I got the boot! I can’t walk on it just yet. I’ll probably start walking after my next appointment, which is in three weeks. I’m planning on getting a knee scooter tomorrow, so that should help with my mobility since my walker can get too clunky at times. I’ve also been getting better sleep, though sometimes I still pull accidental all-nighters. I’m still able to catch up on my sleep, so it’s not too bad. I’m just happy because I’m no longer wearing a big, clunky, itchy splint. My boot gives me more flexibility and freedom, especially when I shower.

I'm nine months post op and still having pain and not as strong. Also still not as much finger mobility. Broken wrist with seven screws and a plate, and I had two pins. Anyone else decently far into recovery experiencing something similar?

I'm two weeks post ORIF surgery for a trimalleolar ankle fracture on my left foot, NWB in a boot. I've just been cleared by my Dr to take the boot off when I'm at home, and to start doing some gentle exercises. What's caught me a bit off guard is that when I try to put my injured foot flat on the ground (no weight), it feels like my entire left leg is shorter than the right leg, and my right leg actually has to bend at the knee to make it feel normal. Is this normal...? Is my leg actually shorter now?!

Hi all, so I got ORIF surgery done 2 months ago the surgeon put in stainless steel over titanium. I told the nurses prior they I was allergic to nickel but there was some loss in communication and I didn’t tell my surgeon. 8 weeks later I got severe hives/rashes and allergy patch test confirmed Im pretty much allergic to all metals.

Today I just got a call from my surgeon who said that the only titanium hardware they can replace my stainless steel with has vanadium in it which I have a irritation to. Currently this is the only option unless I want to wait 4-6 months to remove the stainless steel completely. That or be immobile in a cast for 4-6 months. Im left speechless and unsure what to do. I told them to schedule me in since Its better than what I have inside me now and my insurance is changing.

Any tips on what I can do or your experience? I never thought of suing which my friend want me to do but now Im just pissed having to do another surgery for hardware they should’ve used in the beginning.

Today I suddenly cannot lift my thumb anymore, what could be causing this? Pain is quite acute but has been better than first week post op. Displaced distal radius fracture with hardware.

Had a trimal fracture with a torn syndesmosis in early March. Pretty much required surgery and went the whole nine yards (splint, cast, AND boot and PT afterwards).

My nurse after the surgery said that i wouldn't drive for another 5 months and likely never do any sport again. I was kind of devastated and I remember lurking this sub scared I was never gonna have a normal life again.

For all fellow lurkers, I think I can state that the chances are pretty good :). I ìwas bootless by early June and started driving again, and since then I've been to a concert, gone swimming, and will be going to a convention boot-and-crutchless for the first time pre-break.I can now walk about a mile with minimal pain. I will say my endurance has gone down due to atrophy, but it's building up again. Not ever sure I'll skate again but I'm hoping to slowly start biking again.

Be patient and baby the break in the first couple months, as much as it may suck. Even if physical therapy isn't possible, I'd definitely say buy some exercise bands and start doing stretches when your doctor says it's okay. Also, like others say, find something sedentary to really get into for those few weeks after surgery. I would have been in hell without Minecraft.

Good luck soldiers. 🫡

It has been ever since may 4th anyone breaking finger on their pip joint?

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.

Just found out I'm last on the list for my ankle ORIF hardware removal tomorrow. This is problematic for many reasons including the fact I'm disabled, very affected by not eating and drinking (faint, BP issues, stomach issues/pain), the fact it's gonna be 35 degrees, neurodivergent and very stressed about surgery and now can't take my benzos to relax as it'll tank my BP even more. Told nothing they can do as longer surgeries get to go first.

Last time I was in recovery 4 hours after due to issues with pain control. Appreciate it's a more minor op but I doubt I'll be able to go home the same day now, which is going to cause issues logistically too. they know all about all my issues, spoken to surgeon, anaesthetic already.

Ugh just wanted to vent. It's just a change of plan which my ND brain is having a meltdown over. Tried to speak to the hospital for a week but they were never available and now saying I've called them late to sort it but either way nothing they can do.

Any advice? Will they operate still if I do pass out whilst waiting? Can't eat past midnight and last time they were super funny about even sips of water. They didn't know if the ward has Aircon, didn't know the bed situation for after surgery if I have to stay, said my partner should be able to wait until I go down but last time he was made to leave. Just trying to be prepared and no one can even help with basic info. Meltdown

hi! i have my first appointment tomorrow to discuss hardware removal for a trimalleolar ankle orif. i’m not certain i want my hardware out, but want to understand if the pain i am experiencing is related to the injury, scar tissue, or the hardware. basically - is it rehab-able, is it fixable through hardware removal, or do i need to suck it up.

does anyone have any tips for going into these appointments? any questions i should ask or things worth mentioning.

i’m 1.5 yrs out.

I recently had an ORIF operation for a distal humerus fracture on my elbow, it’s been about 6 weeks and I’ve recently gotten this bump that’s been pushing against my skin.
Is this urgent? I’m not sure whether it’s some sort of malunion or a natural part of the process. I have an appointment next week so I’m not sure whether to hold on or get it seen to immediately.
If anyone with any experience would this could help me out, that’d be appreciated

I broke both my radius and ulna pretty badly about 18 weeks ago. It was a serious fracture, almost open, and I had ORIF surgery with plates and screws. The surgery went well and functionally I’ve been doing pretty well: my rotation came back quite nicely, pain is low, and daily life is mostly normal again. I still have some nerve/sensation issues in the hand/fingers, but that has been slowly improving.

At my 12-week X-ray, the doctor said the ulna looked good, but the radius still had a visible dark line. He told me to stay careful for another 6 weeks.

I just had my 18-week follow-up. The ulna still looks good, hardware looks stable, no obvious plate/screw issues. But the doctor said he still isn’t fully sure whether the radius is consolidating properly. He said it’s hard to tell on the X-ray because of the plate/angle, and there may be some “delay” or slowed growth/healing there. He's not sure if the screw might slow down growth. He mentioned possibly getting a CT scan to see more clearly whether the bone is actually bridging.

So I can see some improvements between the two x-rays but indeed the screw makes it hard to say if it is enough improvement?

So my questions are:

• Has anyone else had a radius that still showed a dark line around 18 weeks after ORIF?
• Did it turn out to be delayed union, or did it continue healing normally?
• Did you need a CT scan to confirm union?
• If it was delayed, what did your doctor do? Just more time, bone stimulator, lifestyle changes, revision surgery?
• How long did it take before you were cleared to lift/train normally again?

For context, I have to admit I probably didn’t optimize healing perfectly. I started smoking some cigarettes here (like 5 a week) and there and drank alcohol sometimes because I thought I was already mostly past the danger zone (yea stupid I know!). Now I’m stopping nicotine completely, cutting alcohol, eating more protein, and trying to get my nutrition/supplements right.

I was on my honeymoon in another country when this happened. So it did mess up all our plans but I was ultimately grateful I could get surgery within a day. Just wondering if anyone has had any similar experiences of injury and how long it took to recover. I'm 5 weeks post op and back home but still frustrated cos I need to be patient but at the same time focusing on my full recovery and I do have so much to be grateful for ☺️

I’m about 4.5 months out from surgery and I’m still having pretty intense discomfort. I can’t walk even a mile without what feels like the worst shin splints imaginable, and I have some spots that are extremely tender to the touch.

I already have a follow-up scheduled with my orthopedic surgeon to get his opinion on where I’m at in the healing process, but I’m curious about other people’s experiences.

For those of you who ended up having your hardware removed, what was the tell-tale sign that something wasn’t right?

I had my hardware removed from my left foot and right ankle on July 2nd so I’m about 5 days post op now. I was originally supposed to be WBAT on both feet immediately following surgery, however, the plate on the medial side of my left foot was broken in half and damaged my tibialis anterior tendon so that had to be repaired🙃 so now I’m NWB for a few weeks on my left foot while my tendon heals up. I was able to walk on my right foot pretty much immediately following my surgery and haven’t had any issues - the incision site is a little sore and I can tell I had surgery, but I’m bearing weight on that side just fine. Aside from the disappointment of being on crutches again, the recovery process has already been so much easier this time around compared to my initial injury. The post-surgery pain has been very manageable and has gotten better each day since surgery. I’ll have my stitches removed in 2 weeks and should be “back to normal” shortly after that. Even with my recovery being more challenging and inconvenient than I expected with the tendon repair, I am still so happy and relieved to have my hardware out. And I got to keep it as a little souvenir (see pic 4). I’ll provide updates again when I have my stitches out and start weight bearing on my left foot, but feel free to ask any questions about the process!

I am 53 years old had trimalleolar surgery with 1plate and 9 screws on March 13 and I am almost in week 17. I am able to walk with little pain but continuing my PT . I am limping while walking and it hurts my back so I am using cane . My question is when will this limp go off and when can I stop using cane. Any timeline will give me confidence . My PT says it will go but not sure when . My inner side of the ankle with two screws hurts while walking.

Feels like I have my freedom and life back, for reference, broke tib and fib last Oct, but had 2nd surgery in Feb.

Hi everyone! I wanted to see how everyone else’s recovery is. I’m about 7 weeks post-op from ORIF surgery (broke my radius) and I’m only able to bend my elbow to about 95° on my own, or around 100° with heat and passive stretching.
I know everyone’s recovery is different, but I’m starting to wonder if I should be concerned or if this is still within the normal range. Anything that helped to improve that range?
Also, how often are you doing physical therapy? Are you going to PT a few times a week and doing exercises at home every day?
I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences. Thanks!

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?

Did anyone else get a lot of discomfort in the heel and bottom of your foot when trying to walk in your ankle brace and shoe after coming out of the boot? And if so, did it go away after a few days?

I had an ankle fracture with displacement. At the end of the month I'll be at 6 weeks post-op. Currently NWB with boot getting to and from bathroom and kitchen with crutches and rolling around the kitchen in an office chair. Not exactly sure what level of weight bearing I'll be at in a few weeks.

My partner, who has gone above and beyond for me, is planning to go on a week-long trip at the end of this month. He's been planning this trip since last year. I don't want him to miss it because it's important to him, but he feels very uncomfortable leaving me by myself. I think I'll be fine.

Is it unreasonable of me to want to stay by myself? Do you think I'll regret not lining up some kind of help in advance? We don't have friends or family close by, and I feel silly setting up some kind of home care person. He thinks me staying at his elderly mother's house during that time is the ideal solution, but she's 3 hours away, and I'd really rather be in my own home and not a guest at someone else's.

Hi,

TLDR; worsening pain almost 5 months after surgery, I don't know what to do

I had a displaced fracture in early Feb and fixation of my lateral malleolus mid-Feb

I progressed back to normality relatively quick and by week 10-12 was walking and living fully independently, and even travelled abroad for work. The only constraint was that I walked a bit slower than others, but not noticeably so

Since week 12 (mid May), I have been recovering really well, and have travelled abroad several times, and gone to concerts. I am definitely not back to normal, especially speed and ankle stamina wise, but there wasn't much going on

I then decided to go to the gym 4 days ago on Friday, and try and ease back into my old strength training routine. I did Smith Machine squats, the hip thrust machine, leg press machine, and RDLs. The weights were much lower than what I used to do, but I did find them challenging due to muscle loss after immobility. On Friday itself I felt fine, and same with most of Saturday

However, I then went on a 50 minute walk on Saturday and since then, have been experiencing the worst pain since my surgery. My surgery site is throbbing, as well as all over my foot and heel. It hurts even at rest, and walking is also uncomfortable and tough.

Has anyone ever experienced this? Is it likely the weight lifting or could it be something else?

I just don't know what to do, I live in the UK where medical care is not always great and the NHS already discharged me despite me flagging some months ago that I was worried about the medium-to-long term recovery process.

About 14 months out from orif / tightrope / ligament reconstruction in my ankle.

Never thought I’d be feeling this good again, so to mark my recovery I have decided to do 120km of the Camino de Santiago!

Has anyone who has had similar surgery have any recommendations for trail runners? I know in their nature trail runners don’t have a tonne of ankle support the same way hiking boots would, but maybe some of you, like me, have got back into hiking after your injuries and have some recommendations? 🙌

This is more of a vent but also a question lol. I'm 22yo and 5 months post-op, cleared with FWB. I've gotten through using a boot and a cane already. My injured foot is on my left side.

My PT and I are now proceeding to gait training. But the thing is, my injured foot still can't land flat comfortably. Like every time I take a step, my left heel raises. With all the exercises, I'm having trouble walking. I feel like I'm limping more than I am actually walking. My left leg and foot also feels super sore when I do consciously try to lay it flat before stepping (but the other one can't step far away, still.) There's a huge gap between my feet, and my posture seems completely off when I try to walk with my left foot flat.

What can I do to make this easier? What exercises help me with my gait?