Ankle Injury

[chrism9377]

Hi all,

I am new to this forum so allow me to briefly introuduce myself, my name is chris and i'm a student living in melbourne, Australia.

3 weeks ago i rolled my ankle and as a result fell on it playing soccer. At first i just iced and received treatment from the nurses in my school's boarding house (i'm a boarder by the way) and they told me i had just sprained my ankle. So after a couple of days the swelling still had not shown much improvement and the side of my foot, near the ankle, was very bruised so i decided to go see a doctor. I got x-rays on both ankles as i have attached and also a CT scan which revealed i had done something to my fibula. We went to go see an orthopedic surgeon and ive been put in a moonboot for 6 weeks with crutches.

My main reason for posting is that im not exactly sure what the injury is and also have a few questions about my treatment. Like i said the orthopedic didnt really tell me much about the injury just saying i had fractured my fibula. Im not familiar with the different types of fractures so i was hoping from the images attached someone could give me a rough outline of what sort of fracture it is? I'm also uncertain about why i need crutches for the whole 6 weeks as i have always thought the moon boot or camwalker (not sure what its called) is used with the point of being able to walk.

I also have a few queries about my recovery time and what i can do in the mean time. A friend of mine who last year had a similiar injury was able to do cycling on a spinner bike to maintain some sort of fitness, and ive also heard swimming is possible with this type of injury. But when i asked my doctor he said no to both and i was looking for a second opinion on whether it would be possible to keep up my fitness while im still in the boot. I would also like to know how long it would take for me to get back into a condition good enough to play soccer again.

Thanks for taking the time to read and your comments would be much apprciated,

Chris

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[GrantP]

i am not a radiologist or surgeon but physio. it looks to me and consdiering your age that you may have fractured through your growth plate - serious injury. i would tend to err on the side of caution, let it settle in boot and crutches over the 6 weeks and then begin gentle swimming, aquajogging and cycling. i would think you are in a boot so that you can still shower and also do some very gentle movements of your foot and ankle to maintain ROM, circulation and some strength. i would ring and talk over with your surgeon until you are clear what the injury and his preferred pathway is.
like i say potentially serious so do it right. anyone else with better radiological skills comment on my assumption?

[violablue]

Hey, Grant, my radiological skills are likely not more than yours. Looking at the scan, I definitely agree with your assessment! Again, if someone else has more radiological skills, please make note here.

Chris, be conservative and do what your surgeon suggests. A bit more strain and stress on that may fracture it right through. Which will cause a great deal more trouble. You are young, so you will likely heal quickly as long as further injury isn't an issue! So take some time off, continuing to do what your surgeon and physio (if you see one) reccomend, activity-wise.