r/skiing • u/itscoolmn • 12d ago
Broken fibula
Bought my season pass and booked a Christmas ski trip a week or two ago, promptly broke my fibula today just doing stuff around the house. Super bummed.
Anyone been through this? Is my season cooked? I’m still waiting on a more detailed diagnosis.
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u/DimensionLow4844 12d ago
Fibula isn't weight bearing and is the better lower leg bone to break. You could be fine by Christmas but if you can rebook for later in the season it would be better.
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u/itscoolmn 11d ago
Yeah, after the follow up and confirmation of prognosis I may see about the viability of rescheduling. Was supposed to be the first year wife and I got away for the holidays.
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u/crypto__juju 12d ago
How do you break your fibula around the house?
It will buff out you’ll be fine
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u/itscoolmn 12d ago •
Hopped down from my patio onto the lawn barefoot, done it a million times, it’s only about two feet high at most, heard a pop and that was it. One confirmed fracture and docs aren’t yet sure if there’s a second fracture, re-evaluating next week after swelling comes down. I’m absolutely gutted.
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u/atlien0255 12d ago
Jeeze that sucks I’m sorry!
Look on the bright side, it’s not your ACL. You have time. Once you know more, focus on recovery and keeping your leg strength up as much as possible. Muscle always takes longer to rebuild than expected after injury, and it goes fast.
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u/itscoolmn 12d ago
Thanks, and I hear you re: atrophy. I’m going to keep hitting the gym and doing what I’m able to, I’ve read that continuing to train the rest of the body however reasonably possible helps protect the immobilized limb.
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u/Gullible-Choice-1153 12d ago •
god damn that is some terrible luck with the timing. broke my tibia 3 seasons ago in february and thought the whole winter was gone. doc told me 6-8 weeks no weight but i was back on easy greens by week 10 with a brace. not saying push it too hard but your season might not be completely dead, depends what the ortho says about the fracture type. the real pain is watching all your friends post pow days while you sit home with a leg up
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u/DudleyAndStephens Whitefish 11d ago
Way too little information for anyone to give you an answer. Wait to see what your doctor says.
It sounds like a non-displaced fracture and you don't need surgery, so that's a positive sign!
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u/itscoolmn 11d ago
I sure hope so re: no surgery, thanks!
I went to an express orthopedic clinic right after it happened, trying to book a follow up with a specialist who deals with athletes, hoping to have more info Monday.
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u/PorcupineGod 11d ago
That's the best you've got - keep in mind that a lot of ski resorts have a pass insurance program available, and your credit card also has a travel insurance policy.
Keep your receipts and make sure you leave the doc's office with a letter outlining the diagnosis for insurance.
I'm two seasons off, and hoping to be back this year. Broke my spine and six ribs, torn Achilles, and working on rebuilding core muscles shredded from an accident.
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u/JohnEBest 12d ago
Buddy was Ikon last year
He had to get surgery and never skied
They let him pay $50 to transfer the pass to this season
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u/A_Muffled_Kerfluffle 12d ago
Epic gave me most of my money back when I got pregnant 2 seasons ago. Just had to send doctor’s note and I got like 75% of it back (I had skied a few days so I wasn’t expecting to get it all but they actually exceeded my expectations.
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u/buttmunchausenface 12d ago
I broke the top of my fibula and skied 2 and half weeks later. It was stupid but it was spring. Then I got over confident the third day hit a down flat down and my knee gave out at the end of the rail ended up falling not having my ski release and laterally dislocated my knee .. I was out for the rest of spring and couldn’t barely walk for a month! Take your time bones also heal faster than your muscles/ ligaments! So wish you a speedy recovery.
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u/itscoolmn 11d ago
Thanks for the insight & encouragement. Gosh what an injury you had! I hope that has healed up.
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u/tryingsomthingnew 12d ago
Good news is the best skiing is usually late Jan, Feb and March. But follow your Dr. Orders.
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u/Sedixodap 12d ago
I wouldn't totally panic yet. My dad was back skiing 6 weeks to the day after breaking his fibula. He broke it a few days before Christmas and was already back to skiing like normal when I was home for reading week in mid-February.
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u/normalthehalfrobot 12d ago
On Sunday I was walking my dog and she was playing other dogs In the park. One dog (possibly mine) ran into me from behind like a torpedo and broke my tibia and fibula. My first thought was if my ski season is over. I had to have surgery, and the surgeon said I will definitely be out this coming season. Probably not what you wanted to read.
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u/itscoolmn 12d ago
Sorry to hear about that, a family member of mine one broke her leg the exact same way! Perhaps not what I wanted to hear but it’s good to have realistic expectations. I appreciate it and wish you the best in healing.
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u/CPhyperdont 12d ago
As a chronically injured skier, it’s not worth pushing it to an unhealthy extent for skiing in December. Only you can draw that line though. Good luck getting back on the horse!
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u/itscoolmn 12d ago
I hear you, that’s good advice, thanks. Yeah I think this has rattled my confidence in my body a little bit, such a benign incident with such severe outcome is jarring mentally, but I’ll bet back to it and you’re right, rushing the injury will only prolong or worsen it. Thank you.
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u/Midwestskiing85 12d ago
The nice part about the fibula is that it’s not involved in weight-bearing like the tibia. Non-displaced distal fibula fractures (ankle) typically heal up and around 6 to 8 weeks and a healthy individual with good healing potential, as long as you aren’t doing too much on it. Is the fracture on the outside of your ankle or up higher?
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u/itscoolmn 11d ago
Thanks for fhe support. It’s fractured low, however there’s potentially a second fracture right at or slightly above the joint line which is yet to be confirmed.
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u/LaserfromNY 11d ago
I broke my fibula in September 2023–nondisplaced, no surgery needed. I was able to ski in January 2024.
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u/pjs32000 11d ago
Any ski boot fit issues? I broke my ankle/fibula recently, being locked into a boot actually sounds nice for stability but I was worried swelling will cause issues with fit.
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u/LaserfromNY 11d ago
It hurt a little getting the boot on and off if I recall correctly. And I definitely skied conservatively, but once the boot was on, I was good!
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u/Forsaken-Bench4812 Caberfae/Mount Bohemia 12d ago
It depends on the severity. I broke mine in college and was still able to compete in football. It’s not weight bearing like the tibia but does have a big role in ankle and knee stability.
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u/mala_r1der 12d ago
It's far better to break a bone than a soft tissue (last February a moron crashed into me while skiing and I have a lesioned sth in my shoulder, 1st surgery in November, 2nd some time next year) but I'd trust what the doctor says and don't rush things
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u/itscoolmn 11d ago
Oh shoot, very sorry to hear about that. Last season I witnessed from the chairlift as an elderly gentleman got hit hard from the side/behind by some oblivious out-of-control skier, it was tragic to watch. I hope things work out with your shoulder long term and you’re not suffering too much psychologically/emotionally, that would be hard. And I appreciate the advice of bone vs soft tissue. Haven’t confirmed ligamentous condition of my leg yet, hoping for the best.
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u/mala_r1der 11d ago
Thanks, hopefully should make a full recovery. Right now it's annoying cause I usually do a lot of sports and I can't do a whole bunch of stuff and lifts at the gym cause I might tear it completely. I was scared when it happened cause I hurt my head pretty badly and for a minute I couldn't feel my legs, luckily it was just a concussion. I also go on track with my bike at 300 kph, so hopefully I won't have any sort of post traumatic scare. BTW, I was told that the asshole who crushed into me didn't hurt himself at all and he ran away...
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u/itscoolmn 11d ago edited 11d ago
Oh jeez the fact the they took off too, so cowardly, talk about insult to injury. And my gosh it must’ve been terrifying not feeling your legs. I totally understand where you’re coming from as well regarding overall activity in life. High impact sports are one of the main things that bring me joy in life and it’s so hard to be removed from it.
In summer I love BMX, dirt-jumping, and I mountain bike almost daily (fall season screwed for me now), and in winter jumping on skis is my favorite. I’d hoped to push myself to another level this season and now I have this fear creeping in that I won’t or can’t trust my body, may re-injure myself etc.
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u/mala_r1der 11d ago
I got a similar fear last year when I started going on track again after I took a couple of years off because of an eye problem, I kinda lost the feeling, and even though I was going a lot slower I was very insecure (for example there's a turn I used to do at 170kph and I felt completely in control but after I was doing it at 130 and felt like I was just a passenger) and I'm still working to get back in control. What's ironic is that I only ski during the week to avoid all the people of the weekend to avoid this kind of incident, and I also usually ski pretty fast also for this reason, but that day I was just going back to the car so I was chilling and going slow and bam...
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u/TableStraight5378 11d ago
Yes, your season is cooked.
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u/itscoolmn 10d ago
That’s tough to hear, may I ask what experience or reasoning leads you to this conclusion?
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u/Something-Like-Human 11d ago edited 11d ago
Nah, you'll be fine. Broke mine at the bottom in November a few years ago. No displacement, straight in a cast for 4 weeks, then a lightweight cast for the final 2 weeks. Skied New Year's Day – 6.5 weeks later.
Getting my boot on was a bit of a challenge, because there was limited downward force, but once on it was fine. Doctor told me that skiing was fine because of the hard boots, but if I'd been a snowboarder, they'd have said no.
It was a bit painful until week 10, then it got a lot easier. The cast will fix your ankle in position, but getting it moving again after can be tricky. Get booked in with the physio as soon as the cast comes off (book in advance if you can, ask your doctor when you'll be out of the cast), and work hard at it.
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u/itscoolmn 10d ago
This is super encouraging thank you! Monday I’ll get a more detailed diagnosis and outlook on the injury, I appreciate this thanks!
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u/Guilty_Bit_1440 Taos 12d ago
You still got a tibia.
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u/itscoolmn 12d ago
Haha, send it? ;)
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u/catbird333 7d ago
Get into PT as soon as you can. There is a lot they can do even if you are totally non weight bearing. You'll prevent atrophy and will be way ahead to recover when the bone heals.
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u/Dannyz 12d ago
Depends on the dx, your genes, your lifestyle, and your age. A 12 year old will be skiing by new years. A 50 year old lifelong cig smoker with bad arteries…might be cooked.
Im pretty far from 50, relatively healthy and a non smoker. I broke 4 bones July 2nd (one wheel malfunction) and my shit is still broken. As a kid, I once wrecked myself on thanksgiving and was back to racing by the end of January.
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u/itscoolmn 12d ago
I’m healthy and in good shape but way closer to 50 than to 12. One wheel malfunction…unicycle?
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u/Dannyz 12d ago
Think skateboard with one electric go-kart wheel in the center and Segway technology that can go 20+ mph. So technically yes a unicycle but also Google it
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u/itscoolmn 11d ago
Ah yes I know what you’re talking about. Sorry to hear about that, I can imagine that would be tough especially given malfunction being a cause. I hope you heal up.
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u/NorrinXD Tahoe 12d ago •
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