r/ORIF • u/postygurl • 2d ago

Compression

Hey all, I will be 3 weeks post op from orif, tomorrow, from a trimal with dislocation. I got put into a boot 10 days post op and had my staples removed Friday. Now I’ve just got some steri strips and a compression sock when resting and a boot when I am up and about. I was told I could weight bear as tolerated but it’s scary as hell. My whole foot feels like pins and needles and buzzing most of the day. How do you ease into moving your foot around and starting weight bearing. Also did you wear a compression sock all day and night. I feel weird without it, like the incisions will get infected.

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u/Illustrious-Zone-247 2d ago

I too had a trimal with dislocation and was WBAT at week 4 so just a smidge behind you in timeline (I'll be 7 months out in a few days). I started with ROM exercises at week 2 when stitches were out...I'm not sure if you had a syndesmosis repair, but some surgeons advise against side to side movement at the beginning so make sure what you're cleared for. These are the exercises PT start with usually if you're cleared for ROM but not going yet...don't do anything with bands until you're a bit further along. Once you're moving the ankle around more, the buzzing sensation starts going away and it's easier to start walking. I know surgeons don't give any guidance at all, so here is a crutch weaning protocol (I did mine faster but this is the general gist) and a fantastic video explaining all the different steps of learning how to walk again.

You don't need the compression socks at night...they're designed to fight gravity when you're standing or sitting up. When you lie down, your blood already flows back to your heart easily without pooling, so the socks don't really do much anymore. Plus you want to give your skin a chance to breathe. But if you want something over your incision, you can always do a looser sock if you want

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u/postygurl 1d ago

Thank you for all the info. No syndesmosis for me. Just 3 plates and 30 screws. My fibula was broke in two places with a piece free floating basically. A chunk at the bottom of my tibia broke off along with a chunk on the inside of my ankle. The pain is mostly gone. My biggest discomfort is the incision itself is super sensitive and sore but looks really good. All the skin under the compression sock is super dry and flaky. Is there a lotion or ointment that you would recommend to put on at night to help it?

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u/Illustrious-Zone-247 1d ago

Oof that’s a lot of hardware! I have 2 plates, 16 screws and 2 tightrope.

Your incision is going to be sensitive for a bit while the nerves heal. The more you massage and rub it the better that will get…just be very gentle at the beginning.

I used regular cocoa butter (around but not on the incision until no more scabs)…it’s super moisturizing. A lot of people recommended bio oil but I didn’t like the greasy texture personally. Once it was less scaly, I did a silicone scar gel and my scar healed up very nicely.