Broken ankle (fibula). Advice requested

I broke the end of my right fibula in a fall at home a week ago.  I've got a fracture boot now and I'm on crutches.  Its still tender, but I can apply some weight to it, though it doesn't feel good.

The ankle and foot are still swollen. My doctor said they would be for quite some time.  He estimated recovery to be 6-8 weeks.

Anyone have experience with this type of injury and any advice?  I was thinking of trying out a stationary bike soon, to see how pedaling feels with the boot.

Should I just lay off?  Are there things I can do to avoid this turning into a long-term problem?

Thanks.

P.S.  I need to travel to MI soon.  Are there restrictions on renting/driving a car while in a cast/boot?

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Permalink Reply by Tominator on April 4, 2014 at 8:47am

Bone recovery: take 5,000 vitamin D-3 a day. Take magnesium but not mag oxide, it's worthless. A pretty good source is a powder called Calm you can get at the health food store. Also, Epson salt soaks/baths will get you to absorb magnesium through your skin. When it gets sunny, sit out in the sun for 10-20 minutes a day around noon in a bathing suit before putting on sunscreen.

Permalink Reply by Patricia Niedrich on April 4, 2014 at 10:40am

I broke the smaller bones of my left ankle while taking out some garbage, slipped on a snow-covered icy stairway at home. It took WEEKS of hobbling around, similar to what everybody above has written so I won't go into the details. This happened in early April of 03, and the swelling was still there at the end of July, although not as bad, but I was still walking slowly with my grandpa's old cane. I went into the old Sherwyn's health food store, and they had a chiropractor on staff there, and I showed him my foot, and he immediately took my shoe off and gave it a twist-pop and SNAP! The foot "went into" the groove it was meant to be in. (I don't know how else to describe it.) It was intense pain for about 20 seconds, and then a slow burn and then it felt marvelous! The swelling went down in an hour, which had been with me for months! What happened was the doctors had dealt with the bones, but not the muscles around the bones, ligaments, etc. I would HIGHLY suggest going to a chiropractor to see if EVERYTHING is in place after the initial main injuries are taken care of. It was out of joint, and I never knew. I would do this for any major bump or bruise I underwent, and continue to do so now. Just a fyi.

Permalink Reply by JeffB on April 4, 2014 at 11:03am

I appreciate all the feedback.  A lot of stuff I would have never considered.  I go for my 2 week follow-up next Tuesday.  One thing I need to address now are the muscles in my thigh; they cramp up sometimes, particularly when I sit in an awkward position or increase my walking speed suddenly.  I'm assuming this is from lack of use.

Permalink Reply by bobweiser on April 6, 2014 at 6:23am

thanks to whoever highlighted this thread in the weekly chainlink email. hit by a cab, got my bike working again, rode to the ER, came out 20 hours later with 2 casts (ankle and wrist) and on crutches. all this advice is perfectly timed and deeply appreciated.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 7, 2014 at 4:04am

Bob - Very sorry to hear it. I hope that you filed a police report and that you're able to make a good recovery.

bob hsiung said:

thanks to whoever highlighted this thread in the weekly chainlink email. hit by a cab, got my bike working again, rode to the ER, came out 20 hours later with 2 casts (ankle and wrist) and on crutches. all this advice is perfectly timed and deeply appreciated.

Permalink Reply by bobweiser on April 7, 2014 at 4:40am

anne, thanks. rush hour downtown, lots of people around, someone got me a cup of water from mrs fields, the police came right away, followed shortly by a fire truck and an ambulance. and the cab did stop.

Permalink Reply by Mike Keating on April 7, 2014 at 4:42am

I had a mere severely sprained ankle my freshman year in college. I was running cross country then and was anxious to return to training. I came back too quickly and ran on it before it healed. One of my life's great regrets. The ankle has never been the same. Hurts all the time and swells if I run or ride for a long time.

Long story short, STAY OFF IT UNTIL IT IS HEALED AND DO ALL OF YOUR PT! Good luck. Get better soon.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 7, 2014 at 9:44am

Glad to hear that folks helped you out and the cab stopped.

bob hsiung said:

anne, thanks. rush hour downtown, lots of people around, someone got me a cup of water from mrs fields, the police came right away, followed shortly by a fire truck and an ambulance. and the cab did stop.

Permalink Reply by bobweiser on April 8, 2014 at 6:57am

christmas in april! went to the orthopedic surgeon for my follow-up appointment. they look at my x-rays, they take my casts off, they have me move my wrist and ankle around, they let me hobble around a little -- and they tell me i'm good to go! after all that, just (very) bad sprains.  :-)

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on April 8, 2014 at 7:15am

Quite possibly, congratulations are in order. When you said you were casted, I assumed (though you didn't state) that you had sustained fractures. Bad sprains can sometimes take longer to heal and heal less completely than fractures. Under the circumstances (you got hit by a cab), sounds like pretty good news.

bob hsiung said:

christmas in april! went to the orthopedic surgeon for my follow-up appointment. they look at my x-rays, they take my casts off, they have me move my wrist and ankle around, they let me hobble around a little -- and they tell me i'm good to go! after all that, just (very) bad sprains.  :-)

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 8, 2014 at 7:29am

I'll second Kevin's thought on bad sprains. I've been there a few times and know from experience that lack of fractures isn't always a good thing. It's very VERY easy to reinjure and reinjure again and end up with a chronic problem with the injured body part, especially when it's a weight bearing part.

Bob - Please tell me that they recommended some kind of brace or wrap for both wrist and ankle and advice for recovery. Those sprained body parts will be vulnerable for a while. When they first start to feel really good again, that can be the time of greatest danger because the temptation to overdo it is great.

Sorry to sound like Mom on this. I'm speaking from the perspective of permanent damaged feet and ankles due to bad sprains that were reinjured repeatedly. Wish I knew then what I know now so I could have avoided trashing my feet and ankles.  Wishing you good healing and no reinjuries.

Permalink Reply by bobweiser on April 8, 2014 at 12:46pm

They told me I'd sustained fractures of the ankle and wrist (and neck, but that's another story). I got a list of ankle sprain rehabilitation exercises (but not a brace or wrap). I'm familiar with the temptation to overdo. I definitely want to heal and not to reinjure.

Now I find myself wondering who hit me harder, the taxi or the ER! Anybody want to guess how much my ER bill is going to be?

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