Hi broke my ankle over 2 months ago and have been out of the boot for 3 and a half weeks now. I was fully weight bearing in the boot. My problem is my ankle is really sore literally all day long, I can walk but with a bit of a limp especially at the end of the day. Putting pressure on it, such as sitting crossed legged (I work in a nursery with young toddlers) is very painful. By the time I get home I’m in agony and it’s swollen. I do wear a compression bandage whilst at work so it helps with the swelling a little.
Is this all normal? Will it get better with time or should I go see my doctor? Ive never broken a bone before so I don’t really know what to expect. Some people have said I shouldn’t be having pain now and my physiotherapist said that problems I have will get better with time. I’m not currently having physio as he said he doesn’t think I’ll benefit from it although I’ve got about 2 weeks left to make an appointment if I feel I need to see him. I really don’t know what to do. Can anyone help?
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gemm27
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Hello Gemm27, having had broken bones I think you are expecting too much to soon. You need to rest it if it is swelling and gently get back to normal walking & standing . Maybe you should contact the physio for advice, keep up with your compression bandage & maybe try ice pack when at home should lessen the swelling at least . I still get pain in my broken bone regions the last break was about 14 months ago. one was 10 years ago but I still get a little pain. Every best wish for a good recovery given time.
I haven't had a broken ankle but I have had foot surgery where they cut a bone in half. As Katie says, I think it is too soon to expecting it to be pain free. Not only is there a bone to finish healing but the soft tissue will take a lot longer than the bone to heal. You would expect swelling at the end of the day for at least 6 months.
Try elevating it when you can, and use ice packs (frozen peas or similar are good in an emergency). there are also things like gel packs that are thin and reusable that you might be able to use at work. Can you elevate your foot during breaks at work? Can you get your toddlers to play 'doctors and nurses' with you as the patient? I can just see how much fun they would have wrapping your ankle up while you sat with it up for five minutes!
The advice for the foot surgery was that it would take a year to totally resolve. So give it a few more weeks, and if it isn't getting better, then maybe try to get an appointment with the physio just before the cut off time. But if it is slowly getting better week by week, even though it is frustrating, it will get there in the end.
You need some form of therapy to deal with the muscle shortening that occurs when you break something. You need to do appropriate stretching exercises in order to return to pain free mobility.
The physio who gave you advice about not needing to see him is a physio you definitely need to avoid. You need advice concerning appropriate exercises to stretch shortened muscle. The exercises can hurt a little bit. If you do not do the exercises you could cause much greater problems in the future. A sports therapist connected with the local football may be helpful.
Compression bandages may reduce swelling but they can cause problems with blood supply to area that are still healing.
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