My Ankle Is Not Healing Well

by Sriks
(San Francisco, CA)

I am a 32 year old male, physically not over weight. It's been 1 year since I had a surgery on my broken ankle (Fibula & Tibia broken into 2 parts). I have a plate and 6 screws to fix the fibula and 2 screws to fix the tibia.

I did go to physical therapy for 3 months, but did not follow up after that. Currently I do a lot of walking - 90 min walking/day. I can feel the pain at every step. It’s mostly (95%) bearable but sometimes the pain is bad (have to slow down considerably).

Is it normal for an ankle injury to persist over a year?

What do I do at this stage to improve my condition?

Do I need to go back to Physical therapy?
Do I need get the hardware out of my leg?

Thanks for your time.

Cheers

Sriks

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My Ankle Is Not Healing Well

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Dec 22, 2010
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bone fractures NEW
by: andrew j langham

the truth is bones never heal as good as they were originally; You have to be always mindful of your injury and take care the rest of your life! Note; never ever let your fracture break get cold! Take only enough exersise in order to restore muscle fiber be very careful with physio? It takes years to get back to anything like normal! God Bless!

Oct 23, 2008
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swollen NEW
by: Jenny

Please presevere with PT, its great that you're doing your daily exercises. I've had a broken ankle for 9 months (its a long story), but I've been told by several different surgeons that the swelling can take up to a year to go away, especially if you have had large surgeries. The only think you can do for scar tissue is to massage the area where there is scar tissue underneath, vitamine E cream is good, I've been told it takes years for scar tissue to dissapear. Hopefully with more PT exercises it will help with reducing the scar tissue. Keep faith, and take Glocosamine!

Oct 16, 2008
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5 months past broken ankle surgery still stiff swollen , NEW
by: Anonymous

I also am wondering why I haven't healed more after foot/ ankle surgery after 5 months. They say my bones have completely healed, but I still cannot walk properly. The swelling is still a problem. I am currently in PT. I do exercise my foot/ankle daily If this is a scar tissue problem, how do I get rid of it. I am 59 years old. Thank you :-)

Jun 30, 2008
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5 weeks ankle still swelling... NEW
by: Jewels

I am a woman over 65 and they never sent me to PT AND AFTER 5 WEEKS THERE IS STILL SOME SWELLING, PAIN AND RANGE OF MOTION IS NOT COMPLETE!!!

Thanks....

Mar 21, 2008
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A few follow up questions... NEW
by: Bart - SII

Just a few questions so I can get a better idea of what your ankle situation is...

Do you now or have you ever regained all of your range of motion - can you move it equal to the other side?

When you squat down, or try to stretch your calf, do you feel most of the stretch in the back along your achilles, or more of a pinch in the front of your ankle?

Did you do much along the lines of balancing exercises during physical therapy?

Did you continue with some type of strengthening and flexibility program after your were discharged from PT?

Use the comment box on your post page to respond and I can try to give you a good answer.

Bart

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