Broken ankle

[Yozza]

I found out after going to the A&E clinic of the local hospital that I have actually broken my ankle .

During a badminton session earlier today, I jumped but landed with my right foot rolled over to the left side, and collapsed due to the pain. A slight pop was heard and felt. The ankle swelled up like a balloon on the right side and was very painful.

The doctor initially suspected just a sprained ankle, but x-rays showed that I had a displaced fracture on the inner side of the ankle.

I don't have the x-rays here, but it looks something like the image below.

The doctors say roughly 6 weeks for it to recover, and I've been put in a temporary cast until the fracture is dealt put back together (possibly through surgery) with and a permanent cast put in place.

Those with experience or medical background (Cheung?) , how long do you think it will take until the ankle heals to a reasonable state such that I will be able to play badminton and other sports again? I assume the 6 weeks is just for the ankle to regain enough strength for light activities such as walking, etc.

Will there be any lasting negative effects once it has healed?

[Joseph]

I'm sorry to hear that. I hope there isn't any lasting negative effects afterwards.

[cooler]

sorry to hear that. It depends on the healing process.
Maybe it's a good time to work on left leg and upper body while listening to love inc. -broken bones

[da ding]

i'm really sorry to hear about the ankle, Yozza, and i know totally how you feel cuz i just happened to fracture my ankle a month ago after falling awkwardly in badminton. I've been in a cast and on crutches since then and the cast will be off in one to two weeks. Usually, this kind of injury takes 2 to 2 and a half months to heal completely, before you can get back to badminton

you probably know his but just to tell you, it is helpful to try to move your injured leg around for a period of time everyday as without this exercise the muscles in the leg really degenerate very very fast. But try not to put any pressure on the leg while moving it and do it slowly and gently: one my doctor told me to do is to keep the leg straight, move it up as vertically as you can slowly, hold it for a few seconds, and let it down and repeat...

anyways, hope you get well as quickly as possible!

[ants]

This is real bad. After your cast is removed.. you need to have at least a month of theraphy to strengthen your ankle. Most likely there will not be any lasting negative effects , depending on your body fast recovery and respond to the theraphy.

[Chia]

injury is not good to hear..
good luck on your recovery, hope u hit the courts soon

[SchrodingerCat]

If you have other damages (such as ligaments, tendons..etc), it may take years to heal.

[bluejeff]

Try to think about the good things.

Now, you can order a string machine and start to practice stringings!

[Cheung]

Is it really a "displaced" fracture?

Is 6 weeks the opinion given by the orthopaedic doctor?

And what guides your decision between operative surgery and just a cast?

And good luck with that stringing practice. My sympathies to get an inury like that.

[Yozza]

Many thanks for your kind words, guys. I really hope I can get back on the courts as soon as possible.

Cheung,
I say it's a displaced fracture because on the x-ray it looks as if the fracture has gone all the way around and moved the fractured piece out of a alignment with the main part of the bone (tibia?).

I'm not sure if the doctor that said approximately six weeks is an orthopaedic doctor or not, but she said generally it takes six weeks to heal. I will be going to the 'Fracture Clinic' tomorrow to have the fracture aligned and a permanent cast put in place.

The doctor said that to align and maintain alignment of the bones, surgery may be necessary in addition to a cast. I'm not sure if this will be the case or not. I'll have to wait and see.

Are there any exercises or other things I can do to help the healing process?

Thanks guys.

[da ding]

Originally posted by Yozza

Are there any exercises or other things I can do to help the healing process?

as ive said earlier in this thread, i just happened to fracture my ankle a month ago after falling awkwardly in badminton also , and my doctor told me about some exercises: one is to keep the leg straight, start from a horizontal position, move it up as vertically as you can slowly, hold it for a few seconds, and let it down and repeat...

another thing is to keep tensing your calf muscles periodically cuz in a cast, there is no other way to move it.

also try this one: hold your leg straight at an angle of around 45 degrees in the air, then repeatedly bend the leg from the knee and then straighten, bend and straighten... it is actually tiring cuz the cast is quite heavy

anyways, hope you get well soon, Yozza

[thezone]

take the time to relax and enjoy other things :-) hope you'd pop back up once its all healed n start playin again. I have a feeling that though it might be broken its better than pulling the achilles cause it'll never feel the same again. i speak from experience

[neelee]

How long does it take for a broken ankle to heal, on average / generally?