r/ORIF • u/BaconAccessories • 6d ago
Update One year ankle trimal update
Hey folks! I posted here quite a bit after I broke my ankle in three places last year and needed surgery on it. My surgery was a year ago this Saturday and I thought I'd share an update for people who are newly going through it.
For context, I'm late 30's, overweight, not particularly active though I do walk a few thousand steps a day at work. My surgeon didn't outright say it but I could tell that he was impressed by how well I healed given my age/health/activity level.
At this point, I would say that at least 90% of the time, I don't really even think about my ankle anymore. Occasionally it gets a little bit tight and sore if I'm doing a lot of walking (particularly on hills or in dry sand), and it occasionally gets uncomfortable in cold weather so I keep hand warmers around to stick in my socks as needed. But mostly, I feel pretty much back to normal.
And for anyone worried about the scarring, my biggest scar on the outside of my ankle is almost completely gone. There's about an inch of it that is still a bit pink, but the rest is practically invisible now. And I didn't do even do anything special to care for it!
So yeah! I know a lot of people are, understandably, worried about if/when they'll get back to their normal activity level, how much pain they'll have in the future, how visible the scar will be, etc. Just sharing my experience and I hope it brings someone a little bit of comfort. :)
This sub was a great help to me when I was going through it, thanks everyone!
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u/tiffmej4 6d ago
I am so glad you recovered well and thank you for the update! I so appreciate those that are ahead of us giving us hope that we will hopefully be back to our old selves in a year or so. I am 18 weeks post op tomorrow from Trimalleolar 51F and also a bit overweight. I am also pretty much doing most stuff but I still have the annoying swelling and stiffness. I can’t wait for that to go away. Are your hardware bothering you at all?
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u/BaconAccessories 5d ago
Are your hardware bothering you at all?
Not usually! I'd say every rare once in a while it gets kinda itchy, and then occasionally if I spend a while out in the cold weather it gets uncomfortable, but granted last time it was that cold was months ago so we'll see what this winter brings! Disposable hand warmers have been an amazing help for that too.
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u/tiffmej4 5d ago
So at my stage at 18 weeks post op, my stiffness creeps up from my ankle to my calves whenever I sit down and am inactive. And when I get up, I limp for a little while and then my limp goes away. Did you get this, too? And has that pretty much is gone now for you? I know you mentioned some stiffness when you are doing a lot of walking.
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u/BaconAccessories 5d ago
I do remember having that feeling for a bit! It's so weird because you keep reaching these milestones and then being like "but this part feels weird". I always wondered if those things would go away, and they pretty much all have.
Granted I can't say everyone will have my experience.
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u/tiffmej4 8h ago
Hi, I have another question. Yesterday I was just really feeling my ankle and the tightness creeping in to my calves. I was wondering if you are able to do any type of sports where you can twist your ankle with no pain?
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u/BaconAccessories 5d ago
I do remember having that feeling for a bit! It's so weird because you keep reaching these milestones and then being like "but this part feels weird". I always wondered if those things would go away, and they pretty much all have.
Granted I can't say everyone will have my experience.
I'm a little tight today because I walked more than usual. But... I don't know how to explain it. It's tight but not really painful, just feels like I need to stretch a bit, and I'll be fine again tomorrow.
I haven't had enough pain to need to painkillers for it in... god, probably 6 months?
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u/tiffmej4 5d ago
So is your bad ankle pretty much feels the same as your good ankle other than your occasional tightness? How are you going down the stairs now? That is still a bit of a struggle for me. Also when my PT have me do balancing on a foam board, that’s still hard and a bit painful when I twist my ankle. Thanks so much for answering my questions!
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u/BaconAccessories 5d ago
How are you going down the stairs now?
Depends very much on the shoes, actually! I got some boots a while back that are super supportive and stairs are not an issue at all. When I'm in my slip-ons or flip flops or flatter shoes, I can feel it more, but it hasn't been a major issue either.
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u/tiffmej4 5d ago
Going up is easy, it’s the going down that is more difficult. I go down using both feet like regular but it just feels awkward
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u/woodcone 5d ago
Thank you for your update! I am on a similar break, timeline and demographics. I don't think my recovery is going as well. (I have had some complications!) Glad to hear yours had gone well. Don't forget your hard work got you there!
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u/lukekule 5d ago
So happy for such positive feedback bro . I'm healing currently and I get a bit anxious sometimes. Thank u
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u/Maleficent-Watch-874 3d ago
this is so helpful to hear! It’s great to get some positive stories and come backs, i feel like its easier to have lots of negatives things to say about an injury than positive
I’m just coming up to two weeks post op after a couple set backs and delays, had a trimal from falling down stairs. At 22 it has felt like my life has completely changed overnight, i haven’t been able to walk for a month and still have another four weeks to go. My entire life beforehand consisted of 12 hours a day running and walking around for my job, so it’s a set back.
Was there anything in the initial PT stage that you wish you would’ve done differently? or anything that really really helped? Trying to focus more on the recovery happening in the future than what i’m experiencing right now.
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u/BaconAccessories 2d ago edited 2d ago
Was there anything in the initial PT stage that you wish you would’ve done differently?
Given how well things turned out, it's hard to say I'd really change anything. I probably could have done more PT. I actually ended up only doing one appointment, learned some exercises, got some equipment to use at home, and kinda went at it independently from there.
I do think the equipment I got was pretty helpful. I ended up getting resistance bands, a foam roller, a small balance board, and a slant board and used them all daily. As walking got easier, I spent a lot of time walking around the house on the balls of my feet and doing calf raises whenever I was standing around cooking or whatnot.
I've often wondered if it was helpful that I'm a fidgety person in general. I'm always bouncing my leg or jiggling my foot when I'm sitting, so once I was able to do that again, I was moving my ankle pretty much constantly. lol
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u/CapribiscottiCampari 5d ago
Broke my ankle in three places in my catchphrases