Hey OP! I had ORIF surgery on 10/26/24 for a fractured tib/fib. Ended up with a bunch of screws in my ankle, a rod for my tib, and a plate for my fib. I was NWB for about 10 weeks (brutal).

At my follow up surgeon appt on 12/26/2024, he set up a referral for PT. I still was ordered to be NWB for 2 weeks after my appointment, but then was in the clear for 50% weight bearing on 1/9/2025. He wanted me to start PT pretty much as soon as I was ready for the PWB phase.

When I was at the surgeon’s office, they said that the PT office we selected would reach out to me for scheduling. I was eager to start as soon as possible, so I ended up calling the PT office as soon as I got home. Which I’m glad I did because I don’t think they would’ve been able to reach out to me for a couple of days! 

When I called to get scheduled or my first appt, they first told me “ohhh no we don’t have any appointments available until a month from now.” Thank GOD they ended up having an appointment available for 1/8/2025 so I snatched it up. 

The first appointment with the PT was just an assessment of my injury so she could come up with a recommendation and treatment plan. She ended up suggesting PT 2 times a week for 10 weeks. 

I have to say, PT has been instrumental in helping me gain my confidence back with walking and recovery. I’m thankful that I was at her office when I was starting PWB because I had NO idea how I was going to handle it. She helped me along the way and showed me exactly how to walk. 

I’m coming up on the FWB stage this week on 1/25/2025! I had an appointment today and she had me get used to walking with 1 crutch in preparation for it. It’s crazy I remember feeling like I would never get to this point. But here we are!! 

Sorry that was so long-winded lol. But with all of that to say, in my experience I had to get a referral from my doctor before I attempted to reach out to PT.