Coming back after broken ankle

[BlazeWalker]

I fractured my fibula back at the end of June. Oddly enough I wasn't hiking but simply walking around in the woods behind a friends home. I rolled my right ankle and initially only thought it was a sprain. Well, the next day I couldn't walk and went to the ER. Fractured right fibula at the bottom where it forms the ankle. I was in a hard cast for about 6 weeks, then started phys therapy 2 weeks ago. No surgery. I am finally back to walking around pretty much normal but still have some pain in the ankle and foot. I am hoping the Doc will clear me next week to go back to work.

I wanted to know if anyone else has experience with this type of injury and any suggestions for building myself back up to get out there again. I just turned 28 so I think I can bounce right back, however, it is kind of a scary injury for a hiker!!

[Giggity]

Man I feel ya. Fractured my tibia and fibula at my ankle in March playing softball. Got 7 screws and a plate. Got my brace off about a month ago. My biggest problem is stretching out my muscles in my ankle and foot. Everything is really tight. Sweeling contines to be a problem. Tried to starting jogging a couple weeks ago and messed up my foot. Just dont try to do too much. I use a towel around my foot and pull it in different directions to bring back range of motion. Just don't over exert yourself.

[Dogwood]

I received a fractured left fibula and stretched and SLIGHTLY torn anterior ligament in the side of the ankle in late Nov 2005 when I was hit by a car going in excess of 70 mph as I was walking my bicycle across a road when I was training for an AT thru-hike. I thought I might not be able to go on my much anticipated hike.

I was in a hard boot at first, until the swelling(inflammation) went down and then was set in a hard cast for 2 months.

I focused on reducing the inflammation(swelling) as soon as possible by altering my lifestyle to eliminate inflammation and inflammation inducing foods. I also took anti-inflammation, bone building, and joint building supplements.

I avoided heavy meats, coffee, soft drinks(soda), smoking, alcohol, and hydrogenated oils for example, which all create a pro-inflammatory response in the body. I focused on consuming anti-oxidant rich foods and eating lighter meals. I took the supplements MSM, glucosamine, chondroitin, SaMe, coral calcium, Hyaluronic Acid(joint fluid) and added foods or herbal supplements containing arnica, bromelain, curcumin, and real cinnamon. There are other herbal supplements that you might want to investigate that could speed recovery.

I never took pain medication or any prescription drugs.

I GRADUALLY started putting pressure, light at first, on my ankle and working up to greater pressure and longer walks, even while I still had the cast on, BUT after the majority of the inflammation(swelling) had subsided.

I was conscious of my gear wt, which I worked on to reduce before and as I was on my thru-hike. I listened to my body as I began my hike. I did not push the miles at first.

Lastly, I went to rehab, also doing strengthening and stretching exercises at home as my doctor directed with large rubber bands and a towel. Like Giggity, everything seemed really tight at first, but I worked at my rehab.

Hit the AT in late Mar 2006. I have kept that regimen since that time. I feel stronger now than ever before!

The doctor said he never saw anyone heal so fast!

Good luck. Be patient and work the rehab.

[BlazeWalker]

Well, it's nice to hear some other experiences that's for sure. I seem to have gotten pretty lucky without having to have surgery for the bone. Now I am just concerned that I haven't pulled or torn anything else in there! I'm walking and putting full weight on the leg but still taking it easy. I have a small air cast on now that gives some support. There is tightness and some soreness and swelling still. My strength is almost normal already. I think back to "boulder hopping" on sections here in PA (Port Clinton to BM Summit comes to mind). It's gonna be awhile til I have confidence like that again! I'll stick with my rehab and just take it easy so awhile I guess.

[Giggity]

Figured I'd bump this and see how your doing BlazeWalker. Started backpacking again. Can only get a few miles a day before my ankle starts to bother me. The cold is killing me. lol. Vitamin I is my best friend now.

[tiptoe]

Revisiting this topic because I too fractured my ankle (tibia and fibula) a couple of months ago. Surgery left me with pins in the tibia and a plate holding the fibula together, but no pin across. Surgeon said there wasn't enough solid bone to pin into. Anyway, was in a cast for four weeks, then in a protective boot. I'm three weeks into PT and can put weight on the injured foot, but still need some help from the crutches. The doctor I'm seeing now (not the surgeon who operated) said I'd be fine swimming and gardening, but gave me one of those looks when I mentioned hiking. I know it'll take a long while, possibly a year or two, before I'm capable of anything more than a stroll in the park. If there's anyone else out there who has actually returned to backpacking after a serious fracture, I'd like to hear your stories. Just knowing others have lived to hike again would be very encouraging.

[Doc Mike]

Revisiting this topic because I too fractured my ankle (tibia and fibula) a couple of months ago. Surgery left me with pins in the tibia and a plate holding the fibula together, but no pin across. Surgeon said there wasn't enough solid bone to pin into. Anyway, was in a cast for four weeks, then in a protective boot. I'm three weeks into PT and can put weight on the injured foot, but still need some help from the crutches. The doctor I'm seeing now (not the surgeon who operated) said I'd be fine swimming and gardening, but gave me one of those looks when I mentioned hiking. I know it'll take a long while, possibly a year or two, before I'm capable of anything more than a stroll in the park. If there's anyone else out there who has actually returned to backpacking after a serious fracture, I'd like to hear your stories. Just knowing others have lived to hike again would be very encouraging.

Read the story of buckeye flash he hiked the last 350 miles on his thru this year with a broken ankle. I forget his blog site but should be easy to find.

[tiptoe]

I did read that account, but his situation is quite different from mine.

[moytoy]

When I was 14 (thats 50 years ago) I fell 50 feet (free fall) and landed on my feet. My right foot hit first and I crushed the heel of that foot. The bones were so badly crushed that the doctor decided they had nothing to do but put it in a cast and let it heal. At the same time I was in a body cast because I had separated a vertabre in my lower back. I was stuck in the Blount Memorial hospital in Maryville for 6 weeks. I was wearing steel shanked boots and the right boot had to be cut off of my foot. At the time of my fall I had already hiked all of the AT in the GSMNP and was planning on doing more of the AT. It was not to be. I really had a lot of pain in the ankle and just didn't have the guts to gut it out. The strength in my right calf was half what the left calf was. I quit hiking! Fast forward several years (15) and I started hiking again. I have continued to hike and now hike more than ever. I still have lots of pain in that ankle but I have learned to deal with it. Most of my hiking trips are 35 miles or less so I'm not sure how I would do on a thru but I plan to try in a few years. I guess my message is that once the bone has mended then all you have to do is build the muscle back and tough through the pain.

[tiptoe]

Wow, moytoy, you get lots of credit for persevering through all that. After a 50-ft. fall, you're lucky to be alive.

I don't aspire to a thru, just sections, and I've never been one to push the miles. At PT I'm hearing "let pain be your guide" as to what I can do, and that seems like good advice. So I try new things little by little, and I can see the progress. I'd rather not put myself in a position where I'd be hiking through pain. I'd rather work gradually to increase range of motion and rebuild the muscles, however long it takes.

[The Old Boot]

I broke my ankle three years ago. It took screws to put it back together again because of the angle of the break. I was in a hard cast for 7 weeks, then a 'boot cast' for another 3 weeks full-time with another couple of weeks in the boot cast when I was outdoors only. At my age, my bones don't heal quite as quickly as those of a younger person.

I started my walking while still on crutches and in the rocker boot...first it was only as far as the end of the drive (farm drive...lol), then a couple of hundred yards up the road. By the time I was finally free of the crutches altogether, I was doing at least a mile. Both the doctor and the physiotherapist used the 'as much as you can do without pain' rule.

It took concentrated effort and lots of physio to get that leg back to match the other...well except for my thigh muscles cause I'd been doing leg lifts with the cast on!! One of the hardest things in recovery was learning to walk without a limp! I ended up practicing three and four times a day, walking slowly and with concentration to teach myself not to limp.

One of the best exercises for ankle motion is to write the alphabet with your toes.

I haven't done any long distance (8 or 10 miles) at a time but I'm good for at least 4 or 5 with no pain and have no qualms about doing longer distances in the future.

[tiptoe]

My longest trip so far was over the back hill to harvest northern kiwis last Friday (the day before the devastating snowstorm that dumped 13 inches on my town and knocked down several trees and limbs). I strapped a colander to my shoulder bag using a leather belt so I could pick with two hands more or less free. I got back to the house safely, but the ankle was more swollen than usual the next day. Sounds like you really pushed the distance walking. My ACL-challenged daughter told me about writing her name with her toes in her therapy, but no one has asked me to do that yet. I'm getting really good at picking up marbles with my toes, though, and depositing them in a little dish, but I don't think it's a marketable skill. I'm also pedaling a semi-recumbent bike and balancing on a teeter-totter.

I'm older than you, old boot, and I've come to dread the "at your age..." lead-in. Thankfully, I've mostly been spared. Glad to hear you have progressed to 4-5 miles at a time.

[58starter]

BlazeWalker, I am sorry for your injury, you are young enough to recover from this. You may want to read the trail journal of HeartWalker, who broke his ankle while hiking. He has a 2010 and 2011 journal. Under his name HeartWalker on Trailjournal.com.

[takethisbread]

I broke a bone in my ankle at the beginning of my hike, and made it through. It was painful at times, but it's possible to perservere if the injury is not too serious, mine being a stress fracture. My doctor was a AT hiker and knew I would keep going anyway and gave some simple advice to keep it elevated when possible and take some time off when needed. It took about 18 months for the injury to fully heal.

[JAK]

I fractured one ankle and sprained the other very badly in a couple of separate accidents back when I was 17 or 18 or so. Left on, the broken one, still bothers me a bit to this day. I have very high arches, and I think my feet are a little too rigid, so I get alot of foot pain on long hikes and long runs. Keeping your body weight down should help tremendously I think. Probably the best thing you can do, long term. Short term, walk before you run, but don't pamper them too much with overly protective footwear. Best regards.

[markoboston]

I want to share my experience because there is so little on the web about the extended recovery from a broken ankle. I sometimes hike on the AT but more often closer to home in the Blue Hills south of Boston. On September 13, I was hiking the Skyline trail on a misty morning and slipped on a wet rock. I heard the snap when I broke my left fibula and made my way back to the trailhead through a combination of hopping on one leg and crawling on one leg and two hands. X-rays showed a Weber B fracture with minimal dislocation, so they put me in a cast without surgery for 6 weeks, of which the first 3 were non-weight-bearing. During the last 3 weeks in the cast, I progressed from partial to full weight bearing in the cast. After the cast came off, I wore a boot while walking for a little more than a week. Meanwhile, I began two and a half months of weekly physical therapy and home exercises.

Even while I was in the cast, I had to find a beautiful natural place where I could crutch 150 yards down a dirt trail and sit in the sun beside a pond. About a week after the cast came off, I did a 1-mile walk on an easy trail with little elevation change while wearing the boot. My ankle hurt afterwards. I stopped wearing the boot soon after because Still, I continued doing what I call nature walks (easy trails, little elevation) rather than hikes on weekends.

The cast came off 6 weeks after the injury, but it wasn't until fully 3 months after the injury that I began to be able to walk short distances without any pain or serious discomfort. Today, 3.5 months after the injury, I did my first real hike on a steep and rocky trail. The hike was less than 2 miles, but involved climbing a steep hill with maybe a 300-foot elevation gain. I wore my soft brace and took it very slow, with a walking stick. But I did it, and I have no real pain afterwards, just a little tenderness.

The doctor said I shouldn't expect to hike until spring, so this is about 3 months ahead of schedule. Now I am optimistic about being able to hike on the AT again this spring or summer. But a broken ankle really does require months of patience.

[egilbe]

I broke my leg and ankle on February 5th 1995, had surgery February 14th, and a cast boot for nine weeks. Broke my fibula in three pieces and broke off the distal end of the tibia. 9 pins and a plate put it all back together again. It was two weeks after the the cast was removed before I could walk without the aid of crutches, and 6 months before I could walk without a limp. Even now, the broken leg's calf is still smaller than the unbroken one and I only have about 70% of the mobility of the unbroken one. I can still hike 15 mile days in Maine so its all good.

[tiptoe]

I'm happy to report that I did get back on the trail after my double ankle break in 2011. I have since retired, so was able to do longer sections. In 2013, it was Waynesboro to Daleville, the Daleville to Damascus (2014), and Damascus to Amicalola (2015). With each hike, the range of motion improved, not to mention my confidence.