# Question re ankle recovery



## ryannorthcott (Dec 17, 2010)

I am hoping to get some advice from those who have experienced the same thing as me, or a medical professional.

I had surgery on my ankle to repair a fractured fibula and displaced joint exactly 6 weeks ago today (original thread here with pics http://www.snowboardingforum.com/slam-section/138617-everyone-loves-good-injury-thread-another.html). 
The surgery went well and to be honest I never felt any intense pain after the surgery, and the ankle has been completely pain free for the last 4 weeks. Over the last 2 weeks, swelling and coloration has gone back to normal and while i do experience minor swelling if i exert it, it looks like my normal foot again.
Now here is the problem, my surgeon said at my follow up appointment (3 wks ago) that he would see me in another 3 weeks, at which point we would begin walking exercises and physiotherapy to continue the recovery process. Problem? He is away on vacation until June 13, and is not able to squeeze me in until the 16th. I understand the need to adhere to his directions for a proper recovery, but on the other hand, I also want to get on with the next stage of recovery as every day i am not walking is costing me money foregone and other opportunities afforded to normally functioning bipeds.
What I am asking is has anyone been through my type of surgery, and what was your recovery? Did you listen to the doc or go it on your own? Ill effects?
I can say right now I am not going to be confined by crutches while I await my appointment. It's simply too long and I need to be back walking soon.
Upon testing the ankle around the house without the boot or crutches, it feels quite strong to me, it will swell up after about an hour or so, but it is very minor and goes away quickly. I feel like I am ready to begin walking again.

Thoughts?


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## Mizu Kuma (Apr 13, 2014)

You know ya body better than the Doc does, but make sure ya not just mentally convincin yaself just cause ya "need" to get back into action!!!!!

When I did my Achilles, I was back surfin before the Doc rang me to book in my first physio session!!!!! But I knew it was 100%!!!!!


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## ryannorthcott (Dec 17, 2010)

Ya i agree. I mean i have been slowly easing myself into it. Sometimes it will start swelling and getting achey after 10 minutes, sometimes not for a couple hours. I'm not one to push myself to heal or try and convince myself it's ok when it's not. I do legitimately feel like it can take full weight.


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

Just be careful. It would suck big ol' goat balls to push it and have a relapse that would limit or even kill your next season. Best wishes on a full and speedy recovery! :thumbsup:


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## boarderaholic (Aug 13, 2007)

Holy shit dude. Didn't see this until now. I don't have much constructive to say but to heal up quick, and to listen to your body. If it says stop, stop. There is nothing worse than setting back recovery from that.


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## ryannorthcott (Dec 17, 2010)

Thanks dude. Unfortunately I haven't really gone through a serious injury like this before, so am completely aware of the possibility of setting myself back if I push it too far. That said, I do feel like I can progress back to walking at a controlled rate, slowly weaning myself off the crutches. We will see what the doc says in a couple more weeks, I'm sure if I have done any damage it will be apparent by then.


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

Uhmmmmn,.. BH is a chick man! Carefull, she'll kick you in your other ankle. . :laugh:


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## boarderaholic (Aug 13, 2007)

chomps1211 said:


> Uhmmmmn,.. BH is a chick man! Carefull, she'll kick you in your other ankle. . :laugh:


All good, I get called "dude" all the time hahaha.


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## ryannorthcott (Dec 17, 2010)

boarderaholic said:


> All good, I get called "dude" all the time hahaha.


My bad! :dizzy:


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## DevilWithin (Sep 16, 2013)

I'm about two weeks ahead of you on recovering from my own ankle surgery. Not exactly the same thing, but similar. I broke my ankle in three places towards the end of March during my last trip to CO for the season. I needed to get a plate and pins for one of the three since it was displaced. I figured I could share my recovery process so you at least have a reference to use while your doc is out.

My surgery was on 4/1 and I was in a hard cast (non-weight bearing) for 6 weeks post surgery. I then moved to an aircast walking boot for two weeks (no crutches). I was able to walk around the house short distances during that time without the boot and did toe pointing exercises twice a day to help start getting my range of motion back. I'd push my ankle forward from a seated position like I was pushing a gas pedal and hold for 30 secs. Then pull up towards me in the opposite direction and hold 30 secs. I'd repeat this three times. I'd also spell the alphabet with my big toe using capital letters (doing it twice per session). I started physical therapy on week 9 (this past week). I am still instructed to wear the boot when I'm working or walking longer distances. Goal is to transition out of it in 3 weeks.

I go to PT twice a week and do exercises every morning and evening. The first exercise is a single leg stance on my injured leg while my good leg is bent behind me for 30 seconds (could only hold for 5 initially and after a few days got it to 30 secs). This is to help rebuild balance. I also continue doing the alphabet spelling exercise (ankle ABC's). Then I have five exercises using a resistance band: seated calf stretch, ankle dorsiflection, ankle plantarflexion, ankle eversion, and ankle inversion. Let me know if you can't find a video of them and I'll describe the specifics. Additionally, I was told to massage the scar tissue daily. It was a lot more fun having the cute PT girl massage it for me though.

All that said, my first PT visit focused on assessing my injured ankle compared to my good ankle. My range was better than expected, so my specific plan may not be the same your doc or PT would recommend. I'd just focus on basic stretching, but I wouldn't walk without a boot until your doc gives you the green light. Better to wait a week or two then push it and get stuck with arthritis or a permanently damaged ankle. 

Good luck man! I know how it feels...it really starts to return quickly though once you're body is ready. Feel free to message me if you have any questions about what I wrote.


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## Mizu Kuma (Apr 13, 2014)

boarderaholic said:


> All good, I get called "dude" all the time hahaha.


At least I got it right the first time then????? :laugh:


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## ryannorthcott (Dec 17, 2010)

DevilWithin said:


> I'm about two weeks ahead of you on recovering from my own ankle surgery. Not exactly the same thing, but similar. I broke my ankle in three places towards the end of March during my last trip to CO for the season. I needed to get a plate and pins for one of the three since it was displaced. I figured I could share my recovery process so you at least have a reference to use while your doc is out.
> 
> My surgery was on 4/1 and I was in a hard cast (non-weight bearing) for 6 weeks post surgery. I then moved to an aircast walking boot for two weeks (no crutches). I was able to walk around the house short distances during that time without the boot and did toe pointing exercises twice a day to help start getting my range of motion back. I'd push my ankle forward from a seated position like I was pushing a gas pedal and hold for 30 secs. Then pull up towards me in the opposite direction and hold 30 secs. I'd repeat this three times. I'd also spell the alphabet with my big toe using capital letters (doing it twice per session). I started physical therapy on week 9 (this past week). I am still instructed to wear the boot when I'm working or walking longer distances. Goal is to transition out of it in 3 weeks.
> 
> ...


This is what I was looking for. Thank you!

I have been getting a head start on those PT exercises you mentioned with help from google and youtube. I feel like my range of motion is doing quite well. I've been trying to mainly walk in the boot, saving non-boot walking for just around the house, but my problem is i'll get a bit too confident sometimes and go out to the bar or a buddies house without the boot or anything and spend the evening walking around on the bad foot. Surprising to me, it doesn't really hurt at the time, but the next day I definitely feel it. Your advice is perfect though and it sounds to me like we had similar injuries albeit yours was a bit more intense having broke it in three places. From my research, it's not really the fractures/breaks that are the cause for concern when walking, it's the joint and the fact that it was displaced and needs to be reset properly. By massaging the scar tissue, this turns out to be the most painful thing, especially higher up near the top of the plate... I suppose I'll find out when I go for PT exactly how to do it, I've sort of just been firmly pressing into it with my thumb...


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## boarderaholic (Aug 13, 2007)

DevilWithin said:


> I'm about two weeks ahead of you on recovering from my own ankle surgery. Not exactly the same thing, but similar. I broke my ankle in three places towards the end of March during my last trip to CO for the season. I needed to get a plate and pins for one of the three since it was displaced. I figured I could share my recovery process so you at least have a reference to use while your doc is out.
> 
> My surgery was on 4/1 and I was in a hard cast (non-weight bearing) for 6 weeks post surgery. I then moved to an aircast walking boot for two weeks (no crutches). I was able to walk around the house short distances during that time without the boot and did toe pointing exercises twice a day to help start getting my range of motion back. I'd push my ankle forward from a seated position like I was pushing a gas pedal and hold for 30 secs. Then pull up towards me in the opposite direction and hold 30 secs. I'd repeat this three times. I'd also spell the alphabet with my big toe using capital letters (doing it twice per session). I started physical therapy on week 9 (this past week). I am still instructed to wear the boot when I'm working or walking longer distances. Goal is to transition out of it in 3 weeks.
> 
> ...


Freaky. That actually sounds like the exact course my PT went as well minus the broken ankle part. 

In regards to massaging the tissue, that's pretty much what I was taught by my therapist to do if I was having a crisis with my sprain.


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## DevilWithin (Sep 16, 2013)

Cool...glad my info helped. It sounds like you're massaging the scar tissue properly. I just press down along the scar with my thumb and rub it in a circular motion along the entire length of the scar. Then go back and do the tissue to each side of the scar. 

Be careful going to bars without a boot. The PT said the main reason to wear the boot for now is to protect my ankle in crowds. Some drunk asshole stepping on your foot or knocking into your ankle at this point could really suck. I didn't think my injury was a big deal either. Like you, it didn't hurt too badly...I kept riding for 2 hours after breaking it since I thought I just sprained it. Skating in the lift line was really the only thing that sucked. The doc basically told me it was a pretty serious injury and to take the time now to heal properly so I could be ready for next season. I was anxious to get out of the cast, which is when he reminded me it would take about 6 months for a full recovery. 

Good luck on your recovery!


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

Devil, where did you get worked on?


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## DevilWithin (Sep 16, 2013)

I initially got checked out by the Vail Valley Medical Center Clinic at Beaver Creek. I remembered you worked for Vail Valley Medical Center and was going to see if I could find you if they had hauled me over to the main hospital in Vail. Fortunately, they were able to do the X-rays and put me in a splint on-site at the clinic and told me to see an orthopedic surgeon when I got home.

I had the surgery done back home in Atlanta by Dr. Spiegl. He ordered the CT Scan that showed it was actually three fractures and the break on the inner part was displaced a bit. The initial X-rays only showed what looked like two minor fractures, but they told me at the clinic that I should expect to get more X-rays since ankle injuries are often hard to see. 

I'm all good and healing up nicely. I can't wait to get back out there next season!


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## ryannorthcott (Dec 17, 2010)

DevilWithin said:


> Cool...glad my info helped. It sounds like you're massaging the scar tissue properly. I just press down along the scar with my thumb and rub it in a circular motion along the entire length of the scar. Then go back and do the tissue to each side of the scar.
> 
> Be careful going to bars without a boot. The PT said the main reason to wear the boot for now is to protect my ankle in crowds. Some drunk asshole stepping on your foot or knocking into your ankle at this point could really suck. I didn't think my injury was a big deal either. Like you, it didn't hurt too badly...I kept riding for 2 hours after breaking it since I thought I just sprained it. Skating in the lift line was really the only thing that sucked. The doc basically told me it was a pretty serious injury and to take the time now to heal properly so I could be ready for next season. I was anxious to get out of the cast, which is when he reminded me it would take about 6 months for a full recovery.
> 
> Good luck on your recovery!


Yea, I mean when I crashed I was immediately thinking well could have been worse, until I tried to put a tiny bit of weight on it and it gave in slightly, definitely a weird feeling. As far as pain goes my shoulder tear was much worse. I have read the boot is mainly just for protection as well, but I definitely notice more pain while walking and afterwards without the boot, so have started to make a conscious effort to wear it even on short jaunts to take out the garbage or whatever. After limping around I definitely realize now it will take a lot longer to get back to normal than I initially thought, mainly it's my achilles and the top of my foot that is limited and doesn't like when I try and push it too much.

Thanks again


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## DevilWithin (Sep 16, 2013)

Yeah, my achilles was screaming at me too the first week after getting out of my cast and into the boot. It just needed time to stretch after not using it for a while. I'm feeling progress on a daily basis, so I'm guessing you'll snap back quickly too. I think the main thing is to avoid injuring it again until your stabilizing muscles / balance and everything else are built back up. 

Keep me posted…it sucks we both had a nasty end of season injury, but it's also nice to hear your doing well and going through a similar recovery process.


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## ryannorthcott (Dec 17, 2010)

DevilWithin said:


> Yeah, my achilles was screaming at me too the first week after getting out of my cast and into the boot. It just needed time to stretch after not using it for a while. I'm feeling progress on a daily basis, so I'm guessing you'll snap back quickly too. I think the main thing is to avoid injuring it again until your stabilizing muscles / balance and everything else are built back up.
> 
> Keep me posted…it sucks we both had a nasty end of season injury, but it's also nice to hear your doing well and going through a similar recovery process.


Ya will do. Thanks again


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## DasStugIII (Mar 30, 2014)

welp, count me into the club too. broke my ankle skating, spiral fracture up the fibula and a piece off the tibia. have surgery today, plate and a "bunch" or screws/pins, do you guys think this will affect my season pass i already bought come november? lol.


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## ryannorthcott (Dec 17, 2010)

DasStugIII said:


> welp, count me into the club too. broke my ankle skating, spiral fracture up the fibula and a piece off the tibia. have surgery today, plate and a "bunch" or screws/pins, do you guys think this will affect my season pass i already bought come november? lol.


Damn dude, sounds much worse than what I did. I can say I expect to be back on the wakeboard next month, meaning recovery time back to board sports would be about 3 1/2 to 4 months. Mine seems to be recovering nicely, just started physio so that should expedite the process. Obviously it depends on the extent of your surgery, if there is damage to the tibia then recovery will take quite a bit longer.


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## DevilWithin (Sep 16, 2013)

That sucks man...I hope you have a speedy recovery. Sounds a bit worse than my ankle fractures, but I'd think you'll be fully recovered by the start of the season.

For reference, I'm just over 3 months since the day of my injury and completed my first month of PT. I've been out of the boot for 3 weeks and walking fine. The muscle mass in my calf is finally returning and strength is back to about 70%. My only issue is my range of motion of the ankle when I squat is still limited due to scar tissue. I'm doing another month of PT to continue to break down the scar tissue and work on recovering my range of motion. I could definitely try snowboarding now if season was starting...just might be a bit stiffer legged than I'd want.

The only potential issue I see for you is if they decide to pull the pins / plates. My Dr. wants me to wait until Sept. to decide if we pull them out. That just means a quick outpatient surgery visit, a week in the boot, and 2 weeks for stitches to be removed. 

Good luck on your surgery and recovering. Just make sure you do the exercises at home during PT and you'll snap back quickly.


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## Northriver1 (Nov 24, 2013)

Still on the mend from a tibial plateau fracture beginning of march, still off work as theres no light duty in my job. PT is working getting stronger all the time, I'm also wondering how snowboarding is gonna be next season and if I'll be ready.... Injuries suck! Good luck to you others......


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## DasStugIII (Mar 30, 2014)

Got my new upgrades, break was long enough they were able to just use screws so they don't have to pull em out later so said should only be like a month before I can put weight on it again. Should be good for the important season but fuck it's gunna be boring off of a board for this long again, I need to get better and stop breaking shit lol. Good luck to your guys recovery too, we need some ankle strong bracelets or something lol


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## jam-ie-son (Nov 12, 2014)

I was just wondering how you guys are now that its been a couple months later?

I recently suffered compound fractures to both bones in my leg, needing a plate and seven screws. 

Those of you with hardware, do you feel pain with the vibration of the board? Do you think you'll get the plates/screws removed? or just leave them?


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## DevilWithin (Sep 16, 2013)

Hey man -- sorry to hear about your injury. Two compounds sounds nasty...ouch!

I am fully recovered at this point. The physical therapy and working out all summer / fall really helped. I gained back almost my complete range of motion in my ankle. I had a clean break at the very bottom of my tibia, which required the two pins and a low profile device (like a plate). The other two fractures on my fibula were non-displaced, so they healed up on their own. The biggest issue for me was breaking down all the scar tissue through PT to gain my full range of motion back. And obviously rebuilding my leg strength. I'd say about 6 months after the injury I was fully recovered. Just make sure you do PT once you're ready for it -- and outside of the visits keep up with it at home. That will help you fully recover. Both my doc and physical therapist said that too many people don't do the PT consistently and never fully regain their range of motion, etc. they said only about 20 to 25% of their patients actually do the exercises at home. Most only do it during their scheduled PT sessions following surgery, which prolongs recovery.

I'm leaving the two pins / device in for this season. The Dr. said I was lucky that they had a very specific piece of hardware available for my break that was low profile and should be able to stay in. I told him I'd try a season of riding and then decide based on how it feels (or if the pins start pushing out). My first trip snowboarding is in 2 weeks, so I'll let you know how things go after Thanksgiving. I was all set on having it all removed, but after the 6 month mark I said fuck it. I didn't want to go through the hassle since it wasn't bothering me and I was back to running 10+ miles a day and working out regularly. 

Good luck with your recovery!


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## ryannorthcott (Dec 17, 2010)

DevilWithin said:


> Hey man -- sorry to hear about your injury. Two compounds sounds nasty...ouch!
> 
> I am fully recovered at this point. The physical therapy and working out all summer / fall really helped. I gained back almost my complete range of motion in my ankle. I had a clean break at the very bottom of my tibia, which required the two pins and a low profile device (like a plate). The other two fractures on my fibula were non-displaced, so they healed up on their own. The biggest issue for me was breaking down all the scar tissue through PT to gain my full range of motion back. And obviously rebuilding my leg strength. I'd say about 6 months after the injury I was fully recovered. Just make sure you do PT once you're ready for it -- and outside of the visits keep up with it at home. That will help you fully recover. Both my doc and physical therapist said that too many people don't do the PT consistently and never fully regain their range of motion, etc. they said only about 20 to 25% of their patients actually do the exercises at home. Most only do it during their scheduled PT sessions following surgery, which prolongs recovery.
> 
> ...


Ditto exactly what he said. Regarding whether or not I'll get them out, I think I would like to. They are not noticeable when you are doing normal activity for me but the screws are right up against the skin and even visibly raised, consequently most kind of boots create pretty bad pressure points, especially snowboard and moto boots... Also it tends to ache slightly in the cold but that's not too bad.


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## DasStugIII (Mar 30, 2014)

Got the cast off in early August, been hitting the bike like crazy since the day it came off and I can say I pretty pleased with the results. I would say I'm back to 95% of where I was before the brake. Luckily because I just got the screws and no plate there's no irritation and I don't have to get anything removed. Local Hill just set opening date for the 28th so the true test will come very soon haha. Wish the rest of you guys a speedy recovery, riding my XC bike seemed to help immensely.


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## SnowDogWax (Nov 8, 2013)

Testing our limits is in part what makes life :jumping1:
It's why you worked so hard... 
YOU know if your ready! :happy:


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## honeycomb (Feb 6, 2011)

Ryan, I guess the most important question is how old are you? I've sprained multiple tendons and ligaments and cracked multiple bones in my feet/ankles from 14-18 while playing soccer. Being young I just took some Ibuprofen for swelling, wrapped it in an ACE bandage and kept playing, and boarding in the winter.

Now I'm 28 and last year I cracked my heel bone, couldn't walk for 2 days, then could barely gimp about for a month, and took ~6months to be able to walk without any pain.

Generally follow the doc's instructions, but stretch it out and see how much you can push yourself without pain. If it hurts much, then you need to do more PT and exercises until you heal and get the strength back to get back at what you love to do.


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## ryannorthcott (Dec 17, 2010)

honeycomb said:


> Ryan, I guess the most important question is how old are you? I've sprained multiple tendons and ligaments and cracked multiple bones in my feet/ankles from 14-18 while playing soccer. Being young I just took some Ibuprofen for swelling, wrapped it in an ACE bandage and kept playing, and boarding in the winter.
> 
> Now I'm 28 and last year I cracked my heel bone, couldn't walk for 2 days, then could barely gimp about for a month, and took ~6months to be able to walk without any pain.
> 
> Generally follow the doc's instructions, but stretch it out and see how much you can push yourself without pain. If it hurts much, then you need to do more PT and exercises until you heal and get the strength back to get back at what you love to do.


Hey, I'm 24 years old (well 23 at the time of surgery and recovery). I did what I set out to do and rely on my feeling and knowledge of my body and ability to recover. Began walking on it lightly, did all my PT exercises and now the ankle is back to normal feeling (just did a fairly advanced half day hike recently and absolutely no issues)
That said, I can't wait to get the hardware out. I have pretty boney ankles, consequently the screws are visible through the skin, meaning any amount of pressure on it over time does not feel good. Even wearing tight socks cause a very slight tenderness at the end of the day. Haven't been snowboarding yet this year but I fear days may be cut short due to boot pain. We will see though.


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## DevilWithin (Sep 16, 2013)

Ryan - I've been riding 15 days so far this season and just returned from a 10-day trip where I was riding every day / all day. I previously mentioned that I also left in the hardware for this season, so I thought I'd share some thoughts on what I experienced. What I found is that after a couple days I was starting to get a "hot spot" where the pins are located. The pressure from initiating turns and the shape of the boot was irritating the spot of the injury. I could feel where the pins were and at the end of the day the spot was all red. I ended up buying some of those Dr. Scholls Moleskin Padding strips and they helped a ton. I'd just put one of those pads over the area of the pins / scar and it helped prevent the irritation I was previously getting. I was surprised that the location of the pin heads was about a 1/2 inch away from the scar. 

Here is a link to the product in case you want to buy some to try out: Self-Stick Moleskin Plus Padding for Feet | Dr. Scholl's®

They also sell a thicker version with more padding. I tried it out since the store ran out of the one I posted above. It worked just as well, but was definitely bulkier and wasn't needed in my case. 

I'll likely get the hardware removed once the season is over. 

Good luck!


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## ryannorthcott (Dec 17, 2010)

DevilWithin said:


> Ryan - I've been riding 15 days so far this season and just returned from a 10-day trip where I was riding every day / all day. I previously mentioned that I also left in the hardware for this season, so I thought I'd share some thoughts on what I experienced. What I found is that after a couple days I was starting to get a "hot spot" where the pins are located. The pressure from initiating turns and the shape of the boot was irritating the spot of the injury. I could feel where the pins were and at the end of the day the spot was all red. I ended up buying some of those Dr. Scholls Moleskin Padding strips and they helped a ton. I'd just put one of those pads over the area of the pins / scar and it helped prevent the irritation I was previously getting. I was surprised that the location of the pin heads was about a 1/2 inch away from the scar.
> 
> Here is a link to the product in case you want to buy some to try out: Self-Stick Moleskin Plus Padding for Feet | Dr. Scholl's®
> 
> ...


Many thanks for sharing your experience with the hardware and that product link, I am definitely going to give those a try. Hopefully when I combine those pads plus heatmolding I should last the full day. 
Thanks again!


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## DevilWithin (Sep 16, 2013)

You're welcome. We're in the same boat, so happy to share my experiences to save you some pain and discomfort. The ankle felt great otherwise and once I started using the moleskin it was as if I hadn't had surgery. The PT definitely paid off. I also bought stiffer boots this year to provide more support.

Hopefully you get out there and ride soon!


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## ryannorthcott (Dec 17, 2010)

Final update: 
Just had my first day of riding, due to a tropical holiday in December and intense work schedule since I've been back, I haven't been able to make it out until last weekend. 
Unfortunately, the girlfriend packed our stuff and brought my old boots when I really wanted to test out the new ones which are a size smaller and much stiffer. Anyways, I had absolutely no problems with the ankle. No painkillers, patches, pads or anything were used, I just jumped in and rode. I felt no pain on the direct site from pressure and no pain from the articulating or increased pressure on the joint. While not pushing myself too hard, I tried to put it through it's paces with some smaller jumps and hits and impact felt fine. 
Overall, I was very surprised (and stoked) that it did not bother me in the slightest


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## DevilWithin (Sep 16, 2013)

Great news! Glad you didn't have any issues. My season has been going great too so far. I still think I'll get the pins removed this summer, but those moleskins work well and once I started using them I haven't had any issues. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with placement. Mine is right where that round nub on the inside of your ankle is located. 

Have fun riding!


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## Magnum626 (Dec 31, 2009)

I didn't get to read the whole thread. I had a dislocation/fracture and it took them like 3 tries to reduce the dislocation.

I had my hardware removed 2 years after the initial surgery. I had 6 screws and a 5 inch plate removed. I was lucky the screws didn't rub on anything but I did feel them sitting legs crossed like and indian or lying on the side of my injury. Not painful but I knew they were there.


Sooo much better with the hardware removed. The only other major drawback was that my right ankle is bigger than my left (non-injured) side.

Did you ever check out mybrokenleg.com? some interesting discussions there.

Glad you're back to riding!


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## ryannorthcott (Dec 17, 2010)

Yea I'm finding on my new boots that the ankle starts to get pretty sore in the late afternoon of day 2. 3 days plus and the hardware would start to limit my riding. Definitely looking forward to getting the parts out, but all things considered it definitely could be worse


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## DevilWithin (Sep 16, 2013)

By the way, did any of you actually get your hardware removed yet? I finished this past season without any real issues and the pin heads weren't poking out, so I decided to leave them in this summer and avoid the removal surgery. So I'll be giving it a go this coming season with them still in. I plan on using that mole skin padding on my ankle near the pins to prevent hot spots from developing. 

Curious what the rest of you did after a full season and summer post initial surgery.


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## Max Agro (Jan 3, 2015)

I shattered my left tibia and fibula and broke my left ankle snowboarding at Whistler many years ago. The docs at Vancouver West General did an awesome job (I guess they see a lot of similar injuries from Whistler) .. any way I ended up with a 10 inch plate with 9 screws and multiple staples to hold it altogether along with a bone graft from my hip. It was a total drag as I was 26 weeks non-weight bearing before I could even start to walk.

After it healed which took about a year in total I started snowboarding. At first I was very scared of it breaking on me again and sometimes it felt like it would snap on me when I was just walking.. let alone snowboarding. But I persevered and got through the mental part of it and all was good. I ended up keeping the hardware in for around 8 years before I finally had it removed and it never really bothered me too much although there was some ankle pressure and discomfort from the boots when I was riding. 

Finally, I got it all removed but as long as it doesn't bother you don't worry about it.

TLDR: you're gtg as long as it doesn't bother you too much.


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## DevilWithin (Sep 16, 2013)

Last season my ankle held up perfectly, so no worries there. I rode the entire season without any issues other than the hot spot (which I easily solved). I was more curious if any of the other guys ended up leaving in the hardware since getting it removed is more of a hassle at this point than leaving it in. My plan is to wait to see if the pin heads start to push out over the years, but leave it alone otherwise. It sounds like you did the same. Why after 8 years did you get it removed?


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## Max Agro (Jan 3, 2015)

I was doing a lot of martial arts and it started to bother me. And then I started thinking that it might not be the best thing to leave in forever (that the metal might eventually cause rheumatism, etc.).... plus I got tied of setting off alarms at security when I was flying :laugh:


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