broke ankle 4 years ago some times very pain full still

by natalie
(oshawa ontrio canada)

I had 1200 pounds fall on me and broke my tibia and fibia in ankle got a plate and screws i think when i pulled the foot from under the machine I did more damage then what the doctors think , it sprains easy 3 x so far and today it is so sore with throbbing and aching that I cant walk, feel like using my cruches . The doctor did say I now have artharitis in my ankle . But it is so painfull that it feels broken but its not . I dont take any pills for my pain nor do I want too.I ice it and put a warm pad on it at time . I limp cause my foot will not bend forward so its like walking with my foot flat all the time and never mind walking at a fast pase or run, to top it off I now have put more weight on and finding it hard to exersice due to the ankle all most every thing involves the ankle in one way or another . Yes I will be 50 next month so that doesnt help with weight gain . Any way you can help would be a blessing.

Thanks Natalie looking forward to your remark.

RESPONSE
Hi Natalie,
Your problem unfortunately happens to be a very common one. The problem tends to be two fold. The first is the actual trauma and the subsequent amount of damage done to the ankle. Second is the skill in which the ankle was surgically fixed. These two problems are related because the greater the trauma to the ankle, the harder it is to fix the ankle in such a manner where there is never any further pain.
Assuming the trauma broke the fibula and tibia in multiple places it would require a lot of hardware to put everything back together as that is your surgeon's primary concern. The problem is that you can be left with two major issues. The first would be irritation from the actual hardware, although in many cases some of the hardware can be removed down the road if the bones are adequately healed. The second problem becomes more problematic and that is the alignment of the actual ankle joint after the surgery.
In many cases putting the broken bones back together leaves the ankle joint mal-aligned. It would be the equivalent of an unbalanced tire on your car. What happens? The ankle joint begins to wear out. Depending on your age, weight and some other medical considerations, this could happen quickly or be a gradual deterioration of the ankle joint.
You probably need to have your ankle examined by a doctor who understands the biomechanics of the foot and ankle as sometimes we can add an insert to the shoe to create better alignment. Better alignment results in less pain and a better range of motion in the ankle.
If your ankle is beyond that then sometimes we use what is known as a foot-ankle orthothis. This is generally a customized device, although they do make pre-made one, which attempt to balance the foot relative to the leg to take strain off the ankle and to stabilize the ankle.
So....my best advice is to try and find a foot and ankle specialist in your area and see what your options are.

Marc Mitnick DPM
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