Shattered Calcaneus Recovery?

I was in an extremely unfortunate climbing accident this summer down in Durango. I was leading a ~60 foot route, and when I was almost to the anchors, my hand slipped, I fell, ripping out some gear, and then hit the ground. I landed on my feet luckily, but sustained numerous injuries. I broke my left calcaneus, shattered my right calcaneus VERY badly, broke my right tibia and femur, had 5 pelvic fractures, 4 broken ribs, multiple jaw fractures, and bilateral temporal fractures.

I'm about 6 months out from my accident now, but I'm still dealing with the trauma-- both emotional and physical. I've had three surgeries on my right calcaneus, with the last being at the end of September. That surgeon inserted a "huge chunk" of cadaver bone and then fused my calcaneus to my talus. I only have 4 screws in that foot because of the cadaver bone. I'm wondering if anyone else has had similar injuries to any of these, but specifically the calcaneus stuff. I'm currently walking with crutches but no boot. My foot is still SO swollen, so I'm looking for tips on how to reduce this. I wear compression socks pretty frequently and try to elevate it as much as I can.

If you've suffered a calcaneal injury, I'm just looking for some words of wisdom here. I'm so worried that I'll never be able to return to all of the activities that I love most (skiing, climbing, trail running, mountain biking, backpacking), so any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!!

I’m sorry about your injury. There are also a couple other calcaneus specific forums on here as well that are very helpful.

Link to post I responded to a few years ago: https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/114070054/recently-had-a-ground-fall-that-resulted-in-serious-injury-looking-for-advice-an

Here’s an update: my accident was pretty much 3 years ago. There’s not a day that my feet don’t bother me, but never enough to stop me from doing things. What I commonly tell people is that I try to balance being okay with knowing that I can’t do things as good as I used to but being grateful that I can still do things better than most people.

Both my heels have hardware, no fused joints but I have such minimal rom that it’s similar to being fused.  I don’t ever have pain in my heels, but usually some level of ache in my joints. 
Swelling eventually just goes away. My feet swelled a lot at the beginning but then it just stopped. At first I couldn’t walk without some type of cushioned shoe but that sensitivity disappeared too. 
Skiing, I ski on a regular basis. On resort, backcountry, multiple day hut trips, long traverses. I gave up skate skiing because the frustration is greater than the pleasure. 
Biking, this is the activity where I feel the least affected. At first my feet were sensitive to the bumps but that went away. I’ve done long bikepacking trips and plenty of single track. 
Climbing, I’ll still do it but I don’t enjoy it as much mainly due to lack of rom of the feet and some toe issues  make it pretty difficult to do technical routes. But I’ll ice climb, mixed routes, and lower grade climbs. When bouldering I’ll take more breaks and down climb instead of jumping off. 
Running, I do it but usually against my will and it’s never long and always slow. But I never liked running and I don’t think it’s worth the pain it causes me. 
Backpacking, I don’t put in the miles like I used to and my pace is always slower but I’ll still put a pack on do some shorter hikes and overnights. 
I found yoga to be very helpful. As well as talking about my fears and concerns with friends and a professional counselor. And I read this site regularly for support to remind where I was and how far I’ve come. 

good luck with your recovery! And feel free to ask any other questions. 

Lots of busted foot threads popping up lately:
https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/118238822/calcaneus-fracture-with-surgery
https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/110469280/calcaneus-surgery-orif-success-stories?page=33
https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/113950384/talus-fracture-and-partial-displacement-healing-advice-and-support
https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/118230834/40-foot-fall-and-calcanius-fracture-in-the-south-platte

Hi Ella, I completely shattered my calcaneous about 15+ years ago.  I had a plate and a dozen screws put in.  It was a devastating injury but was back at climbing and physically demanding work.  The swelling went down a lot after about 7-8 months.  After that, the range of motion improved a bit.  I still have range of motion issues and swelling but I never let it hold me back with anything.  Don’t worry, your body will totally adapt to your injury overtime.  Stay positive 

Sorry to hear it, and may you recover quickly. What route in dgo?

Fritz Nuffer wrote: Sorry to hear it, and may you recover quickly. What route in dgo?

It was Funky Crack in Cascade Canyon. Fell from the anchors basically.

Does anyone have difficulty with the suture line healing. My son is about 8 months out from calcanoea break with ruptured tendon. His incision line heals up but as soon as he walks on it the posterior heel area cracks open.  Any suggestions?

Hello. I am not a climber. I was involved in an accident in January 14th of this year 2021.I had calcaneus fracture. A close reduction was carried out on the foot,which is my left foot. I had an open wound where the bone punctured through the skin and it was sutured. I got my cast removed today and I noticed an imbalance in my leg,like the affected foot is shorter than the other. I did an xray as directed by the orthopaedics but the result came out unclear according to them. But one of them said it seems the calcaneus is displaced again. I felt really bad hearing this,its been 7 weeks already. I'm so worried,they are talking about surgery. I have an appointment with them again on Monday. I was told I will have to go for another x-ray before they will know the next thing to do. I'm an active person and I just wanna be back on my feet, no limping, no deformity, no nerve damage and no disability .

My husband is just beginning treatment post severe heel fracture.. he understands the long term arthritis and consequences .. aside from hiking he plays pickleball and bikes.. does anyone have comments about these sports post surgical recovery?

Mayowa Fabayo wrote:

Hello. I am not a climber. I was involved in an accident in January 14th of this year 2021.I had calcaneus fracture. A close reduction was carried out on the foot,which is my left foot. I had an open wound where the bone punctured through the skin and it was sutured. I got my cast removed today and I noticed an imbalance in my leg,like the affected foot is shorter than the other. I did an xray as directed by the orthopaedics but the result came out unclear according to them. But one of them said it seems the calcaneus is displaced again. I felt really bad hearing this,its been 7 weeks already. I'm so worried,they are talking about surgery. I have an appointment with them again on Monday. I was told I will have to go for another x-ray before they will know the next thing to do. I'm an active person and I just wanna be back on my feet, no limping, no deformity, no nerve damage and no disability .

I shattered my calcaneus on jan 8th and had open reduction internal fixation surgery on jan 22 2021.today is April 15 2021 and I have been in my regular shoes for 1 week today.i was non weight bearing for 9 weeks and wore a aircast for 4 weeks gradually putting weight and learning how to walk again.i have alot of swelling,pain in ankle and Achilles tendon. I'm still trying to get my gait right and my walk is just off.im hoping for improved after another 4 weeks of physical therpy. I'm riding a stationary bike daily and doing alot of stretching and foot and ankle strengthening exercises.my job is very physical demanding so I still have a long road ahead.good luck on your recovery. 

I'm going through something very similar just wanna say thank you for allowing in and reading post. Good luck and best wishes 

April 24th 2023 I fell off of a small 3 step ladder straight down on my right heel and fractured it requiring surgery.  But I had to wait 3 weeks for that due to swelling.  The first thing I want to tell anyone that experiences this injury is to get a knee scooter ASAP!!!!  It is was kept me sane.  I put a basket on mine and bought an extra pad to put my knee on.  You at least then can take things with you and you don’t have to keep asking for help.  Crutches suck!!!!!  Surgery was May15th. 9 weeks later I could use my toe for balance a week after that 25% weight bearing then 2 weeks of 50% weight bearing.  Now full weight bearing. 3 months after surgery I was ok’d to drive!!!!  Hallelujah!  Physical therapy has helped a lot but walking is a struggle.  I have quite a limp and I’m walking on the outside of my foot all the time.  My achilles tendon is always super tight and my heel hurts.   I am a very active person and this injury has been very difficult to deal with and even now I feel like a have a long way to go.  I’ve read some say their dr has taken the plates out if they are causing issues.  My dr says they do not do that so here’s praying I don’t have that problem.  I just want to walk without pain and a big limp.  Time will tell as I’ve also read it can take 6 months to a year to recover.  Swelling and bruising comes and goes depending on how active I was that day.  Tend to overdo it on days it feels good.  

Hi Deb,

        Fairly recently out of surgery myself. How is your recovery coming along?Hopefully well! 

Everyone else on this thread is about 3yrs out. All of you recovery near 100%?

Ella- I cringe reading about all those broken bones!  Hope you have mended well!