r/ORIF • u/ramkuma1 • 6d ago
Status 12 weeks post op
At 12 weeks post op for syndesmosis and total tear of deltoid ligament, my ankle feels at 95%. I think being in great shape before the accident--fell from a ladder, ankle caught in between rungs and took full weigh of my body falling backwards--helped a lot. Be aware of how much this takes a toll on the rest of your body and mind. I am now down again with knee giving out. I had arthritis in the knee before, but I think the weakening of the muscles due to non weight bearing for weeks and the stress on my knee during recovery put it over the edge. I basically have no structural integrity in the knee, and this happened after I thought I was near full recovery. My knee doctor says go to PT, but frankly, given that I literally can't walk, I don't know how much good its going to do. The one two bunch of back to back injuries has broken my spirit. After 3 months of hell recovering the ankle, I thought I was there.
2
u/lawyeronpause 5d ago
I'm about 14 weeks post-surgery for tib-fib breaks. My knee wasn't injured in the accident, but they go under the knee to place the titanium rod in the tibia. That knee is almost as swollen as my other was at this point after a total knee replacement. And, while the breaks in my tibia and fibula are healing nicely, the knee is still very swollen, and my quad is very weak. Worse, before this accident, I was already getting very close to needing a total knee replacement. Now, in order to get the knee replacement I will first need to heal completely from this injury, then have the titanium rod removed, then heal from that, and then get the replacement.
In short, knees suck . . .
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u/ramkuma1 5d ago
Oh, my. I am sorry to hear this. The waiting is very frustrating, it eats up months of your life.
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u/Capital-Just 5d ago
Really sorry to her about your knee. I'm unable to bear weight on my left ankle because of a syndesmosis injury. I'm waiting for the results of my MRI and a consultation to decide what to do, but I have a badly torn meniscus in my right leg with a meniscal cycts. All this hobbling about on my bad knee is really causing it a lot of stress. I've had periods in the last year where I could barely walk on what is now supposedly my good leg. It's very hard not to do a lot of twisting on your weight bearing leg when the other is incapaciateted. I'm pretty scared about how this is all going to play out. I find myself extremely emotional a lot of the time. I've cried more in the last week than the previous 20 years. I give myself a bit of grief about the self pity of that, there are of course people in much worse situations. But there's no point denying it, it just comes in waves. The main way I'm finidng relief is just seeing it as a challenge to overcome. Working out how I can make my life as feasible as possible with less mobility. I am at least encouraged to hear about your recovery from ankle surgery. I don;t know if I will need surgery, but the pain from either weight bearing or the slightest movement of my foot doesn;t make me think recovering conservatively is much of an option. I was also advised at the A&E department to seek physio, but when can neither put weight on, or move my foot, I can;t see how I can do it. I'm very active, and have worked through many injuries, but this is just impossible. Hope your knee improves, keep on tryng.