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Bike and broken ankle

Old 09-28-17, 10:17 AM
  #1  
broken foot
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Bike and broken ankle

hello
i just joined the forum.
i have a weak ankle that has suffered many sprains in the past. i have done all kinds of therapies/exercises to recover some stability but with only partial effects.
i use the bicycle for daily commute and weekends, i think it's a good exercise for my ankle. 2 days ago i fell while walking on some rocks and fractured my foot, immediately understood the injury was worse than a sprain.
yesterday i have been x-rayed but i still don't know the exact severity of the damage. i'll return for a visit with the specialist but no surgery at the moment so no bad fractures.

i think that after this injury my ankle will be even weaker so i wonder how does it usually takes to get back on the bike after a mild foot fracture? is it really a good exercises or maybe should b avoided for some times?

every opinion/experience will be useful
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Old 09-30-17, 03:26 PM
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I would say off hand, that if you can walk over to your bike and get on it, then you can do nothing but good for your ankle by riding it as long as you don't crash and re injure something. Just don't over do to the point of exhaustion or you might have trouble walking back in to the house.

I'm guessing you have had physical therapy and the guidance of a physician as I have. They should be able to tell you when to start cycling. What they have told me is cycling is as good or better than most anything foot, ankle, knee, hip related due to low impact.

Good luck with your healing!
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Old 09-30-17, 04:14 PM
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Yep, talk to your doctors. They will know the extent of your injuries and give you recommendations. If you are in a cast or a splint, I would think you should keep off the bike.

But, let pain be your guide. If it hurts, don't do it. But some low-impact exercise is likely a benefit and may help with healing, as long as it isn't painful.

Also consider a recumbent trike... something you can take your time getting onto and off of, and you can't fall off of.

You didn't mention meds, but read about NSAIDS and tendon healing. Personally, I'll occasionally take some Aspirin, but won't take it on a regular basis as I believe that mild inflammation is part of the normal healing process.
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Old 09-30-17, 06:54 PM
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whoa, take a break. you need to heal & do no further damage. boost your metabolism with maybe swimming?
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Old 09-30-17, 07:42 PM
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I've battered my ankle a few times, but never had an x-ray, but may have fractured it at least once. It has been a while, but I think I was riding my bike fairly quickly.

One has the Tibia and Fibula, talus, and calcaneus. For the leg bones, the Tibia bears most of the weight, while the Fibula helps provide some stability and flexibility to the joint, I think. Then, of course, the talus and calcaneus also are weight bearing.

So, with say a non-displaced partial Fibula fracture, you might be able to return to weight bearing fairly quickly.
Other bones? It would depend on the bone and fracture.

Your doctor should have the data to give you better information about what happened to your ankle, and what you should be able to do. But, of course, you'll know pretty quickly if you can go weight bearing.
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Old 10-02-17, 09:48 AM
  #6  
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Thanks for answers. It all makes sense but my concern is about the joint stability.
This ankle is weak because I started spraining it when I was 7, physio and various treatments only had a limited success. It’s not that easy to tell if something is good or bad, I have been overcautious and this led to reinjuries, so I absolutely need to exercise the leg.
This is my first proper fracture, x rays show break in the ankle and foot bone, but no major displacement so no surgery is needed, I’ll be casted when swelling reduce. After the cast I think ankle will be weaker and painful so will be even harder to exercise it. My doctor told I will be weight bearing 1 day after the cast is removed but I have doubts.
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Old 10-04-17, 09:15 PM
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Originally Posted by broken foot
Thanks for answers. It all makes sense but my concern is about the joint stability.
This ankle is weak because I started spraining it when I was 7, physio and various treatments only had a limited success. It’s not that easy to tell if something is good or bad, I have been overcautious and this led to reinjuries, so I absolutely need to exercise the leg.
This is my first proper fracture, x rays show break in the ankle and foot bone, but no major displacement so no surgery is needed, I’ll be casted when swelling reduce. After the cast I think ankle will be weaker and painful so will be even harder to exercise it. My doctor told I will be weight bearing 1 day after the cast is removed but I have doubts.
Actually you bear weight while on cast. The Doctor is right to clear you on FWB(full weight bearing) activity. Dont bother yourself on your muscles becoming weak. Its just normal due to inactivity. It will re-educate itself to its fxn the very time the cast comes off.
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Old 10-09-17, 01:29 AM
  #8  
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well, i just have been casted.
even with painkillers the process was painful because they had to move foot in proper position and mold the cast very tight around fractures. luckly the immobilization in emergency splint avoided displacement of the breaks. but i broke both ankle and foot so the plastered my entire leg, hopefully 2 bones won't require twice the time to heal because this cast is huge.
my bones are weak due to previous sprains so i'll be in cast 1 week longer and start fwb in it, even if it looks impossible to walk with the entire leg in plaster.
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Old 10-09-17, 06:39 AM
  #9  
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oh man, hang in there, sounds rough
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Old 10-10-17, 03:46 PM
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yes, my pain resistance isn't good and 2 broken bones don't help, i couldn't remove the shoe after the fracture.
when the plaster splint came off i understood that the injury is quite bad. the foot felt unstable and i'm worried about the damage to ligaments.

but i must say that after cast application the pain started to decrease. the ankle is still swollen but now that it's well immobilized its' really ok.
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Old 10-10-17, 03:50 PM
  #11  
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Here is how mine looks:



Mine's steel, but there is a titanium option as well.
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Old 10-14-17, 09:03 AM
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this is a proper fracture.
my malleolis break is a pair of simple black lines, the foot one is more serious but doctors told me 100% better to go with full leg cast.
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Old 10-22-17, 08:24 PM
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New to the forum but not new to ankle breaks and sprains. Really don't remember how many times I've sprained my right ankle. I'm sure it's more than 5 times. I've broken it twice. Everything will heal eventually. It will weaken while in the cast. There's no way around it. Recently, I went through a series of PRP injections just to see if the soft tissues could be jump started into a healing mode. It worked wonders for me. That might be something to talk to your Doc about if you continue to have pain after the bones heal up.
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Old 12-02-17, 05:23 AM
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i update the situation because the experience has been new for me and quite a surprise.
the long plaster cast revealed to be extremely confortable for my ankle, as absurd as it may sounds my leg is perfect in this huge "prison". but it also difficoult to move around. the only problem ias the persistent swelling, even after 6 weeks the cast still feels tight.
on nov 20th i started to put weight on the leg and 0 pains, i use crutches only for balance. but, as you can imagine, it's difficoult to "walk" on that big cast so i can't wait to have it removed.
so you can imagine my delusion when i recived a call from the clinic to postpone the visit 10 days!

anyway... should i bring a large shoe or a more supportive one? injury happened with flat canvas shoes so i don't like too much the idea of wearing a similar one as my "1st shoe", but i also think that the swelling could be a problem with running shoes.
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Old 01-03-18, 07:13 PM
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They will probably give you an orthopedic "boot." I found it got in the way of my recovery, and eventually went out and spent $300 on some high-end leather hiking boots at REI. That really helped.

https://www.rei.com/product/896262/a...ing-boots-mens
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Old 01-13-18, 08:53 AM
  #16  
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Many, many years ago (50+) I fractured my ankle running a QB sneak in college. It was never set. A long story involving a coach who told me it was a sprain so I wouldn't miss a game. To this day I walk with one foot pointing out a bit. Been cycling for 40 yrs with no issues.
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Old 02-04-19, 07:56 AM
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Hello, guys!

Just came on board. I had a similar injury. I´m getting a little anxious about its mobility. trying Physiotherapy and regular walking, but there are few days my ankle seems stiffer. Any advice?

Cheers

PAF
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Old 02-12-19, 09:34 AM
  #18  
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Wobble board.


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Old 02-13-19, 10:42 AM
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My condolences, I had a major crash two years ago, and consider myself still in recovery. Make sure you follow the directions of your medical advisors, and get a good physiotherapist. Think long term, as these sorts of injuries take a lot of time and perseverence to overcome. I got back on the bike after about 5 months, but I pushed it too soon and paid the price with a major setback. Be patient, and stick to your physio schedule, only you can make yourself get better.
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Old 02-13-19, 10:52 AM
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Broke the left lower tibia on my bike a year ago. In addition to the wobble board which was recommended PT, I do a bunch of paddle boarding. That was a huge help getting everything back up to speed once I got out of the boot. In fact not paddle boarding makes my ankle feel swollen and hot. I hate this time of year.

I've damaged both ankles enough over the years that when the doc was looking at xrays he called in some other staff and was pointing out the difference between the new break and the old ones. Keep riding and find something you like to balance on, you will want to do it for life and not just recovery.
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Old 02-16-19, 01:17 PM
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My neighbor broke his foot playing volleyball and the local hospital said it was only a sprain. Today his foot is crooked because it was broken and never set. If he wants his foot fixed they will have to break bones in several places and fuse his foot back together. Not worth it to him so he opted to wear an orthopedic boot but it doesn’t help very much. The orthopedic surgeon said if they did the extensive operation he would be off his feet for a year.
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Old 03-10-19, 06:09 AM
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i update the discussion
when the cast came off my ankle was really painful, also weak after the immobilization, this is normal i think. i was back on crutches, at beginning i was a bit pessimistic.
i was prescribed to use a "walker boot" a huge plastic boot that is similar to a walking cast, it was unconfortable compared to the cast but i used it for a long time.
i have been very conservative with my ankle because i was scared to reinjure it, i only did a mild physio. but i slowly recovered, i think now i'ts the same as it was before the fracture.

cycling has been really helpful because for every other activity i use an ankle brace support. i recently started physio in water, but it's a bit unconfortable. i think a good exercise is walk with flat non-supportive shoes. i'ts more effective than the propriceptive exercises my physio gave.
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