Six weeks ago, I took a fall which resulted in a broken right leg/ankle.

On the paperwork I have, it says that I have a closed, non-displaced spiral fracture of the lateral malleolus distal fibula.

I was put in a knee-high non weight bearing cast for six weeks (on crutches the whole time). The cast came off a couple of days ago and I have been put in a walking boot. I was told to wear it for four weeks and that I could take it off to bath. The doctor said to stay on the crutches for as long as I need, gradually putting more weight on it until it doesn't hurt to put weight on and to go back in four weeks for another xray. They said I may still need the boot for another 2-4 weeks after that.

I was told that it was a "good" and simple break, so I am a bit gutted that it is going to take so long to get me back on my feet.

My ankle is still very painful - it is very swollen around the ankle and my foot and it is very bruised still. I'm still using the crutches and putting some weight on it, but it is very painful. I'm worried that there's some muscle/ligament/tissue/etc damage as well?

When I had the cast taken off, they didn't tell me whether there are any exercises I should be doing to strengthen it or anything like that. They basically said to just leave the boot on for four weeks. So my question is - Is there anything I should be doing in the meantime to strengthen my ankle/leg? Should I see a physio, or will my rehabilitation be after the boot comes off?

Thanks for any advice you can give.

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