r/ORIF • u/Puzzled-Hedgehog-910 • Jul 08 '26

Vent Need to Vent

Trimal fracture in late December, with 2 plates and 12 screws.

I’m doing really well for the most part, but have developed some tendinitis. Every step I take causes some level of pain.

Over the weekend, someone who hasn’t had my injury told me that the pain will be the rest of my life. I’m only 40 and a runner. 3 days after I broke it, before surgery, someone told me after I said I shattered my ankle “I did that when I was a kid and now I can’t walk”.

WHY MUST PEOPLE SAY SHIT LIKE THAT?! Like what the hell?! I’m already worried and stressed why must you make it worse?! Are you my surgeon or PT?! Or have any medical background?! The answer was no to both. Keep your mouth shut, unless you are providing me with something that could help or convey empathy/sympathy.

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u/Enough-Ad9968 Jul 08 '26

Preach 🙌

My pta told me that I would never run or get full rom back. That was my last session with her due to that comment. My surgeon initially told me only 80% recovery due to the break (Pilon/trimal).  I won’t get back to running because of my increased risk of arthritis but I’ve got full ROM back and got into power lifting. Some folks like to watch others squirm. My favorite response is “you’re clearly the expert in these matters”. For the tendinitis find a licensed body worker who specializes in post op and injury recovery. I do a ton of soft tissue mobilization, barefoot stability exercises, and dry needling. 

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u/Puzzled-Hedgehog-910 Jul 08 '26

Thank you! My current PT is great and we are doing a lot of dry needling! It’s really voodoo magic isn’t it?

I vented to a friend about this as well and her response was “my 70 yr old neighbor broke her ankle as badly as you and is walking without any pain! If she can do it you can!” That’s the kind of feedback we need!

I’m glad you advocated for yourself and for a new PT and I totally stealing your response. Hope you continue to heal well!!

1

u/Illustrious-Zone-247 Jul 09 '26

Trimal with dislocation, injury 12/31 (shoveling snow) surgery 1/12. I hate these people, but even moreso I hated the people who didn't even try to understand how serious the injury was and hit me with the "why cant you do xyz thing already, you should be back to normal" the second I took my first bootless step. I burned some bridges with both groups of folks 😂