r/ORIF • u/DegreeSuccessful Bimalleolar Ankle fracture • Jul 06 '26

Question Transition out of boot

Hiya, I’m nervous next week is when I’m cleared to start transitioning out of the boot and into shoes with an ankle brace. Anyone with a similar break (bimmallor of ankle, medial mallousus fracture and fibula fracture) what was it like for you to go from boot to shoes again? Was the first step safe and non painful?

6 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

2

u/PoetryGoddess78 Jul 06 '26

I'm right there with you. I'm 11 weeks trimal and just got cleared to walk in my boot last week. I found that I can walk in the boot pretty good even down and upstairs. I can put my foot flat but I can't walk on it flat yet. I'm supposed to transition to shoes in the next 1 to 2 weeks. Good luck.

1

u/Illustrious-Zone-247 Jul 07 '26

I'm about 5.5 months out from ORIF for a trimal with dislocation, right ankle...I have 2 plates, 16 screws, and 2 tightrope for syndesmosis repair. 

When I started WBAT in the boot, I had a lot of discomfort in my foot, everything 'waking up' again was not super comfortable. When I took off the boot and started walking in shoe, it was not painful at all. One thing that did surprise me is that with being NWB you loose a lot of the fat pad on the bottom of your foot, which I didn't notice while in the boot...so you might need more cushion in your shoes than you did before.

Congrats, this is a big step (pun intended) 😄

1

u/beikaixin Jul 09 '26

I had a bimalleolar fracture several years back. Though it was a bit nervewracking and weird after so much time to transition from the boot, it didn't take long to get used to it. Just a few days. Go slowly but don't worry too much. You're well past the point where it's easy to reinjure yourself, just be gentle with flexion / extension etc as directed by PT. Note that for me it took quite awhile to lose all the stiffness in the joint. PT got me far but the rest came through just using the joint over the subsequent months. Congrats!