Doing well 90 days post accident. Bones have totally healed, and surgeon gave me the go ahead to start walking some without the soft cast. Physical therapy is going well too, although PT is less enthusiastic about my walking far without the soft cast as my gait isn’t normal yet. Given the stiffness in my ankle and the fact that my foot is too swollen for a paddock boot I don’t expect to be riding for awhile.??
[QUOTE=Prime Time Rider;8943816]
Doing well 90 days post accident. Bones have totally healed, and surgeon gave me the go ahead to start walking some without the soft cast. Physical therapy is going well too, although PT is less enthusiastic about my walking far without the soft cast as my gait isn’t normal yet. Given the stiffness in my ankle and the fact that my foot is too swollen for a paddock boot I don’t expect to be riding for awhile.??[/QUOTE]
I did not ride until 7.5 months post surgery, but I also needed all the metal taken out and had a second surgery at 7 months. I was able to ride two weeks after the second surgery (the metal had shifted and was causing pain and delaying my recovery). I am now one year and two months post surgery and believe I am 100%. I worked my A$$ off in PT! Seriously! I did PT from six weeks after my surgery until a month before my second surgery and then from a month after my second surgery and am still doing exercises even though I feel I am 100% recovered. I think I reached 100% one year and one month post surgery.
So, four months post accident I am in PT twice a week, walking fairly normally in a shoe (sneaker or paddock boot, had to buy one size up from my normal size) and I started riding again. I’ve made great progress, however, I can’t get my heel down much beyond horizontal. I’ve started taking Pilates classes, and I feel the Pilates is helping me the most.
I am concerned about my ability to get weight into my heel long term.
Give it time. I think I hit full range of motion something like 2 years after the big rebuild. I spent a fair amount of time with a slant board. If my gym didn’t have one I probably would have bought one.
Another vote for giving it time. I am two years post-surgical repair, and I continue to improve in strength and range of motion.
Invest in a back on track ankle brace or long johns, they helped speed up my recovery big time. I broke my leg in 4 places May 25th. I have full range of motion now, almost %100 pain free when riding.
Yoga has also helped a tonne. I started as soon as the cast was off.
Jumping in on this thread, as I am just starting this whole process. I broke my tibia and fibula this past weekend in a nasty fall at a horse show - right above the ankle. I’ve just had surgery and have some hardware keeping it all together now. They have me in a plaster cast for a couple of weeks, and then I think I’ll get into a boot at my follow-up appointment. Planning on getting a Back on Track Ankle Brace and using that as soon as it makes sense to do so. It’s been quite eye-opening reading stories of similar injuries.
I’m just dying to get back in the saddle already. Right now, they say in about 3 months I should be back to normal activity…hoping that is the length of it.
Any other tips and tricks for keeping sane while waiting and exercises for range of motion? I’m finding the rest of my body is super stiff from being so immobile.
You have my sympathies. My main piece of advice is to follow doctor’s orders and use your PT as a sounding board on what you can do when. A good PT is amazing. I had a tibial plateau fracture with two plates and 12 screws. I just had the hardware out last week, so I am rehabbing again. Back on Track makes a blanket that you can wrap around your ankle when it is still too swollen to put on the brace. Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Acorn are your live-streaming friends. Oh, and word of warning, avoid puddles on crutches. I broke my leg the year it snowed constantly, and there were always puddles. When I was non weight bearing, my family would track in snow, and I would wipe out when my crutch hit the melted puddle. They quickly took away my crutches and made me use the walker until I could touch my foot down.
3 months sounds pretty reasonable. I was on a horse after 5 weeks, because “weight bearing as tolerated” is definitely the same as “ride your horse”. I was in a wheelchair for a month, then using a walker for another month. After that, I was able to get around pretty well without any aids, even if I couldn’t move too fast. You won’t be 100% back to normal after 3 months, but you should be pretty functional. Hopefully you won’t have any lasting problems.
For keeping sane, I recommend watching past seasons of America’s Next Top Model :D.
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Thank you guys! That is a great idea for the blanket to use until the brace can fit over! I’ll have to look into that. I’m hoping they don’t have to remove the hardware down the road. They said unless it starts to bother me, they will leave it in, so I’m hoping I don’t notice it in the future. A second surgery & recovery is not at all appealing to me right now haha!
amastrike - I like your translation of “weight bearing as tolerated” being the same as “ride your horse” haha! I have a feeling I might try and at least sit on him bareback before 3 months is up…If I can convince my “supervisors” lol! It’s my right leg, so I have to be driven to the barn, which means my Mom or fiance will be monitoring my antics lol!
I gave it nearly 2 1/2 years, but it was just plain uncomfortable. If you do decide to get the hardware out, the recovery is astronomically faster. I am doing in days, what took weeks last time. Metal removed a week ago. Already no crutches in the house. One crutch out of the house, and I will wean off that as is comfortable.
That is certainly good to hear about the recovery from the hardware removal! I’m still hoping I won’t have to go through it, but at least it would hopefully be a faster recovery!
Like Jealoushe, I also do yoga. In fact, my PT released me early because I do it at least twice a week.
I am now one year post my removal surgery and a year and 8 months post original repair surgery. I showed for the first time last weekend and entered classes HC (no score) because I had a tremendous amount of PTSD fear to get over that made me too tense. This show accomplished that. It was a huge international show (with a national show) and there were lots of decorations and new judges booths (I showed in the CDI arena) and furniture being moved in the covered VIP area above and music blasting and being changed due to freestyle and other prep and too many WAY TOO MANY horses in the warmup (which had to have a court set up in it for the CDI classes) and a CCI* eventing going on at the same time. I now feel completely recovered because by the 3rd day I could relax and ride my horse up and be effective. I almost scratched and went home on warmup day however, as I was paralyzed with fear. I was taken by surprise a bit by this, but my accident did happen at a horse show. Physically, I am 100%–very little swelling (my ankle, which has been broken twice and in two places the last time is just a wee bit bigger than the other one–less than 1/4 inch) and flexes the same. I am still using flexible irons, as I felt that helped. The only other thing that surprised me is how tired I got each day. I don’t remember showing being that exhausting, but maybe I blocked it out!
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I was all “no way am I have the hardware out, no more surgeries for me!” Within probably 6 months, I was begging my ortho at every visit to take it out because it hurt. I had to keep it in for a year, which is the absolute minimum. Fingers crossed you don’t need it out, but TBH I’d probably plan on it and then be pleasantly surprised if it ends up not being a problem.
Took me 2 1/4 years, and my Ortho retiring from operating, and going to another trauma surgeon at the Brigham, to find someone who thought it was a good idea to take it out. Already (only been a week and a half), so much better. I know that lots of folks live happily with hardware, but I was not one of them.
I had my post-op appointment today and got to see my leg for the first time since the surgery. Holy moly…I am still super bruised and swollen and have 3 surgical entry points. Doesn’t even look like my leg. I’ll be non-weight bearing for another 6 weeks…-sigh-
On the plus side they put me in an air boot cast, so I can actually take it off and air out my foot and leg, and actually get it wet in the shower. I’ve got a “knee scooter” now to help me get around a bit too, so I can be a bit more mobile and, with any luck, get out to see my horse.
For anyone who used the BOT ankle brace - when did you start using it? I’m about 2 and half weeks post surgery right now.
Pics or it didn’t happen! Getting a removable cast is a godsend. It gets gross under a plaster/fiberglass cast really really fast. I’ve never used a knee scooter, but I’ve seen people with them and they get around pretty well. Hopefully your horse doesn’t mind it. Mine is such a saint I was able to groom him from my wheelchair, and when I graduated to a walker he recognized the sound of it and would whinny to me. (He’s perfect <3.)
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OMG, you looked? I always try to avoid that. Knee scooters are awesome. I had one when I broke my foot. Take a word of warning, do not turn too tightly, or you will go down! I used the BOT blanket until my leg looked like a leg, then I used the knee brace.
Forgot to add. My original surgery had two incisions, one on each side. My recent surgery to remove the hardware has three. I assume the bottom one was to get at the lowest screws.
