trimalleolar ankle fracture

Hello

I also had a trimallelor fracture and had surgery on 23rd May so we are at the same stage, 10 weeks tomorrow.

I've not looked at my xrays yet but I know that I have a plate screws on the left side (outside) and screws on the right side (inside) plus a sysmotic screw across my heel.

My cast and stitches were removed at my 2 week clinic appointment and I was fitted with an airboot and advised to partially weight bear the next 4 weeks. I was surprised to get to this stage at week 3 but tried to look at it as a positive sign that was healing well. I know that I didn't manage to bear weight sufficiently due to being over cautious and unsure if my injury was sufficiently healed to support this. It didn't help that most people on this site reported no weight bearing up to 6 weeks.

When I went for my 6 week check the consultant expressed surprise at how stiff my ankle was. He was happy with the and told me to ditch the boot in next few days and said I needed lots of Physio.

I began Physio a few days later, still wearing the boot, but the Physio encouraged me to leave the boot off and gave me exercises to work on at home. These were tough to start with but I was determined to do all I was asked and it got easier day by day. So far I've had 3 Physio sessions and feel this has given me confidence, initially to fully weight bear, then to wear a normal shoe and last week he got me walking with just one crutch. So this was at 9 weeks. I now need to practice the walking whilst continuing with the exercises. The physio has also referred me to begin hydrotherapy next week, to help with the walking. My walking gait is not great due to discomfort when using one crutch but its only the first week doing this so this should get better.

I took the painkillers as prescribed for the first 4-5 weeks, gradually cutting down so by week 6 I didn't feel they were needed. I am experiencing tightness and pressure now that I'm more active but I think this is to be expected and I need to keep going to keep improving. My swelling is increasing also which is normal from what I've heard.

How does your journey compare with mine?It's important to remember we are all different and heal in our own time. Are you taking painkillers? Has your pain not improved all? Have you received any physio input yet?

For information I'm in the UK (NHS) female and 55. Before I had my accident (fell off my bike) I was quite active and regularly walking, doing yoga , pilates and light weight training. I had never broken a bone until this.

This is a big challenge to overcome physically and mentally and I've had a few wobbles but I'm trying to be patient and trusting my body to get better. It' s a long road but we have to believe we'll get there.

Good luck!

Hi Susan, i have also experienced a trimalleloar fracture and have had ORIF surgery after 10 days waiting for my swelling to go down. I had the operation on 29/07 and am currently in a full cast waiting for my release date into a walking boot. Fingers crossed it will be at my next appointment on 05/09. I have googled and read a lot of information on recovery - as I have so much time- and most people seem to have been recommended partial weight bearing to begin with. Do you use crutches or a walker to help with this? I was given a walker to hop to the loo whilst I'm still non-weight bearing. I hope you have found some relief and are progressing well now.