Lateral Malleous - I want to run!

[dlargan]

On April 30th, I was playing a rugby game and jumped with the ball to touch it down. There was no pain, but I just couldn't stand up. When I tried to put any pressure on my right foot I felt a sharp pain. I don't know how I fell, and am quite surprised that there were no tears or screams on my end..
The next day, my ankle was pretty swollen on the outside and I knew I had to get an xray. The doctor said I broke the lateral malleous, but all things considered it was a good break as it didn't need the surgery with screws.
I have a half cast on now, and can't walk on it at all. I will have this for 3 weeks before I get a walking boot (the plastic ones).
I'm really counting down the days till I can play rugby again, and I was wondering when I can really start training again?
The doctor estimated 3 weeks with the walking cast, but since my injury hasn't been a painful one I was hoping I could start walking without the cast after 2 weeks.
I'm hoping to play for my province in the rugby nationals in mid-August, and want to know if this is realistic?
MUCH thanks!

(I'm an 18 year old female, generally healthy and haven't had any ankle injuries prior to this)

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[physiobob]

I would say you are out for 3-4 months. You have an initial 6 weeks for the fracture to being to ossify. It really wont be at full strength until 12 months or so. Although the fibula is not a weight bearing structure when standing it dows undergo a lot of force when changing direction etc weaving when running. Also to have broken it you should have also suffered ankle ligament damage. But with no pain that is a little weird. Is there any history of brittle bones in your family? Or maybe you are a female rugby player who feels no pain! I know there are many of them

In short it will be a close call but you won't be match hardened by August.

If you have any x-rays please do post them as an attachment

[dlargan]

Just to make sure, that's 3-4 months including the cast time?
Concerning running cuts/switching directions quickly, is that something that will come back with time, or is it something I should permanently adjust to not having?
My doctor hasn't been very detailed with explanations, so ligament damage is possible, but I haven't heard a word about it yet. So is it possible to have no ligament damage? That would be ideal.
I find it hard to believe I even broke my ankle, because I definitely don't fit into the tough rugby player category! The doctors said it was a very minor break, and mentioned that they think the bone broke because my muscle wouldn't adjust to let my bone go further? So if i had to say from the doctors impressions, I don't think I have ligament damage.
There's no history of brittle bones in my family, but I personally might just be bone brittle. I've broken more than a couple bones, and wasn't consuming enough dairy/calcium at the time of the injury.

I don't have a copy of the xrays, but I know the location of the break looked quite similar to Type C on this chart: Type C

Sorry for the bombardment of questions, but if you knew any idea for a time table in the sense of when I could start doing fitness on a bike, and then jogging, etc., it would be much appreciated!

Thanks so much!

[Musculoman]

Type C is more a distal fibula fracture than a lateral malleolus fracture, so it is quite possible to break without any associated ligament damage. I am amazed you broke it without any symptoms! Physiobob is correct, at least 3-4 months including time in cast. I would be querying why / how you broke this so easily more so than currently focusing on return to sport. Can you think of any previous incident which might have contributed leading up to the game? Or even during the game before you touched the ball down?

If it is found that you have brittle bones, maybe touch footy is more for you!

Due to your age you should be able to focus on low resistance bike work quite early, likely at around 4-6 weeks . Progressing as pain / comfort permits. Due to the fibula being mostly non weight bearing as bob suggests, linear exercise i.e. bike, will be a great tool in terms of staying fit. Lateral movements / exercise which will stress the fracture and likely should not be attempted until performed with nil discomfort or anxiety. (~8-10 weeks probably). Full RTS to a contact sport will likely be much later, 12+ weeks. Keep in mind this is just a general outline, and may not be ideal for your presentation / symptoms!

Hope this helps!