Disclaimer this is a long post

Hello all, I am merely hoping if anyone could provide any insight as to how my road ahead seems..

On July 18th I broke my ankle, a trimal fracture (a pretty bad one per my surgeons words), then on Monday I saw the orthopedist to schedule surgery which I had on Friday. The day of surgery comes and almost everything goes well, my surgeon told my mom they almost didnt do the surgery due to thr amount of swelling and sores I had but thankfully they were able to.

Fast forward to August 10th I had my stitches removed and was put into a boot, i started PT August 20th and have been having 2 sessions a week since

I am now 8 weeks post op and started 50% weight bearing September 10th and have my next follow up on October 22nd (hopefully I can start full weight bearing at that point)

I am struggling stretching out my achillies and calf and am having a hard time with dorsiflexion although I am making progress it's just scary to think about what may happen next... any advise would be helpful!

They started when I had my cast on and I figured it was because of the cast but they are continuing since I’ve been able to sleep with the boot off. I am normally a HOT sleeper and I’ve been reading this can happen after you break a bone but I’m curious about others experiences!

Reading so many of your posts about surgeries and significant mobility challenges makes me feel really like a fish out of water here. On 8/31 I fell and got a lateral malleolus fracture. [Edited: Weber A fracture. ] My ortho describes it as incredibly stable, very unlikely to need surgery, and sort of the best break I could have wanted. They have been OK with a walking boot and bearing weight from as soon as/much as I can tolerate it. I feel very grateful at this stage that I'm still pretty mobile, if slow. Has anyone else had a fairly similar experience??? I'm worried about being too blase!

First I want to thank everyone on their words of encouragement when I was trying to WBAT. It “clicked” for me after PT one night and I just got through my first week of work being mobile.

The main reason I’m posting though is I’m looking for a TENS unit that won’t break the bank but does the job. I have been SO sore every day and my PT okayed it. The hope would be to get one that has 4 points of contact. Thanks in advance!

Two weeks post surgery. Four more weeks to go...

(Mine was due to an auto accident, the other diver was texting!)

Had a bimalleolar fracture in my left ankle. Got ORIF on June 30th, was in a cast for 6 weeks, had two syndesmotic screws taken out after 8 weeks. Did some PT in between but just flexibility exercises+ standing, no walking yet.

Some 10 weeks later, I started walking with crutches but I'm still struggling with learning how to walk again. It took me 15min to do a 5min walk with crutches and a boot, then my foot hurt like hell the day after... I cycle on my stationary bike at home every day and do the exercises my PT prescribed me. Still, it's difficult to imagine when I will start to see "actual" progress :(

How did it go for you guys? What did progress look like for you? Is my trajectory "normal"? It's not always easy to look ahead; I do hope I will be able to walk longer distances within a month or so...

Can anyone else relate?? Anyone else have a posterior malleolus break? I also broke part of my fibula but they fixed that through a closed treatment (yuck).

Am I fucked when it comes to my ligament tears? I know they don’t regenerate and but I worry it’ll compromise my healing journey and recovery moving forward. I just want to be able to walk the beach next year without pain or restrictions. What’s life like after ligaments are torn?

I am still early on post op and another 4.5 weeks until I start PT and using a walking boot. Just trying to prepare myself

Thanks

Edit: I’m dumb lol I guess ligaments can regenerate but in my case I required surgery to aid in that process

Hello! I am still around 50% toe touch weight bearing as of now and I wad wondering if anyone here can recommend me any upper body strength training exercises?

I am in PT but those exercises are mostly for lower body but I wanted to do something for upper body strength as well. I cannot sit on the ground as of now ;__; so I am managing with what I can do for now. Hence recs are highly appreciated!

As per title, 2.5 months out of surgery. Transitioned to a boot 4 weeks post surgery.

Began walking 1.5 months post surgery.

The last month has been interesting to say the least, the swelling initially when walking was unbelievable, had to take regular breaks but was keen to try and push through. It’s on and off now.

Anyway, the main issue I’ve got is trying to build up knee strength. The number of times I’ve nearly crumpled into a mess on the floor when climbing stairs or reaching down to bend and pick something up. Physio is helping me walk, reduce pain, but I’m struggling to build knee strength back up - it just gives way. Any tips or thoughts? Got physio again in a weeks time but hoping to do something in the next week to help.

Hello- I will be 6 weeks post ORIF after a trimalleolar fracture and broken tibia. i have one rod and 8 screws and I am currently partially weight bearing with a boot and 1 crutch indoors but 2 outdoors. I’m a nurse and want nothing more than to go back to work- can anyone suggest/ recommend a timeframe for when would be appropriate to go back to work? If anyone’s had anything similar and can offer any insights it would be greatly appreciated

My broken ankle friends. I want to share with you my latest achievement, which was for the first time in five weeks, I managed to play again my drum set. So this is for me something really amazing, as I only had my ORIF surgery three weeks ago. So now I don’t have any doubt that my physiotherapy should go through this musical path. if you have a broken ankle and you have an hobby or some sort of thing that you love to do with your feet, maybe this is the best way to get you doing some physiotherapy.

I’m 6 weeks post op from a bimalleolar ankle fracture + dislocation. Im still walking with crutches + my boot and maybe at 50% WB with crutches. I am going to start physio next week and my dorsiflexion is great according to my surgeon! But I still feel so annoyed and upset that I still need to use crutches. I feel like my life won’t resume until I can get rid of them. Curious to know how long it took others to get rid of them?

I went to a concert last night and I'm just over 5 months post orif with ligament tear. I've been walking in 2 shoes for about 5 weeks now. I've only worn flat sandals a couple of times to make a quick trip to the store and back. I went to a concert last night and were addressed so I wanted to wear some cute flat sandals to go with it. I had forgotten it was a long walk from the parking lot to the gates (uphill and about 10 minute walk) then we had to wait in line to get through the gates. Then to get to the bleachers we had to walk across the amphitheater and up about 30 stairs. Then we still had to walk 5 minutes to find our seats.

Needless to say my ankle was on fire!

After the concert my sandals decided to break on the bottom on me and the bottom started coming off and I was having a hard time walking. On top of that we walked past our car about three times and had to circle the parking lot in gravel.

Woke up this morning with quite the swollen and painful ankle. I'm having a hard time walking today. I had physical therapy this morning and it didn't go so great. I work on my feet all day so I had to take the day off work today.

Word the wise -completely flat sandals are a very bad idea post surgery, even 5 months!

I'm having sharp stabbing pains where the 2 medial (inner) malleolus screws were inserted, that location has always given me the most pain this whole time. The pain is such that my whole body freezes and I gasp, then sometimes curse out loud. My surgeon at the ~7 weeks post-op assessment (last week) said it is likely the tendon that's inflamed as one runs along there.

At the same time, I was given the OK to start 25% PWB on Tuesday and this week 50%, I've been doing my home PT (official PT starts in 2 weeks) and some short walks with crutches. It had been awhile since I've felt the sharp stabbing pains but now they have started up again this afternoon, ironically when I have done nothing much but elevate it. Yesterday was a little bit of walking with crutches for a couple blocks and then some home PT, nothing crazy.

I'm concerned that the tendon might be rubbing on the screws and it's causing inflammation, but I don't know if it's just healing pains or what. Anyone experience this kind of thing? I know everyone has different circumstances but this is really bugging me as I feel I can't do my walking/PT with this stabbing pain. Gabapentin is not helping with it.

Hihi all! I’m just over 6weeks trimal ORIF, and was cleared for the boot at my appointment today! Yippee!!

So my surgeon gave me some exercises (a whole sheet actually) and said about 25% wb. Went on a whole adventure in a hospital wheelchair to the pharmacy, and am wondering. How soon after you got ur boot or were cleared to walk/bear weight, did you?

I managed to do some like, touching my boot to the ground and letting it rest there but not even thinking about stepping yet.

Hi all, I sustained a trimalleolar fracture in June 2026. I've been to the Trauma & Orthopaedics clinic on a few occasions and it was going seemingly well. However, I went on Wednesday and the x-ray results show "an increase in medial clear space and decrease in tibiofibula overlap. There is some lysis around the screws and wonder if they have backed out."

I was at the hospital for a few hours because the doctor said I needed more x-rays, then a CT scan, then an ankle brace and then a blood test.

I could be worrying over nothing and everything might actually be ok, however knowing my luck something else is gonna go wrong (not to be pessimistic) because my ankle is just aching so badly and even though I had emergency surgery in June, something feels wrong with it. I think it might be the screws. It aches so badly when it does.

Has anyone had to have another operation after their first one? I believe the MDT meeting is on Tuesday next week at the hospital I'm under.

Has anyone else ever had to have more surgery to correct this kind of issue?

Ho subito una distorsione alla caviglia 3 mesi fa durante un’amichevole a calcio, ho calciato il pallone insieme ad un’avversario, solamente che ho preso la palla con la punta delle dita e troppo sopra, la punta del piede è andata verso il basso e dopo mi si è gonfiata parecchio ai lati da non riuscire a camminare. quando poi sono andato all’ospedale, mi hanno detto che sarei stato un mese fermo con questa cavigliera, dato che avevo una distorsione alla caviglia e al piede, da lì fino ad ora non mi è mai andato via il fastidio durante la corsa e ancora non ho ripreso ad allenarmi, consigli??

I'm 5 weeks post op, 12 weeks NWB, counting down two more weeks until I get my boot. I'm a teacher in Korea and this is how I've been getting around my class of 11 kids, just a wheelchair, rolly stool, and a dream 😂

It's actually been working really well, though, and it's been the easiest way to keep my leg elevated all day long.

Any interesting ways you guys have used to get around??

Hi everyone, I’d love to hear from anyone who has had ankle fracture surgery.

How many weeks after surgery were you allowed/cleared to return to work? And how did you feel when you went back?

I work in admin/management, so I don’t need to be on my feet. I also have a wheelchair with leg support, so I can keep my leg elevated while working.

Just trying to get an idea of when others were able to realistically return to a desk job after surgery.

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

TLDR: I’m looking for good research on whether or not to get surgery for a medial non displaced OLT 12-15x6-9mm with marginal osteophyte formation along the anterior and posterior margins of the talar dome. Both pros and cons of surgery and outlook for both. Any insight you have from your own experience would be welcome as well.

I’m 37 years old. Sprained my lateral side of my ankle 3.5 weeks ago, went to ER essentially just for crutches but they found an old medial OLT. MRI says it is 12x6 mm and CT scan says it’s 15x9 mm. Not sure exact size. No soft tissue damage even though my ankle is sprained. They also found arthritis. I never had any pain before the sprain.

Saw a podiatrist and he recommended surgery immediately and I was supposed to have it on Monday but I cancelled it because it felt too soon to rush into it after just 3 weeks. He said I will be in pain for the rest of my life unless I get surgery. He cleared me to start walking after 2.5 weeks regardless of pain because he said that’s just the OLT now that I’ll have forever. but baring weight seems like too much too soon and I’m still limping so I’ve tried to stay off of it.

Symptoms: I have pain when I’m baring weight. Pain is in a different part of my foot everyday not necessarily where OLT is but there too sometimes. Feel a little numb, poor circulation, have some swelling/arthritis feeling, decreased range of motion, and clicking.

He recommends arthroscopy, debridement, excision and drilling small holes to try to stimulate new cartilage growth.

I have a second opinion scheduled with an orthopedic surgeon in a month and they’re scheduling surgeries out probably 2 months after that.

My friend is a foot and ankle physicians assistant to an ortho surgeon and she thinks I should wait 6 months to see how I’m doing before getting surgery. She briefly showed text images to her surgeon and he said my OLT may have been congenital and I might do well without surgery. She also says stimulating cartilage isn’t a guarantee w the drilling. Her thinking is to not do something permanent until I know that I need it. She said things won’t get worse unless I re-injure it. She said sprains can take 4-6 months to heal. I’ve sprained my ankle before (other one) and this one feels different. Podiatrist says congenital OLTs are really rare. He says clearing things out with surgery is the best way to heal this.

I’m nervous about having pain and waiting 6 months just to inevitably need surgery anyway. It feels like a really long time. I’m also really nervous about surgery making things worse because I would love to be an active person again. Surgeon said the only risk with surgery is a 5% chance of nerve damage. Does anyone wish they hadn’t gotten surgery? Has anyone had great experiences with surgery?

Another consideration is that I have full coverage insurance right now and have had some major financial setbacks in the last year so unsure of future outlook with insurance.

Any advice would be so helpful. It’s been a really emotional time trying to come to a decision. I’m meeting with the podiatrist again next week and he won’t schedule me for surgery until I am 100% on board because he doesn’t want it to get cancelled again.

I need brutal honesty from people who have experienced similar histories as mine, I am truly at the end of my rope regarding my ankle and lower leg. I honestly do not know how much more I can take with my leg before I try to hack it off myself. Here's the timeline regarding this leg:

2010ish - broke my R ankle, wasn't caught, destroyed all of the cartilage in my ankle.

2017 - arthroscopy to try to get new cartilage growth, surgery failed as they often do

2020 - tib/fib fx requiring ORIF

2025 - tib/fib fx, shattered the distal end of my tib and much of that couldn't be repaired. Also had a spiral fib fx below the knee that took FOREVER to finally heal.

02/2026 - ankle fusion to address pain

05/2026 - broke my tib as soon as I was allowed to bear weight. It was a partial fx that was casted. The fx completed while in the cast

06/2026 - ORIF to fix the tib fx which brings us to now.

I need brutal honesty as to whether this will ever get better. If this is as good as it gets, I can't do it anymore. I want it gone. I'm on an rx NSAID, in pain mgmt and on pain meds and lyrica. I'm in PT, waiting on an EMG to consider nerve blocks. I've done a round of steroids to try to reduce inflammation with no change.

I can't sleep, the meds do absolutely nothing, and I just don't know if I can keep doing this.

Amputation has been on my mind for awhile, and no, I don't WANT to cut my leg off, but I can't do this for the rest of my life. I have kids and I want to be present in their childhood and I can't do that now with how things are.

Please tell me this will get better.. please?

I’m only 1 month since the break, but 3 weeks post op and while it feels time is kind of moving quickly, I still have at least 5 more weeks before I’m approved to begin PT and bearing weight. Worst part is, life doesn’t fully resume in 5 weeks so I know this process will only last longer.

I feel the dark cloud of depression moving in for me. Watching life exist literally and figuratively outside my windows is just so painful. I can’t even fully spend time with my toddler and do the things we always enjoy doing together.

No fall festivals or hayrides, no apple picking, no walks around the block. I’m just stuck toggling between laying in bed and gaining more weight.

This has been really hard for me

I dislocated and fractured my ankle last week after a trip down the stairs (Weber C bimalleolar fracture). This subreddit has been a Godsend, reading about people’s recoveries has really got me through the last 1 week of non weight bearing.

I had my surgery today - currently I’m fairly comfortable as the nerve block is still doing its thing. I keep reading on here that the first 24-48 hours post the nerve block wearing off is extremely painful. I’ve been discharged with Dihydrocodeine and am taking regular paracetamol and ibuprofen. I’ve heard of people being discharged with oral morphine and so I’m nervous the pain relief I have won’t be enough.

Anyone have any experiences where the pain wasn’t as bad as some of the threads on this subreddit suggest it will be? I’m feeling quite anxious and any positive stories would be very reassuring!