There is recent evidence that anti-inflamatories delay healing of broken bones.

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Yep, I, too, got the advise from the doctor not to take painkillers. He advised heat- and ice-packs instead. Of course mine actually wasn't swollen (which is one of the reasons it took them a heckload of time to figure out what was wrong in the first place) and was a different bone all together.

Oh yeah and he had me take calcium-magnesium-kalium-zink tablets (although I think kalium is called something else in english.. potassium maybe?)


Oh yeah after a while, when the stuff had attached itself but needed to harden still, I got a cast that was uhm, well I could take it off. It was a lot of work, had to be very very careful there, but to wash it, it helped. Cuz last time i had something broken, I had sweat spots that were like somebody had just taken my skin off all over, and this time I didn't.


I didn't have a problem with the palms, but I sure had bruised armpits like nobody's business. Gosh that sucked.
Oh yeah and then there was the problem of taking stairs. Fourth floor, no elevator. At first, I just held both crutches and hopped up. That quickly resulted in a fall right on my knees. That sucked.
So after that, I'd hold one crutch, have somebody else carry the second one upstairs or downstairs, and with the other arm I'd lean on the... You know thing to hold on to on 1 side of the stairs? kind of like a flat iron bar. Almost all stairs have those.
That's WAY more stable than 2 crutches.

A bannister (I think I may have spelled that wrong, though!). Reading this makes me very happy I live in a one-floor house! I can't imagine going up several flights of stairs on these crutches.

Thanks for the advice! I was just thinking a few days ago about how I needed to do more exercises for my core muscles Oh, and my palms are already getting a little sore and red. I thought it might be good to wrap some sort of soft material around the hand grips on the crutches. I'm trying to use my arms rather than my underarms...but, wow, is that hard. So, my underarms are already hurting.

That's a great idea! Thanks

I know it doesn't help the frustration of not being able to skate, but a few months back I tore up some ligaments in my ankle really badly, I couldn't walk for a few days at all, and it is only very recently I started doing toe jumps again. When I started jumping again I found all my jumps actually got better - the break did me well. So don't worry, the break might do you well! Your body knows the jumps and spins, you won't loose them

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The hardest thing about ice skating is the ice.

I spent 9 months on crutches due to a shattered knee cap and the several surgeries it took to repair it. One suggestion I have is if you wrap a wash cloth around the crutch handles, it gives it a little more padding and makes it more comfortable to grip. It also makes it a bit more of a wider grip which took some of the pressure off. An added bonus is that the wahclothes are easy to wash and it helps for your hands to not get as sweaty.

And as someone else mentioned you can get a seat for your shower for about $10 at a pharmacy store. It was the greatest invention ever, even after I got my imobilizers off as I was still too weak to stand for a shower.

Good luck on a speedy recovery!

very sorry to hear it, hope you are skating again soon.

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It's all about the dress!

I've never actually found those plastic things to work. My casts would still get wet, and then of course start to smell. When I had my first cast, when I was about 12, and it started to smell because I would try to wash my fingertips, and the moisture and sweat, just didn't smell pleasant. So I tried to make it smell better by spraying apple scented body spray onto the cast. Then my cast smelled like apples and stinky flesh. Made me gag at night if I slept too close to the cast.

And be careful iwth the knitting needle technique for scratching, I've noticed that my skin gets really ashy inside the cast, so it becomes much easier to break the skin. And don't use a fork to scratch. I was at hte ortho office once, and a woman comes in with a fork stuck in her cast. She had to cme and have the cast removed to get the fork out.

No idea what a bannister is? Explain please?


Anyway the first few days I refused to use the crutches, so I got everywhere, also up and down those stairs, without crutches and just hopped around.
Which resulted in an inflamed achilles attachment point on the other leg, so I had to start using the crutches. Otherwise I never would've bothered with the things at all.

Let's just say I was really happy coach Elly regularly makes us hop up and down three flights of stairs on each leg, several times, in the break between ballet and ice-time on fridays... She says it's good for the jumping muscles.

A bannister, or handrail as I call it, is what you were describing in your other post, the thing by he stairs that you hold onto when going up and down them.

So now I have to get surgery. The orthopedist said that my fibula will heal fine, but that I tore a bunch of ligaments in my ankle. So he has to go in and fix the ligaments so they will heal properly. I'm kind of nervous about it. I decided to get myself to work today so I have something else to do other than think about surgery.

Bummer... bad news always seems to come in bunches.

But don't be too nervous about it- fixing those ligaments is usually a fairly common surgery, and with physical therapy you'll be able to rehab back to normal- NOT fixing them would cause many more problems.

I'm sure it will all go well- it just really seems like it all piles on doesn't it!


Now my one word of advise- whatever physical therapy they ask you to do, don't quit until the doctor thinks you are completely done. I stopped a few months early, because I was too busy- and getting through normal days and back to dancing and figured if I could do everything back to normal it was no big deal- it wasn't until years later that I was able to notice the things that weren't quite up to par yet Shouldn't have quit early...

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-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

Oi, I wish they'd do that for me... I've had SO many ankle sprains and a couple of tears on that ankle over the year that it's not holding up at all anymore, but they're just like all about "strengthening the remaining ligaments". Sometimes I doubt there's much left to strengthen... Meh.

/ end depressed mode.

(no seriously, from now on, I intend to think only positive thoughts!)
See? Feeling all positive already.


BTW that's very good news that it'll heal fine

I would go even further than this and say don't quit PT before you and the physical therapist think you are ready. The doctor is not with you on a day-to-day basis the way the physical therapists are, and they can assess pretty well how close you are to being done, and what you need them to help you with and what you can do on your own.

Anyway, sorry to hear you need surgery, but hopefully it will go well!

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August 22, back on the ice!

Really sorry to hear that. I did the same thing and ended up in hospital for 5 days following surgery to fix it with a metal plate and screws. It's good that you've not had that as that was the hardest part of it for me - even now 8 years on, I am bothered by the screws sometimes. Anyway best of luck with the healing process. Keep your leg elevated as much as you can and rest up as this all helps with the healing process.

Nicki

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www.myspace.com/insatiableskater

I said doctor- because my doctor recommended another 3 months, and my PT said I was okay if I wanted to stop. So go with whomever keeps you there longer if insurance is still paying!

Plus my PT didn't know what my OT was doing, but the doctor got reports from both. I doubt in this case OT will be needed though.

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-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

That's a good doctor you have there. I have the impression that a lot of surgeons tend to think about stopping PT sooner rather than later. My surgeon actually gave me a lot of PT but the last time (in the first go-round of PT, before the surgery to remove the ankle screws) he was a little reluctant, but then he did it. After the second surgery, he and I were totally in agreement about needing one more month of PT. My main physical therapist told me that was common with the surgeons, and said if I thought I needed more I could go through my primary care doc, but by the end, I was happy to leave. I still don't have 100% of my range of motion back, but it's close, and I just keep working on it.

But yeah, get as much PT as you can. It's not like you'll be 100% the day you walk out of PT, but you should be to the point that you can do the rest of your rehab on your own.

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August 22, back on the ice!

Oh dear, Morgail . . . welcome to the club!! I also broke my L fibula (alas, my landing leg, as I'm CW) and a tip off my tibia in April. One week exactly before I was going to take my pre-bronze moves test (ah well, easy come, easy go with those test fees, eh?)

Say it with me: TOEPICKS ARE EVIL. I did something similar to what you did--got onto the toepick, only I somehow twisted and SNAP! That was that. I've been back on the ice just once (last week) and it was definitely a weird feeling, weak feeling, and somewhat painful.

The surgery will help so much. You never think of ligaments/muscles/other soft tissues as being that big a deal when it comes to healing--but those soft tissue injuries can linger, linger, linger, like a fracture won't. My bone was healed in about 6 weeks (I also had surgery--plate & 5 screws), but the muscles, ligaments, and tendons continue to heal. And get PT--it helped me so much!

All the best to you. Do your best to keep your chin up, and make a huge deal out of every small step you make towards recovery!

ETA: I remember crying a lot the first few days--not so much because of the pain, but just because I was so frustrated! I'd been working really hard and seeing it pay off and then, BOOM! All my plans went out the window.

OH--and I was also going to recommend a cart thingy. Here's a picture (doesn't this lady look triumphant with the Turning Leg Caddy):


Awesome for fending off the weariness that comes with crutches.

Bike gloves. They work great on the hands on crutches; you get a grip, there's some padding, and they absorb sweat. Plus, the fingerless thing means that you don't have to take them off to write. And they look cool.

Thanks everyone! I fully intend to do all the PT I need to do. I want that ankle and leg strong before I try to step onto the ice again.
I made it through the surgery today. Now I'm at home with a nice cast (toes to about a couple inches below my knee), a hydrocodone Rx which makes me fall asleep everytime I take one, and a husband acting as a nurse They also gave me a pain block, so I can't feel anything in my lower leg down to my toes. I was way too out of it to ask any questions, and my husband can't remember exactly what the orthoped. told him he put in my ankle. It's something on each side of the ankle to stablilize the joint so the ligaments will heal. I'll have to ask when I go in for my appointment next week.
My poor husband - he talked to his dad last night and his dad told him stories about everyone he knew who went into the hospital and died. Husband was a little freaked out today!

Oh wow - that sounds awful!! I'm glad you healed even though you can still feel the screws. But I can imagine how irritating the screws can still be.

I did a little crying. Especially the first night when I thought about all the skating plans I had for this fall that are now on hiatus. Actually, what set me off that first night was getting into bed and realizing that I couldn't reach the covers at the end of the bed! And then I thought of every other little frustrating thing and had myself a good cry. And then I teared up a little after the orthoped. told me I needed surgery (that was more out of fear!). That cart looks great! The crutches are now a little easier for me. The nurse today noticed they were set too low for me (making me hunch over) and moved them up. They're a bit easier to use now.

Hee, actually, hydrocodone has always kept me awake, or made me sleep fitfully. It was the oxycodone that really knocked me out. Be glad, but just make sure, if you take much of it, that you are taking precautions so you don't have problems with any of the side effects. PM me if you don't know what I mean.
Aw, {{Morgail}}. It will get better. I did my share of crying over my broken ankle, too. This isn't the last time you'll be upset, but this too shall pass. I tried the cart in my first PT, when I was in the hospital, and didn't like it, but I do know other people who really liked it a lot. I used a walker instead of crutches because I felt more stable and I could hang a bag on it and carry things around that way. Hang in there.

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August 22, back on the ice!