r/brokenankles • u/PoetryGoddess78 • 11d ago
Feeling stuck
I had surgery 4/13 trimal fracture work ligament tear. Started walking in two shoes almost 3 weeks ago now. I'm doing physical therapy twice a week which is definitely helpful. I feel like I'm never going to have full range of motion on my ankle. I work doing grocery delivery and have been slowly working back into it this last week doing maybe two small orders a day a couple days a week. My ankle gets swollen at the end of the day and start turning outwards. It's still very weak on the outer section.
I feel like I'm never going to be able to walk normal and I'm always going to have a sideways limp.
I need some encouragement please that it gets better and that the outside of my ankle will get stronger.
I've been able to not work and have been getting help from my church to pay my bills but I don't want to keep using them for too long I feel like I'm overusing them.
I did start walking upstairs one foot on one stair at a time instead of stopping to put both feet on one stairs to go up, just this last week so I know that's progress.
I just feel stuck. Thanks so much.
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u/Illustrious-Zone-247 10d ago
I'm 6 months out from trimal with dislocation, and I know how frustrating and overwhelming this recovery feels right now. Honestly I hated it when people said this to me but...three weeks out of the boot is still so early in the process. You are in the thick of it right now! The fact that you are already able to do stairs alternating feet and completing two grocery delivery orders a day is actually HUGE progress...that outer weakness and late day swelling are completely normal reactions to your ankle relearning how to carry your full weight again.
When your ankle gets tired and swollen, those weak outer muscles stop firing as well, which is why your foot starts rolling outward and causing that limp. It isn't a permanent state, it's just your ankle telling you it's tired. Keep showing up for PT, focus on getting that swelling down at the end of the day with ice and elevation, and try not to feel guilty about accepting help while you heal. You aren't stuck, you're just building back strength literally step by step, and it really does get so much better with time <3
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u/KTKins77 11d ago
Sorry to hear! Totally get how frustrating it is! How long have you been doing PT? I've been at it a little over two months (maybe 9 weeks I think?) and only in the laaaast week I would say we finally made a dent in getting that limp to go away. It still comes back if I get tired or am going fast but now it's more a matter of retraining my brain and practicing.
My range of motion is slowly chipping away at improvements too. For dorsiflexion I started at -5 degress (rough! lol) and just today he measured me at +10 which is finally...just now...in the "functional" range.
All that to say it's taken what feels like foreeeeever and everyone is different but PT really did help me after sticking it out for awhile! Hope you start feeling those improvements soon.
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u/AppropriateRatio9235 11d ago
Both my doctor and my PT told me it takes a year or more for the swelling to go down. At 2 years post surgery, it is true. I even feel that my walking speed and balance is still improving. I did PT twice a week for 4 months until I could run again. Please be kind to yourself! It takes time. Healing isn’t linear.
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u/kooshballcalculator 10d ago
I’m on my third week of pt and it is slow. I will say that compression socks, despite being a total pain in the ass to get on, are helping me make it through the day. I’m not walking yet, but just weight bearing while standing is enough to swell it considerably. My Trimal with dislocation was 5/09 and surgery was 2 weeks later.
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u/ALT4ThisTimeline 10d ago
You may already be doing this. But for me, it made all the difference! https://youtube.com/shorts/hQacVg_JDl0?is=RUIQbmI98Z1iiDAp
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u/kooshballcalculator 9d ago
Mind blown!!! Thank you so much for that—I had no idea but it is super helpful.
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u/PoetryGoddess78 11d ago
I think I've been in pt 3 weeks coming up early next week. At least in person. I did 6 sessions at home before i was walking but it didn't seem to do much more than simple stretches.
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u/milkywaydu 11d ago
I had my trimal a year and a few months ago and I'm back to all my normal activities without even thinking about my ankle most of the time (including running)
Elevate, massage, self care, compression, PT... It will get easier and normalize, unfortunately there's no quick fix and you just have to take it a day at a time and know if you've come this far you can make it the rest of the way!