Anyone have ankle surgery who was able to improve mobility through exercise (trimalleolar fracture)?
Options
Verity1111
Posts: 3,309 Member
I'm only 26, a mother of 3 kids, 2 with disabilities and already a divorcee. To top all of that off, I injured my ankle earlier this year and now I have 8 screws, a plate and a wire in there. I feel way older than I am right now. I just played Zumba Core for Xbox Kinect for the first time since then and I can definitely tell a difference. I almost want to cry. Dancing is life for me. I love to dance and I can't do the things I could before, not just because of my weight, but because of my ankle not being able to rotate the way it used to. I started walking again around July. Is there any hope? Can exercise help? Any advice would be appreciated. I had a trimalleolar fracture, dislocation and injured tendons. Injury was in February.
0
Replies
-
Guess not
0 -
Verity1111 wrote: »Guess not
Patience is the key. This was posted at 3 AM Thanksgiving morning in the US. Also, you say you started walking again in July, many times it takes longer that that to get full mobility back. Patience needed again.
Don't know the specifics of the injury/surgery, but if you're done with post OP physical therapy, can you go back to the therapist and ask what you can do to improve mobility? Unfortunately you may have some restrictions for the rest of your live or maybe not, but the PT should be able to help you be the best you can.
If for whatever reason you can't see a therapist, I would continue any PT exercises they gave you. You can also Google ankle mobility. There are lots of article and videos of exercises to work on this. Go slow and don't push to a pain level. I'd really try to get with a PT so they can get you exercises to target your particular situation.
Couple sample videos from physical therapists.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0GWm5jTDaU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxr9-IB0Rr4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gwgm3s2EQ0
A few sample articles:
https://www.t-nation.com/training/ankle-paradox
http://fitnesspainfree.com/ankle-mobility-a-small-twist-to-make-an-already-effective-exercie-better/
Bill Hartman, Dan Pope and Kelly Starett are some of my favorite PT's that have an online presence. Mike Robertson, Eric Cressey and Brett Contreras are trainers that do a lot of writing on movement patterns.
Best of luck.
4 -
I had ORIF May of 2015 and was finally able to START running around a little over a year later. This is a very hard injury to recover from. It takes patience and time.i was also just released ftomPT about a month ago.if you are not in PT anymore go back. My goal was to run so I stayed in longer than if I just wanted to walk. It's depressing! I totally get it!2
-
I do understand your urgency to get moving properly again. Unfortunately it will take time.
I know it is very different, my daughter in her late 40's, fractured her collarbone 4 years ago it took "them" best part of a year to pin and plate it. She had endless physio etc and she still does not have the strength in her arm she used to have. I see you are in your 20's, where bone repair is concerned your age is very much on your side. Hang on in there.1 -
I have a rod and screws from my ankle to my knee which made it hard to do a lot of things.This happened on nov 6 2003. I had to basically learn to walk all over again. the first year I think was the hardest to get back to semi normal. but the last 4 years I have been able to run,lift weights(which for me strengthened up my muscles) and so on that I couldnt do before. I was one of the lucky ones,I healed quick and didnt need PT.
I was 29 at that time. Im now 42 and while there are days my ankle or part of my leg aches something awful,its a lot better than it was a year or two after the accident.Talk to a PT and see what they suggest. maybe you can get them to give you some kind of strengthening exercises. I know my injury is not like yours but they thought I would have a limp,they are surprised I dont. just ask a PT and maybe a orthopedic surgeon what they would suggest.4 -
I have full use of my left ankle now as I'd had previously, post surgery. Had to ease into it. You will need patience and PT as stated above. Bone and tissue healing takes time. I waited 1 1/2 years for the bones to consolidate . Got xrays every 3 months to track healing. Ate a lot of protein and foods rich in calcium. Bought the Exogen bone stmulator machine to speed up bone healing. If you cannot get a prescription for it, it's available on ebay, with partial treatments left on some machines.
* If you follow your Orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeons advice, PT, proper diet & nutrition, you should regain full manoeuvrability to be able to dance again as you'd done before. If you aren't careful arthritis in that area will result.
** No matter what, DO NOT place undue pressure or risk your ankle by choosing to do something silly like my Ex fiance. Decided to unravel all his healing and treatment to go Deep Sea Sport fishing for Swordfish. He broke his screws and tore more muscle tissue than he'd previously done from his vehicle collision accident. Reckless behaviour - broke up with him.
ETA: As stated above, strength training is essential. Additionally, for dance, focus on techniques rather than the routine - execute them with drill like precision (a few reps at a time to reacclimate the ankle to those movements). Remember, you're going to have to reteach your muscles and ligaments to hold your weight again ...Naturally turning your ankle as it had done before, after "healing abstinence, " will take the same amount of time as it did before you were adept. It'll hurt, because all your other muscles which have been helping you compensate for the "ankle" need to unlearn their compensatory function as they've become accustomed. Painful? God yes. Worth it? Yes!
Think POSITIVE thoughts. The mind can be a terrible foe.3 -
I'm not sure what the nature of my fracture was, but I badly broke my ankle about 10 years ago and have a plate and 9 screws.
I was sedentary at the time, but I did do the PT afterwards. I made slow but steady progress, but nothing ever really tested my mobility.
When I started losing weight 2 years ago, I began with walking. When I wanted to start lifting weights, I found that when I tried squatting, my ankle was really an impediment. It has taken 2 years of working on it to gain some measure of improved mobility. I still have issues with my squat, but that's due to my hips now!
It takes time. Time and patience.
For the record, I comfortably run almost daily now, at least a half and hour, with no issue.3 -
Yes there's hope. It's going to take time and a lot of work, but you should be following a rehab plan to get as much of your strength and ankle mobility back.0
-
I'm not sure if you're ready to do this workout, so proceed with caution. While standing, place your feet side by side with only a little space between them. Twist at you hips from left to right. You should be able to feel it in your ankles. Start slow and don't overdo it. You can advance to doing that while lifting one foot slightly off the ground so you are balancing on only one foot. Swinging your hands with the rotation adds resistance. I found this to be a great ankle strengthening exercise. The harder you rotate from side to side, the harder it is. Really easy to get injured with this one though, so be careful.1
-
I broke my rt ankle motorcycling in Mexico about 30 yrs ago.
Still have a plate and 6 screws in it. Never bothered to remove them and never had any mobility issues that I can recall after the boot was removed.
So, OP, I can't be of any assistance but I hope you have a quick recovery.1 -
Packerjohn wrote: »Verity1111 wrote: »Guess not
Patience is the key. This was posted at 3 AM Thanksgiving morning in the US. Also, you say you started walking again in July, many times it takes longer that that to get full mobility back. Patience needed again.
Don't know the specifics of the injury/surgery, but if you're done with post OP physical therapy, can you go back to the therapist and ask what you can do to improve mobility? Unfortunately you may have some restrictions for the rest of your live or maybe not, but the PT should be able to help you be the best you can.
If for whatever reason you can't see a therapist, I would continue any PT exercises they gave you. You can also Google ankle mobility. There are lots of article and videos of exercises to work on this. Go slow and don't push to a pain level. I'd really try to get with a PT so they can get you exercises to target your particular situation.
Couple sample videos from physical therapists.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0GWm5jTDaUhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxr9-IB0Rr4https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gwgm3s2EQ0
A few sample articles:
https://www.t-nation.com/training/ankle-paradox
http://fitnesspainfree.com/ankle-mobility-a-small-twist-to-make-an-already-effective-exercie-better/
Bill Hartman, Dan Pope and Kelly Starett are some of my favorite PT's that have an online presence. Mike Robertson, Eric Cressey and Brett Contreras are trainers that do a lot of writing on movement patterns.
Best of luck.
I didn't have any physical therapy. I was just sent home to deal.0 -
I had ORIF May of 2015 and was finally able to START running around a little over a year later. This is a very hard injury to recover from. It takes patience and time.i was also just released ftomPT about a month ago.if you are not in PT anymore go back. My goal was to run so I stayed in longer than if I just wanted to walk. It's depressing! I totally get it!
I never had PT! Can I even start now? Would it even help? I've been doing it alone since July.0 -
CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »I have a rod and screws from my ankle to my knee which made it hard to do a lot of things.This happened on nov 6 2003. I had to basically learn to walk all over again. the first year I think was the hardest to get back to semi normal. but the last 4 years I have been able to run,lift weights(which for me strengthened up my muscles) and so on that I couldnt do before. I was one of the lucky ones,I healed quick and didnt need PT.
I was 29 at that time. Im now 42 and while there are days my ankle or part of my leg aches something awful,its a lot better than it was a year or two after the accident.Talk to a PT and see what they suggest. maybe you can get them to give you some kind of strengthening exercises. I know my injury is not like yours but they thought I would have a limp,they are surprised I dont. just ask a PT and maybe a orthopedic surgeon what they would suggest.
Hm I guess. I had a limp for a while but unless I get pain or after walking a long time it is almost back to normal now. It has been about four months. Also, amazing recovery. I can't run at all lol I hobble when I try.0 -
Thank you everyone...Never had PT I jumped to the gym doing a bike for 2 hrs at a time and it ended up being a bit much for me so I stopped. Now I am back exercising but chose to try Zumba instead and for a shorter period of time. It's easier on my leg.0
-
Verity1111 wrote: »I had ORIF May of 2015 and was finally able to START running around a little over a year later. This is a very hard injury to recover from. It takes patience and time.i was also just released ftomPT about a month ago.if you are not in PT anymore go back. My goal was to run so I stayed in longer than if I just wanted to walk. It's depressing! I totally get it!
I never had PT! Can I even start now? Would it even help? I've been doing it alone since July.
I assume you're not in the US or have very poor insurance. Typically nobody in the US with decent insurance would have that surgery as described without some PT follow-up.
Yes PT at this point can help. Best of luck.0 -
Yes, I'm shocked that there's was no PT follow up. I don't think it's too late. Find a good PT and work through your mobility issues. You'll be glad you did!0
-
Packerjohn wrote: »Verity1111 wrote: »I had ORIF May of 2015 and was finally able to START running around a little over a year later. This is a very hard injury to recover from. It takes patience and time.i was also just released ftomPT about a month ago.if you are not in PT anymore go back. My goal was to run so I stayed in longer than if I just wanted to walk. It's depressing! I totally get it!
I never had PT! Can I even start now? Would it even help? I've been doing it alone since July.
I assume you're not in the US or have very poor insurance. Typically nobody in the US with decent insurance would have that surgery as described without some PT follow-up.
Yes PT at this point can help. Best of luck.
Yes I only have federal insurance. I am in Chicago.0 -
Yes, I'm shocked that there's was no PT follow up. I don't think it's too late. Find a good PT and work through your mobility issues. You'll be glad you did!
Ok. Thank you! I mean, I can dance and what not...but I can't do jumping jacks while dancing and some other movements and twists with my ankle.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.9K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.8K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.7K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 397 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 972 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions