got a new pump and a small window A\C for part of the home. We are strong and will survive! Ok have a great day feel good!
chrissy66487 kathy2019
Posted
HI there KATHY well I think the UK IS 5 hours behind FLORIDA? Just received you note and its 5 hours ahead. lovely psrt of the world you live in. I am in NORTH YORKSHIRE ENGLAND. Its a lovely part of England. i cant wait to be free again its like being caged to me but with the discomfort. I go to see the surgeon on the 11th JULY hoping the wounds are healing. still painful but only 11 days post op so what can I expect? So impatient but that needs to stop! Take care and hope you are recovering well. I never want to go throuh the likes of this again my poor body couldnt stand any more. lol. hugs to you. x
kathy2019 chrissy66487
Posted
Good a.m. Chrissy. It's prob 6a.m. in your part of the world but wanted to reply. It's nice to chat with you and how cool is it that I'm chatting with someone in England cheerio! I see my ortho July 12th to see where my leg is at. I just don't like the constant morning stiffness and pain. I'm soaking in hot epsom salt water and I found exercises on line. Foot circles, flex and point, and putting a towel under my foot and pulling forward and pushing outward. They seem to give a lil relief. My ortho had no instructional paper on physical therapy exercises go figure. He isn't the best doctor. I've had issues with him since day one. He has never touched my foot/leg nor looked at it. Never in my life have I had a doc not touch me. He just looks at my xrays and sits on his lil chair in front of the computer. He is a W****r!! lol!!!. Oh well have a beautiful day hope your weather is cooler than mine its been 100+ daily in South Florida whew! just brutal. hugs to you!
winnie4801 kathy2019
Posted
I'm so sorry for all your pain. I will include a few links of hints and tips that are used to help with the pain. However, one year out from my broken ankles (bilateral) I still do have pain and swelling. I manage it with medication, compressive bandages, and soaking in hot Epsom salt water. If I wear the right shoes ( all the time even in the house) my ankle brace, and take anti inflamatories, I am able to function. GOOD LUCK
chrissy66487 winnie4801
Posted
Thank you WINNIE. These horrible things take time. Hope you are soon out of pain. take care.
kathy2019 winnie4801
Posted
ok. I was curious if an ace bandage would help or cause more swelling. My ortho will not prescribe any medication. But from what I been reading here is the time frame is a good year ðŸ˜. I am a cashier on a grocery store and I haven't worked since March. I can't even imagine me standing & bagging for even an hour at this time. My store will not make accommodations for me like a seat/chair. So I'm in for the duration...
Llamalah kathy2019
Posted
Hey Kathy,
An ace bandage isn't the best option because if you do it too tight you can cause more swelling, too loose and it isn't doing anything.
The best thing, and what they use in the hospital is called Tubigrip.
Its basically a long tube version of an ace bandage. You can buy it on amazon, and then cut lengths to size as you wish. (just check the size, I wear a C on my ankle). My physio would always cut mine to cover from my toes to mid-calf.
This really helps keep the swelling down/manageable and is very comfortable to wear.
winnie4801 kathy2019
Posted
THIS POST HELPS A LOT
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/share-self-care-tips-non-weight-bearing-for-2-broken-ankles--669082
winnie4801 kathy2019
Posted
And this post helps after the first couple of months.
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/things-that-helped-me-cope-with-my-ankle-break-698938
kathy2019 winnie4801
Posted
tx u Winnie.. I will check it out.
Airellajordan kathy2019
Posted
it will get better!!!
listen to your own body, im having my hardware removed after 2 1/2 years. Wish I didn’t wait so long
Llamalah kathy2019
Posted
Hey Kathy,
I can't imagine what it is like to have to deal with rehabbing your injury on your own.
Australia, like the UK as also mentioned, has physio included as part of the outpatient care provided for free under the public health system.
Things that have helped me, both at physio and at home have been:
massage (youtube videos on foot/ankle/calf massage). The tendons are going to be tight from being in casts for an extended period of time. This is going to make it harder to weight bear.
walking in the swimming pool. it is a lot easier to walk in the pool than on land, and helps strength calf back up.
lots of calf raises.
simple pelvic floor exercises. these help with core, hips, lower back, calfs and thighs which all will go out of wack when you are walking with a limp.
rotating the ankle. up down, side to side and around. keep it moving, even when you have it elevated.
and again. massage. double down on that. with cream that has arnica in it if you can get it.
kathy2019 Llamalah
Posted
Hi Llamalah!
Tx u very much for those tips. I have been massaging and doing the foot exercises. I will get arnica that is an old fashioned remedy & it does work. I was going to use tiger balm but afraid it would burn since I have so many different sensations in my foot and calf. It burns its stiff it spasms and then I get these excruciating shooting knife like pains. I never broke anything in my 58yrs of life so this has been very challenging to say the least. I just keep praying and taking one minute at a time.
Anyways I get long winded on these forums but grateful to hear from so many people. I wish the USA would go socialized medicine. Maybe Trump will get that approved haha. USA Insurance companies will never give up all the money they get from health care premiums.
Have a great blessed day!