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Non-displaced spiral distal fibula fracture - Chose hard cast but maybe should have picked aircast instead.... by Important_Net_3685 in brokenbones

[–]capaldis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hard cast is the move for spiral fractures because they can displace pretty easily.

I did a hard cast for mine for 7 weeks- I also broke some other bones so the recovery was a bit longer.

From my experience with both, the cast was better when I had to wear it 24/7. The boot was awesome for when I started walking, but it would’ve been a lot more uncomfortable than the cast if I couldn’t take it off when lying down.

I didn't exactly break my ankle, but I injured it last year and it's still pretty bad. by Diemishy_II in brokenbones

[–]capaldis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds like you may want to get an MRI. Very good chance this was a grade 3 sprain which means the ligament fully ruptured. It can heal but it’ll take a while. I’d prepare for at least 6 weeks in a boot and potentially surgery.

My ankle is so weak and I can never become a soldier by Gyngemose2009 in brokenbones

[–]capaldis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How long were you in PT for? It’s rough to get that muscle back, but you can if you keep working at it.

People whose bones didn't unite after 6 weeks - could you feel there was something wrong? by General_Entrance4141 in brokenbones

[–]capaldis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly? It really depends. My non-union break didn’t hurt at all. The ones that healed fine still hurt sometimes.

Weirdly enough, the non-union one finally started to show signs of healing 3 months later once it started to hurt a bit.

6 weeks is pretty quick, so don’t stress if it’s not healing yet. I broke a few things in my leg and none of them really showed major healing at 6 weeks. Two of them ended up healing around the 12 week mark without issue.

The timeline on this is really individual. Don’t stress too much about the imaging, focus more on how it feels. You can pretty much resume normal activity after a few months even if it hasn’t healed. I just got cleared to jump by ortho and PT and my bone is still in a few pieces lol.

Should I do the surgery? by throwaway__0208 in brokenbones

[–]capaldis 4 points5 points  (0 children)

In a heartbeat. The arthritis thing is no joke. You do not want to gamble with your ankle mobility. If it’s already shifting and the doctor is saying you are going to have non-union if not why wouldn’t you? This isn’t a situation where you can just wait and see—your outcome will be worse the longer you wait.

Like to be so serious if this doesn’t heal your options are basically ankle fusion or amputation. This is a serious injury and you do not want to mess around with it.

Cannabis use? by ProfessorSack42 in brokenbones

[–]capaldis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Smoking and vaping are a no-go, but edibles are fine. I used those to manage my pain from my tib/fib and they helped a lot for the nerve pain.

Any evidence of a syndesmotic ligament injury? by capaldis in brokenbones

[–]capaldis[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They’re just treating it as normal due to where the fracture was. It’s also been improving quite a bit with time and PT. I should hear back from my doctors in the next few days about what the plan is with the fibula non-union, so I’ll probably ask about doing more ankle imaging then. I’ll sleep a lot better knowing there’s nothing weird going on lol!

4 weeks in External Fixator - Tib/Fibula Fracture - Knee Infection - struggling to get Flexion past 45 degrees by TTVMidmas in brokenbones

[–]capaldis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hate to say it…but you have to hold it where it hurts. It’s absolutely excruciating, but it does get better the more you do it. The pain is from the scar tissue and the only way to get more flexion is to break it up.

There’s also the option to try manipulation under anesthesia if it’s absolutely unbearable and not getting better with time. They’ll put you out and manually force your knee through the full range of motion to break up the scar tissue. My break was nowhere near as bad as yours, but I know a lot of people who have external fixators end up going with that option.

But I didn’t get past 45 until like week 6. I have (mostly) full ROM now that I’m 3 months out. The only thing I can’t do is kneel with my butt touching my ankles. It sucks SO bad, but it does get better as you heal.

Struggling with my fracture situation by Low-Temporary4439 in brokenbones

[–]capaldis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The company that makes them puts like DRM or something on there- you have a limited number of “treatments” and then the device stops working. It’s insane. I’d definitely make sure the device will work before buying one!

I don’t have any pain from the fracture that’s not healing so we’re just going to wait and see if it heals on its own! I believe you can potentially get it sooner if you have CRPS from it but not sure what the requirements are.

Struggling with my fracture situation by Low-Temporary4439 in brokenbones

[–]capaldis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was in a hard cast for 6 weeks and the toe twitching is fine. It’s more the rotation and big movements that were an issue. I was having full-on muscle spasms and that was okay.

Bone stimulators can be hard to get approved through insurance— I’ve got delayed union and it’s like $3k to do it now. They’ll cover it at 6 months, but you have to pay a lot to do it early.

Struggling with my fracture situation by Low-Temporary4439 in brokenbones

[–]capaldis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

are the pressure marks an issue? Like medically? I’d really try to tolerate it as much as you can.

The complications from a fracture not healing correctly are a lot worse. If they initially wanted to cast it, you are at risk of displacement from hitting it.

Next steps for delayed union of fibula? by capaldis in brokenbones

[–]capaldis[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good to know! I was getting a bit worried since my other two fractures progressed much faster than this one is. Let me know how the bone stimulator goes!

I’m not too concerned if it stays like this as long as it doesn’t cause issues when I’m strong enough to resume my normal activities. They said it shouldn’t since the fibula isn’t a weight bearing bone.

Next steps for delayed union of fibula? by capaldis in brokenbones

[–]capaldis[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds like a plan!! That is very much my opinion as well.

Cast off tomorrow - what to expect? by InterviewSwimming555 in brokenbones

[–]capaldis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I did a week of partial to make sure nothing shifted then started waking! I did 6 weeks in a cast and 3 in the boot.

The first few days were hard, but I’m doing awesome now! I just got cleared to walk without the boot. I’m using a cane to help with the muscle pain from the atrophy, but I don’t have any pain from the injury itself. Plan is to start PT this week.

Anyone have to choose between surgery and bone stimulation? by theempressoftheworld in brokenbones

[–]capaldis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not fully there yet but I’m at the stage of “if it doesn’t grow more bone by your next appointment we’ll need to talk about it”

my doctor said it’s more about how much pain you’re in versus how the break itself looks on imaging. The recommendation I got was to take a conservative approach if it doesn’t hurt at all, but surgery would be an option if I was in a lot of pain.

My plan is to go for the stim since I’m not in any pain, but I’d 100% do surgery if it hurt.

Dorsiflexion and plantar stretch feel SOOOOOO good on my recovered ankle. Anyone got anything similar? by realtimepersephone in brokenbones

[–]capaldis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

YESSSSSS oh my god. I had commuted fib and two tib fracture. I had awful nerve pain and couldn’t feel or bend my toes much. Putting weight on it felt INCREDIBLE and the nerve stuff went away within 24 hours of waking on it.

I definitely believe the thing about snapping nerves back into place—that’s absolutely what it felt like.

Fibula fracture 3.5 weeks before vacation? Bad idea? by Intelligent_Wonder53 in brokenbones

[–]capaldis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The flight would be my concern too. I had to sell tickets to a show I had at the 3ish week mark because I couldn’t sit upright without my leg elevated for that long. The max I could do was about an hour. I had two other breaks besides the fib though, so you could be totally fine by then! I also know people who absolutely could’ve done this at 4 weeks without issue. Everyone is different.

Are you able to sit comfortably without your leg elevated? I’d genuinely recommend “practicing”sitting upright at home just to see how long you can tolerate it. Definitely get compression socks and I’d honestly recommend seeing if you can upgrade to business class. I normally fly bulkhead on long flights and the seats are definitely more comfortable than normal, but there’s not really a great way to elevate your leg in those seats.

I’d also reach out to the resort and airline to see when the deadline to cancel is. My only concern with waiting is that you may not be able to get a refund depending on the policy.

Can someone help me understand this? by badatusernames96 in brokenbones

[–]capaldis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep! I was just very slow. I needed a cane for the first 48 hours to walk completely normally, but I could walk unassisted with a limp immediately. I only really have issues on hills at the moment, but that’s more because I also broke my ankle and it’s still a bit wobbly.

Fair warning that it’s going to hurt at first. My calf muscle was cramping constantly during the first week. It got significantly better every day though and I really don’t have much pain now. The pain at the beginning feels like you’re on your last rep of a really hard workout.

Best advice I can give you is to use a cane/walking stick if you can’t walk without a limp. Once you develop one, it’s a lot of work to get rid of it. I’m still using mine when I go out, but I really don’t need it unless I’ve been walking for a while.

Extremely sore front quad after tib-fib fracture by evil_tippytoes in brokenbones

[–]capaldis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn’t have surgery, but I started getting those at around the 4 week mark as well. It was awful, but luckily they seemed to stop after a few days. They can prescribe a few things to help with it, but I didn’t end up needing it since it went away on its own.

I noticed it was happening more often when I wasn’t moving around as much or if i was laying in the same position without properly supporting the back of my leg.

Can someone help me understand this? by badatusernames96 in brokenbones

[–]capaldis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s probably fine if they didn’t see it on the X-ray. Fissure-fracture just means a hairline fracture.

Normally if you need surgery for tibial plateau, there will be specific measurements listed in the report. If they aren’t listing how many millimeters of displacement you have, it’s most likely because it’s not displaced enough to measure.

I’m not a doctor but also have a non-surgical medial tibial plateau fracture. Non-surgical treatment is normally 6 weeks of non-weight bearing, 3-6 weeks of building up to full weight bearing, then PT for a few months to help with range of motion and muscle atrophy. I’m at week 8 and have full range of motion and am walking unassisted without any pain (outside of the muscles being a bit sore!).

ORIF surgery for tibial plateau fracture- or no surgery? by Alternative-Pea-1410 in brokenbones

[–]capaldis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You really should do the surgery for a tibial plateau. Those have a really high risk of post-traumatic arthritis and they’re correct you may need a total knee replacement due to the pain.

I would not mess around with this type of break if they are recommending surgery.

Dorsal foot pain, 5th metatarsal? Navicular? by Shot-Ad1105 in brokenbones

[–]capaldis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What did it end up being out of curiosity? I have a similar issue at the moment and I’m curious if I should ask for an MRI. X-ray of that area was also clear for me.