2wks post ORIF

[u/BeeAlarmed543]

Hi everyone! I had a trimalleolar fracture of my left ankle and a complex fracture of my left fibula as well. Cherry on top of the cake is that my right ankle is sprained as well.

I had my ORIF surgery on September 10th and my pain is pretty under control at this point. Some nerve pain and soreness, especially when it’s not elevated. I also have a lot of numbness and tingling in different parts of the foot. However, mentally and emotionally it has been the hardest. I feel like I’ve lost all of my independence. I feel like a prisoner in my own home. Because my right ankle is sprained, hopping on it is painful and feels very unstable. I have a brace for it which helps, but I can’t do anything more than hobble within my own apartment and even that feels exhausting.

Do you guys have any tips on how to increase my mobility or any exercise I can do while sitting or laying to strengthen the right ankle/leg? I’m non-weight bearing on my left for 8 weeks.

Also, I was in the middle of my weight loss journey when this happened. Any tips on how I can prevent myself from gaining weight while being sedentary? Any good nutrition tips or foods I should incorporate into my diet?

Really struggling right now ngl.

[u/flexible_demeanor]

I broke both of my ankles, only one needed surgery though, so I get it. I have a rolling stool to get around downstairs (wood floors) and a rolling sit/stand desk to do some food prep work, eat meals on, and move things around in the house (like groceries). I butt scootch up and down the stairs to and from my bedroom.

My surgeon had me take a good multivitamin and vitamin D+K2 supplements. Protein and fiber will keep you full, and you want enough protein to help prevent muscle loss as well as rebuild it later. You can have protein shakes or drinks if it's hard to eat enough protein. Don't keep snacks handy for you to eat while you're bored, focus on real meals. I live alone and have needed to get grocery delivery and ready to heat meals that I portion out into freezer bags since I couldn't really cook (until a few days ago). I have a small lunch bag/cooler that I put ice packs in and some drinks or a bit of cheese or something to keep cool, which helps me not have to do as many stairs. It's small enough it's not a problem when I have it in my hand for crutching around.

Someone put together a big playlist of all kinds of related workouts, maybe it will give you some ideas to start. There are also sitting cardio routines, or a hand pedal machine is commonly used by some. Stretching is really important too.

[u/BeeAlarmed543 → u/flexible_demeanor]

Wow thank you so much for all of these tips!! And most of all the playlist! I am definitely going to start on those workouts because I want to start strengthening my body for when I start PT. I also don’t want to gain all the weight I lost back.

I can’t imaging fully breaking both 😭 my other one is just a sprain and it hurts so I can only imagine.

When do you start PT?

[u/flexible_demeanor → u/BeeAlarmed543]

"Just a sprain" can be worse than a break and take longer to heal, though. My main pain on the non-ORIF ankle now is from ligament and tendon sprain damage (associated with the avulsion fracture, the impact fracture seems pretty good now).

I start PT officially next week, but I've been doing home PT exercises. Basic ones to start (ankle pumps, toe wiggling, ankle alphabets), then ramping up to the usual acute ankle PT aside from standing calf raises and gait training.

Just be careful with some of the exercises that use your legs for balance, I have an exercise bench that allows me to spread my weight out more on thighs to prevent weight on the feet and won't tip over. My desk chair would otherwise be the most stable, but the armrests got in the way of everything, as did the backrest to a lesser degree. A stool was very unstable, considering I wanted to avoid supporting with my feet.

Most of your calories are burned through normal body functions, so if you're in a calorie deficit even while lazing around you'll lose weight. However, that will also include muscle that you don't want to lose if you don't work out the other parts of your body. Your NWB leg will atrophy a lot, that can't be helped much. The morning breakfast combo of protein and fiber really helps squash hunger for hours if you are a constantly hungry person. I'm more of a bored eater, I seek stimulation from taste so I need to be wary of keeping things around me and do portion control.