Weight bearing
Posted , 7 users are following.
Hi everyone. I am delighted to say that I got my cast off on Wednesday and have been able to do partial weight bearing since then. I'm loving it! I've also started physio too which is great. I do have a couple of questions though.
Firstly my foot is a funny colour. Not pale like my other foot, more red. Is that what other people have experienced? I don't have any numbness or anything and it feels fine, not too warm or cold etc. I'm just curious about the colour.
Secondly and probably a bigger issue for me. Does anyone feel the screws, pins or plates? I'm not meaning you can touch them but when I move my foot back and forward there is one place on the inside of my foot that feels like it's pulling. It's not sore or anything. Just different. Now I wonder if this is just my new normal. It's like I can feel it more as my physio increases.
I have been been told my pins and plates will stay in me unless there is a problem. Just wondering about other's experiences. Any help greatly received!
0 likes, 15 replies
Tituscanby1 MurphyNZ
Posted
Reddish purplish colour totally normal. It may take months to disappear. Don't forget to use R.I.C.E regularly.
Plates and pins- I felt mine too. Still do. My bone is too soft to take out, but my surgeon will as soon as my leg is strong enough.
I am 13 months post snapped displaced fibula, and 9 months post bone graft and plate and 6 screws.
Unfortunatly my foot is rejecting hardware and I get shooting electric pains after 10- 30 seconds of weight bearing. Previously I felt pulling and stretching like you.
I am also in NZ. ACC suck!👎
MurphyNZ Tituscanby1
Posted
Hey. Thank goodness it's all normal! I hope you can get yours out ASAP if you've got shooting pains. That's not sounding good at all. I can just feel the one and definitely not painful. Hope I don't get pain like you. Does your Dr have any idea how long it will be till you can get it done!? Do you have any pain relief that works? Poor you!
I must say so far ACC have been superb with me. It sounds not the same with you?
Tituscanby1 MurphyNZ
Posted
Medical misadventure here. No one taking responsibility unfortunately. Ambulance refused to take me to hospital. Said ankle not broken. Stood up with old set of crutches in middle of night, dropped to floor unconscious, face planting, carpet burn on face and more damage to ankle. No hospital for 2 more days. No Specialist available that day. Never healed. New specialist said it should have been operated asap.
Husband broke Scaphoid 3 weeks after me. Together we don't make one person still. My other leg injured too. Got worse when Baker's Cyst burst 4 months ago. ACC said Baker's Cyst and damage done all in my head. MRI told true story. Torn Soleus in calf, and a badly torn Meniscus Cartilage. broken ankle got bruised in fall also. A tough journey. It's complicated.
Pain meds usually panadol. And can't do a lot.
PS4 a lifesaver lol!
MurphyNZ Tituscanby1
Posted
Oh my goodness that's awful! I can't even imagine how you have coped. Especially with your husband not well either. You poor things! Really not cool when it's misadventure but nobody takes responsibility.
I hope things improve for you both. Nobody deserves that type of treatment in NZ!
Tituscanby1 MurphyNZ
Posted
C'est la vie. Just get used to it. Great to know you're doing well. Met someone at radiology last week when my child was having an x-ray.
He had a snapped Fibula, 6 weeks later, out of cast and weight bearing. Was great to see. My and my husband's just not the normal healing. We both had surgery due to non unions.
Keep on healing! Well get there in the end.,👣👣🚶🚶🚶
Lamborghini_Gal MurphyNZ
Posted
Hi Murphy, I too, had the purple foot. As a matter of fact, if I put my foot down at all, it would turn a scary purple and it scared me! LOL! It did that for quite a while, too! Anytime I took it down and it was not elevated, it would go purple, immeditely - as in seconds. Thankfully, that has gone away now and it no longer does that. And like everyone else says, that is normal. I did not know that at the time, so when my foot would turn that scary purple color, it would freak me out!! :-) I am weird and do NOT touch anywhere my plates/hardware/screws are. I just can't do it. I have not personally felt like there is anything pulling yet. I had my surgery Friday, May 13th. Best of luck to you!
Beth
MurphyNZ Lamborghini_Gal
Posted
Hey Beth. It's so good to know you've had a purple foot too. I definitely noticed it when my foot was in the cast. Whenever I'd put my foot down, within seconds it would turn purple. But I noticed it less as time went on but I had my foot elevated a lot of the time so didn't notice it as much. Now though my feet look really different colours. My mum and dad both commented on it tonight. It's always so reassuring to know what's normal!
Hmmmm the new sensation in my foot is quite different. Because I've only just had my cast off it's too early to know if it's just getting used to new movements or if I'll always feel it. Like i said it's not sore, just really odd. I can't feel anything when I touch my foot or anything. Where I've got the feeling isn't where any metal is. But there is a biggish screw above it so I'm picking that it's because of that. I'm just trying to ignore it!
Best of luck to you too!
debi37231 MurphyNZ
Posted
Hi glad your healing well. The discoloration is normal. I'm years from my accident and my foot and leg still slightly a different color it's also different temperature and feeling is also different not numb but I don't have a lot of sensation in it. They were not able to take my hardware out too much damage. It was a head on collision ankle shattered leg broke in 3 places I've had 4 surgeries and I'm still in pain and hurts everyday they are now going to do a full ankle replacement I hope it works. I've been disabled for 6 years. I too feel the hardware it's normal I guess. You get used to it. Good luck. Debi
MurphyNZ debi37231
Posted
Oh Debi that sounds awful. It's amazing how much life can change in an instant. To have to go through four surgeries and now need a full ankle replacement is so full on. What a huge adjustment. I only slipped on a wet driveway but did myself quite a good break, in three places. I've broken bones before but never quite like this!
I've also started getting a sore back/side and I think that is due to moonboot and she not being same height. Need to get that sorted tomorrow because I'm in so much discomfort now. Sounds like some people have had huge long term problems after wearing a moonboot because nobody said anything about needing a shoe the same height.
I've been very lucky through this whole experience, except falling not long after my ankle broke and bruising my ribs. I'm just s bit over being uncomfortable and sore and trying to sleep. But I really don't want to do anything that's going to make my life worse.
I'm wishing you all the very best for what's ahead. Life really isn't fair sometimes. Good luck!
debi37231 MurphyNZ
Posted
charlie84 MurphyNZ
Posted
I just started physio last night and Im also really enjoying it. The doc moved my foot around in directions I haven’t seen for a long time and it felt great. Turns out most of my loss of range of motion is due to stiffness from being in a cast and air boot for so long and not any more unforeseen injuries. I feel the screw heads through the skin, but don’t think I can feel them limiting motion yet. The 2 big ones through bones will apparently limit extreme back and forth motion but I’m not that flexible yet to start noticing them limiting me. The pulling feeling may just be the extremely tight tendons and ligaments that wrap their way around all over the place in the ankle area. My physio says that these kind of pains are underused tendons that need to be slowly stretched back to their normal range. At the limits of my motion I feel pulling all over the place. Some of it feels more internal and some closer to the surface.
Good luck and a happy road to recovery!
MurphyNZ charlie84
Posted
Hey Charlie. It's great to hear from someone who is going through this around the same time as me. I will be seven weeks post op on Tuesday 8th November. I've got two plates and eight small screws - one plate and five small pins on my fibula and one plate and three small pins on my tibia. Then I have one big screw coming up the tibia from the bottom. But I don't have anything connecting the two bones together like you do!
It's great to hear that other people have a discoloured foot too! When mine is up it's pretty good but when it is down it really can turn red/purple pretty quickly. I guess that I will just get used to that! I am moving really well with my moonboot on but only really since I went out to the shops yesterday and got myself a shoe of very similar height to my boot. Before that I was walking around fine but was starting to feel pain up my right side which I think was directly related to being unevenly balanced.
I've been doing my physio exercises but have only have the one session so far. I am enjoying the exercises and moving my foot but like you it is definitely very stiff! The movement back and forward is quite good for me, it is really the moving side to side. But I know that will come with time. I'm just making sure that I don't rush anything. It is so nice to be walking again that I don't want to anything that will sabotage it. I absolutely hated non-weight bearing, which I am sure everybody does!
I can't feel any metal through my skin but then I haven't tried very hard to locate anything either. I think that would freak me out a bit so am just avoiding that at the moment!!
Anyway good luck to you and your recovery. I'm hoping it all goes well for you and that you get all movement and motion back.
pauline24051 MurphyNZ
Posted
Hello MurphyNZ - pleased to hear your cast is off and you're now beginning to weight-bear.
Yes the colour is perfectly normal. I'm just over 3 months post surgery, I'm walking properly, unaided and without a limp but my injured foot is still quite pink compared to the other one. When I began weight-bearing I had all manner of strange feelings but all have disappeared now and my foot is completely comfortable.
And yes, I know exactly what you mean about the tightness and pulling. I think that's down to the tendons and ligaments. They've all been damaged along with the bone breaks. The bones mend easily but the tendons & ligaments take a long time.
There was a time when I thought the 2 large screws going in at an angle on the inner ankle were agravating and causing my incision to be so red and sore; but once I had begun walking more, all this discomfort disappeared and now the scars are almost invisible and not red at all.
I began physio 3 weeks after my surgery and I visit him every week and have manipulation and more exercises - all of which I do religeously and I know this is why I'm doing so well.
I'm sure you'll do well and I wish you the best of luck.
MurphyNZ pauline24051
Posted
Hi Pauline. Thank you for your reply. It's so nice to know what is normal. Drs are fantastic with all of this stuff but it is most reassuring to me to hear about what other people are going through. Especially for me with my questions around what I am feeling and the pulling. That is the part that at times feel very weird and odd. None of it hurts but is definitely feels foreign. I am a bit achy too but I can definitely cope with that.
What you describe about your two large screws on the inner ankle is definitely my area where it feels most foreign. I only have one large screw there but it definitely feels like something is pulling not far from there in my foot. That's what I think might be a ligament or tendon based on what people have said.
Wishing you all the very best too. I know that you are now out the other side though so I am sure you will be fantastic!
MurphyNZ
Posted
Hi everyone. Thank you so very much for all your reassurance. I feel much better now! I will just embrace my new foot colour and get on with it. Hopefully the pulling is all just tendons and ligaments moving again and will settle down.
It's so nice to be walking again. It feels like such a treat. I must say though this whole process has certainly come with a good share of aches and pains. Makes all feel very old!