Fractured ankle-How do I bounce back from this?

My husband fractured his ankle last year, had plates and screws inserted, wore a cast then a boot for a long time. He went to physical therapy twice a week and eventually was cleared for riding the stationary bicycle and swimming. The physio was amazed at how quickly his range of motion improved once he started swimming. Well at first he was just sitting on the side of the pool with his leg in the water doing free kick. Later progressed to walking on the bottom in the shallow end of the pool and finally progressed to full swimming. That was the best way to gently increase his range of motion without injuring it. You can always do stuff like open turns or flip turns but only push off with the good leg until you feel comfortable enough that you won't hurt yourself pushing off with the bad ankle. Have patience, it takes a while to recover from this but you'll get there. Sorry this had to happen, I'm sure it's been a painful period. Good luck with your recovery.

I hurt my knee in 1997 (I think), and I cannot tell you how much swimming with Stretchcordz in the water helped. I had my own lane. I did all the same sets as everybody else, but I did them tethered to the wall. For example, if we were doing 50s free... I know it takes me 14 strokes/lap. So I would push off and do 28 or 30 strokes and then return to the wall. I think I hurt it in Feb and swam a life best time in May at Nationals (but I got DQd. That's another post!) I just tried to keep everything as normal as possible. Good luck. :cheerleader:

I broke my ankle in three places as well, right around the same time I started swimming with Masters. I was out of the water for the month that I had the hard cast on, and then had a soft cast for another month. I think I got back in the water about two weeks after I was allowed to get the stitches wet. I might have gone earlier, but it was my right ankle, so I wasn't allowed to drive, and didn't know anyone who could give me a ride to practice. I'm not going to lie: your time out of the water is going to suck. And when you get back, it's going to take some time. Make friends with your pull buoy. (I attribute my strong *** stroke pull to those weeks of only pulling.) Also, do the PT, whenever you can. You may actually pick up some tips that improve your ankle flexibility over time. If you do have the pins removed, make sure you keep up with the PT after that. (This is a regret of mine.) There are so many doctors out there that are great with athletes, if you don't like the one you have, find a new one! Hope you're feeling better, and back in the water soon. Even though I was totally out of shape, and couldn't kick at all, I remember how great that first swim back felt. After not being able to walk for weeks, swimming felt like flying. I'm also sure it helped with the healing process, being able to move my foot without putting weight on it. Hope you're feeling better soon!

I have rebounded a few times from being completely out of shape, so I am sure you can do it. 1) Stopped swimming in middle school because my other sports took priority, started again in HS 2) Stopped after senior year due to pneumonia, and then a car accident involving broken ribs 3) In college after not being able to swim for a couple months due to a staph infection (left I nice hole in my body that had to heal) 4) I took the entire summer and fall of 2010 off, and now I'm back! It's tough. You wanna just jump in and swim like you've always swam. Unfortunately your body doesn't work that way. You snooze you lose, use it or lose it. That said, the human body is remarkably adaptive and you'll definitely bounce back. You just have to be patient with yourself. Luckily swimming puts far less stress on your ankles than something that involves running. Try to keep swimming with your broken foot leg out of the water :) Good Luck!

Ask your doctor how soon you can start swimming. I broke my ankle, admittedly a simply break with no surgery or setting, and he let me start swimming 2 or 3 weeks after I broke it (I was in a boot). But absolutely no weight bearing on land with out the boot (made it real fun getting in and out of the pool-you'll want to check out the access real carefully) and push off with the other foot. He told me I could walk in the water because it supports most of your weight. The reality was it was still another two or three weeks before I could actually kick with that foot (the pull buoy is your friend) but my kick did come back. YMMV, you obviously have a much more severe break than I had. I also know some doctors are much more hung up about total immobility and fiberglass casts. The first doctor I saw put me in a cast and planned to keep my foot in one for about 6 weeks. I canned him because he was a first class a--hole. The second doctor said we can put you in a boot and I got brave and asked, "Can I swim?" and he replied "Sure". Try to convince the doctor what great therapy the swimming will be. And my sympathies to you. This has to suck. Jan

My husband fractured his ankle last year, had plates and screws inserted, wore a cast then a boot for a long time. He went to physical therapy twice a week and eventually was cleared for riding the stationary bicycle and swimming. The physio was amazed at how quickly his range of motion improved once he started swimming. Well at first he was just sitting on the side of the pool with his leg in the water doing free kick. Later progressed to walking on the bottom in the shallow end of the pool and finally progressed to full swimming. That was the best way to gently increase his range of motion without injuring it. You can always do stuff like open turns or flip turns but only push off with the good leg until you feel comfortable enough that you won't hurt yourself pushing off with the bad ankle. Have patience, it takes a while to recover from this but you'll get there. Sorry this had to happen, I'm sure it's been a painful period. Good luck with your recovery. Thanks you for the advice and sharing your husbands experience!All i can remember from my previous ankle fracture was my utter fear of putting any weight onto my foot and not having much range of motion.How long did it take him to get back to 100%?

As long as its okay to get wet (you don't have pins, etc) you can get in and swim with a buoy (and add paddles, snorkel). Obviously you'll have to do open turns and push off one legged. As a kid (HS and younger) I swam with broken arm, stitches, cuts, etc....you learn what you can and can't do and coaches are GREAT at finding "something" you can do!

Getting back in the pool as soon as you can and having a good physical therapist who knows your goals will be a good place to start. I broke my ankle this time last year and was non-weight bearing for 3 months. I too had a plate and pin in the ankle. I started weight training 2 weeks after the break and was in the water just pulling w/ a bouy 6 weeks after (my doctor was unaware of this btw). I had also done 3.5 months of PT. You will find that as a swimmer you have better than average flexiblity in the ankle to start with and swimming as therapy, will help it heal even better. I swam in my first meet 4 months after the break. You will be back at it soon enough and this will all be but a distant memory

How long did it take him to get back to 100%? His was very severe, he shattered and dislocated the ankle. It's been exactly a year and it still gets swollen when he stands on it for a couple of hours. I think he elevated and iced it for many months after surgery. He'll never actually get to 100% but he's probably at 95% strength and 85% range of motion right now. No running in his future but he can do everything else he wants. utter fear of putting any weight onto my foot That's where walking in the water comes in handy. You're a lot more buoyant in the water so can increase flexibility and strengthen your ankle without putting all that weight on your ankle.

I'm sorry to hear about your ankle. I am going on 3 years of a sprained ankle and still trying to heal it. You've gotten some great advice. Once you are cleared for PT, find one who specializes in athletes and has a goal of getting you back on your feet soon. As for the water, once I got back in after my surgeries (I had 2 in 9 months) I started off with a lot of pulling and skulling. When I felt ready, I would do some light vertical kicking using water polo-type kick. Once I worked up to no pain with the vertical kick, then I started off with light flutter kicking on a board. After months of this, I'm still slow but I'm kicking without pain (I'm now seeing a new doctor who has diagnosed me with impinged nerve and is injecting the nerve to deaden it and it's working!). Good luck and tae it slow. Your arms will be your friend for a while and just go with that.