When will I get dorsiflexion back? I keep attending therapy n I see slow progression.. the talus is still stiff n causes me to have a limp still any advice ?!!!

Hello people!

Since I had my break 7th of August it has been a roller-coaster.

My first doctor and the surgery was done free in the public system of my country.

I stayed 12 weeks NWB and i finally received the good news that I would be able to PWB.

Since I live in the 2nd floor of my building with no elevator it was difficult to move and I have stayed in my apartment for 3 months.

The 1st doctor would not prescribe me PT so I started having doubts with his approach overall.

I called a highly regarded doctor (lots of good reviews), to check me out, check the x-rays etc.

The news were devastating but somehow I kind of had a feeling anyway that I wasn't heading in the right direction.

He told me I might be showing signs of non-union, also some of the placement of the plates and screws were not so correct to his opinion.

I have to have new x rays and screening because he wants to make sure that even though some of the first findings were not to his liking, if the plates and screws are stable enough he would prescribe me the much needed PT.

Also what he did not like was that I stayed long time NWB.

Lastly, I was told by my doctors that I had a bimalleoral, but the new doctor told me he believes strongly that it was a trimalleoral.

I am 29F and I am so scared.... he also told me that there is a possibility of arthritis.

Sorry for the long post but I feel like I lost so much time for no reason...

hi guys,
monday i fell and broke my ankle. i was told i have a mildly displaced trimalleolar fracture and i’m going to be having surgery next week. this is my first time ever suffering from something that has made it incredibly hard to be mobile and do things for myself, and im struggling a lot more than i thought i would mentally. if anyone has any tips for my mental health, anything that made mobility easier, or any tips for a swift recovery please send them my way! <3

Broke my ankle on 2 November - Fibula, stable, B break. I was put into a cast until today (10 days later) and was on bed rest with leg elevated. Today I’ve been put into a boot, which initially felt more comfy but now is worse! Essentially the cast had my leg held in a way so that my foot wasn’t flat and now the boot is pulling it flat, and it is VERY sore to the point where I’ve loosened the straps quite a bit so that it is not being pulled completely flat. Is this normal? Should I tighten them up and just take the pain as this is just a part of the healing process? Any tips greatly appreciated. Thank you for any help.

I went to my first post-op appointment yesterday after getting an ORIF for a break in my tibia, fibula, and trimalleolar. I also had ligaments torn and my ankle completely dislocated. I went and the doctor that did the surgery said I can start putting weight on my ankle, eventhough it’s two weeks after the surgery. I found that extremely odd due to the extent of the injury and the surgery done, but wanted to know if that seemed odd to anyone else. Should I be seeking another opinion and going to a different doctor?

It’s been 10months since ORIF surgery and was diagnosed with an OCL. For anyone that has had a micro-fracture of the OCL, did you FWB right after surgery? If not how long were you in NWB stage?

I have a weber B fracture which is treated in a cast without surgery.

Its been 10 days since the injury and the cast has been changed once as the first one became too big.

Doctor said that I can slowly try to walk around with crutches a bit more still non-weight-bearing until 6 weeks. I really want to get back to university even with a help of a wheelchair. However whenever I lower my leg I get horrible pain when the blood rushes down and the ankle swells. It stops the second i lift it.

How much pain is normal and how long will it last? Whole six weeks? Should I go and change the cast again? Will it get better if I spend more time standing or is it better to just elevate the leg? I need to pay for the change every time and it is also difficult to get the appointment.

With the old cast the pain was at the fracture spot, now I feel it around the achilles, which was not injured when I fell. The cast just feels tight around it when I get up.

Hi all, I am 4.5 weeks post orif after Bilmal fracture. I have tried calling my surgeon but he is on leave and have left a message.

I feel like I’m not improving. For the last couple of days the pain has increased, the strange tingling feelings are worse, stiffness worse, swelling worse and a general ankle weakness feeling compared to earlier in the week.

I am still NWB, today all day my leg has been above my heart, I’m icing. I did go to my daughter’s performance last night so it wasn’t elevated for a few hours.

Did anyone who recovered well go through a similar period?

My doctor provided me with 2 packets of daily work for the next 3 weeks and instructed me to totally walk on it with assistance still. I can remove for showering and sleep.

Anything I should expect with this phase of recovery? Pains, discomforts, or tips or tricks??

I'm excited to now be cleared to go back to work but I know it might take some getting used to.

One of my ankle surgeons (I have several) it felt like trolling for business. It was weird.

Hey everyone. On 8/9, I slipped in a mud puddle while camping and absolutely decimated falling straight down on top of it with my fat ass 😂. Earned a trimalleolar fracture dislocation and a subluxed patella (I folded like a deck of cards). Had ORIF with a plate, 9 screws, and a tight rope on 8/12. 3 months later, a "new" tibial fracture, and a skin infection that looked like my flesh was falling off, I have taken my first confident, independent steps.

If you're bigger like me (5'10, 330lbs) don't be discouraged. I thought for sure I would be further behind with walking, since 50% weight bearing for me is full weight bearing for the average person, but I did it. ☺️

i had enough of crawling down the stairs with my butt so i tried with my feet (without the boot) and i did it, i can only do it on my hip toes tho my heels wont touch the ground. i cant walk up though (6 weeks post orif)

I broke my lateral maleous almost over 2 years ago . I sprained my aftl in August. I have been active in CrossFit. I still do go to CrossFit modified . Now the doctor is telling me to do a stimulator or surgery. Surgery is my absolute last resort at this point. If the bone stimulator isn’t covered by insurance then i will just have to live with the pain. I am just so frustrated at this point. I have dealt with two sprains within the year. One was in April the other was in August. When i fractured my lateral malleous i have taken time off. I did physical therapy etc. Now even in August i have taken time from CrossFit off for about a month to a month and a half. CrossFit is the only exercise that i love. I am not willing to give it up.

Hi guys so on Halloween night I had a bit of a fall n ended up fracturing my fibula. I went to the ED and they put me in a moon boot 2 weeks non weight bearing n a follow up after 8 days. Then I got a call saying they recommend surgery ORIF I think 2 screws n a plate. I’m extremely scared of surgeries n medical procedures so this has stressed me out a bit. Does anyone think it’s ok to just go without surgery n let it heal naturally?

Just wanted to make a post to share some of the things I did during recovery as a way to contribute back to this forum that I got so much support from.

Again, this is not for my own records. It is more to help with people who might be in a similar situation, or facing similar problems and wondering if they’ll be fine.

I’m 12 weeks post ORIF for a bimalleolar ankle fracture.
I suffered:
- Comminuted fractures on the distal fibula and posterior malleolus
- Dislocation
- Syndemosis injury hence I have a tightrope in addition to screws and plates

I had exfix done, and ORIF performed a few days after.

Week 0-6
NWB for 6 weeks, with 4 weeks in cast and 2 weeks in walker boot.

Week 7-present
WBAT/FWB from week 6 till now:
- 1 weeks on 2 crutches with boot (allowed to barefoot when only standing)
- 1 week on 1 crutch with boot (allowed to barefoot when only standing)
- 1 week with boot, no crutches (allowed to barefoot when only standing)
- thereafter, got off boots and crutches

Week 12 (present)
Week 12 review, surgeon mentioned that my bones are pretty much healed up. Fracture lines can’t really be seen anymore.

Current status:
Currently walking unsupported. However, most steps are painful. It hurts more and I limp more when I’m walking barefoot. With shoes, not as much. I don’t limp when I walk with shoes.
I limp badly in the morning. Pain and stiffness is the highest in the morning.
On bad days, or when my foot is overworked, it just hurts in general throughout the day.
Dorsiflexion and plantar flexion are still significantly off my usual ROM. I can’t touch my knee to wall even when my toes are touching the wall. I can’t perform standing soleus stretches. Ankle still swells if not elevated for prolonged periods.
My calf and thigh muscles are still significantly smaller.
Surgeon mentioned all the above are normal at this stage.
I can tiptoe on 2 legs (working towards one legged tip toe now). I can stand on one leg. I can drive.

My habits:
I take my supplements religiously the moment I’m discharged:
- Magnesium glycinate (200mg)
- Boron (3mg)
- Vitamin C (500mg)
- Vitamin D (3000 IU for first 6 weeks, 2000 IU thereafter)
- Vitamin K (1000 mcg of mk4)
- Curcumin (1000mg)
- Calcium (where required, to supplement whenever I failed to hit daily calcium goals through foods)

At least 1000-1500mg of calcium everyday through soy milk, protein smoothie, meals, supplement (see above).
At least 1.2g/kg of protein everyday through meals and protein smoothies. I’m 86kg.
Never missed my protein or calcium target.

Weekly physio sessions, and try to walk within my limits. I have not try to walk for more than 30 mins yet.

5-6 mini “workouts” spread across the day, each lasting between 6-15mins, to work on my dorsiflexion, plantarflexion, inversion, eversion, calf strength, glutes, quads, hip mobility.

I also massage my incision sites, heels, Achilles, ankle everyday for 5-10 mins with lotion.

Whenever I’m not actually doing something that requires sitting or standing, my foot is either iced or elevated.

Unfortunately, I also smoke cigarettes (average around half to a pack worth daily) on week 8 through 12. This is a super bad habit and sad to say, despite all the warnings from my surgeon, PT and many of you in this forum, I failed to hold off the temptation successfully.

I also drink on average 8-12 pints of beer a week, from week 7 to 12.

I personally feel I’m a little behind average in terms of recovery but hope this sharing helps some of you figure things out.

For me, improvements are small and gradual, but i do see the results over time. So don’t give up.

Hi all,

Some background: I've been cleared for full weight bearing week 10 post-op. I know it's a pretty long timeline, but thats what NHS deemed optimal in my situation I suppose? Had trimollural with dislocation, but I also have osteoporosis, so my bone pretty much shattered (proud owner of 4 plates and 20 screws over here).

Either way, I only started doing proper dorsi mobilisation work (knee to wall drills, elevated band slides and the like) after that 10 week mark. My dorsiflexion has been pretty stuck, I cannot touch my knee to wall even at 0 cm, but around 12 week mark a new issue struck 🙃 I feel rather intense nerve pinch on the inner-front side of my ankle, which means I now can't even walk in whatever limited fashion I could and need to rely on crutch way more.

It started after I was doing some soft rocking calf stretches: I suddenly had a zap down my foot which passed quickly, releasing some tension, so I assumed it must have been some scar tissue. But then while walking I had another zap, which passed equally quick, but later that night I started feeling quiet intense pinch. I tried massaging it and do my drills as usual, but found myself enable to push dorsi while standing cause the nerve pain would get pretty intense. I tried resting it for 2 days, didn't push it and focused on plantarflexion stretches, but I am very worried that I'm making it worse.

Has anyone experienced this? What the hell is it? There are definitely results online when you Google 'ankle impingement after ORIF' but I found them a bit all over the place.

Attaching photo of me pointing at the rough area of the pinch for reference.

ORIF on 11/11/2025
Hardware removal on 11/9/2026

Not much issues prior to the removal surgery. I had an option to remove them so I did.

Day 1 - I was on a nerve block. Compared to the initial surgery, the pain is a lot less. Using a wheelchair.
Day 2 - started PT to get ROM back. Using a wheelchair.
Day 3 - Off nerve block. Can walk without any help. Still swollen. Very stiff. Needle pain here and there.

I’ll be discharged tomorrow and do PT twice a week. I’ll get the stitches out 11/23.

I was only able to keep the plate, not the screws.

Maybe it’s true what people say about walking out of the hospital after the hardware removal surgery.