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Walking with one crutch after ORIF

Posted , 3 users are following.

kilanyworld
kilanyworld

I'm 36, male, I had an Ankle surgery fixation 10 weeks ago, and had my cast off at end of week 7. 

Last week, I started to walk with one crutch, but I feel pain at night and can't use one, and also when firstly i walk up i can't WP. 

how long will I remain with one crutch? and is it recommended to remove the 2 big screws in my ankle? 

1 like, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • Samantha748
    Samantha748 kilanyworld

    Posted

    I'm 36, female, 8 months pregnant and had ORIF for trimalleolar surgery almost 17 weeks ago.  I have been walking with 1 crutch for about 3 weeks now and trying to transition to no crutch at all.  Each new stage in the recovery takes time, transitioning from 2 to 1 to no crutches.  There will be new pains with each new stage as you start putting more weight on and activating new things in your foot/ankle, but it will get better.  In the mornings the ankle is the most stiff.  I do exercises before getting out of bed with a stretchy band my physical therapist gave me to sort of loosen things up in the morning before I attempt to walk.  There will be a lot of stiffness in the morning. 

    I don't know yet about having hardware removed.  My surgeon said he'll wait till 1 year post-op to figure out if it needs to be removed.  

    • kilanyworld
      kilanyworld Samantha748

      Posted

      sounds like our inputs are similar, I wish you a blessed easy birth. I have done 4 PT but then decided not to go anymore as I go swimming with exercises for my ankle, yesterday, I tried to walk without any crutches but it's painful and huge limp. 

      Based on your progress, do you think you'll walk unaided soon?

    • Samantha748
      Samantha748 kilanyworld

      Posted

      I am hoping to walk unaided soon! Hopefully in the next couple of weeks before the baby comes. Honestly not sure if I would have progressed this far without the help of physical therapist - the manual therapy (massage and him stretching it for range of motion) has helped a lot. At this point though most of the exercises are just weight exercises to strengthen the injured leg which became super weak. The pool helps a lot too!
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