Dislocated ankle, open fracture.

About 3-4 weeks ago I took a ground fall and dislocated my ankle and got an open fracture. I'm looking for stories from you who have done something similar and wondering how long did it take for you to come back to climbing? My doctor says 6-12 months at least but I like to think he's wrong. Removing the cast in about three weeks.

https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/113950384/talus-fracture-and-partial-displacement-healing-advice-and-support

Broke my talus Sept 2015 and had 3 screws put in.  Didn't climb until the following June, and not very well I might add.  Took a full year to feel like I was almost normal. Good luck.

Hi, unfortunately you OS might not be wrong but it depends on the type of the fracture and conditions of soft tissues. I’m currently recovering, broke my ankle climbing. Feel free to DM mee

Broke my left ankle in a lead fall on 27APR2020. External fixation the following day and ORIF on 07MAY2020.

Nearly 9 months post accident now.

Still severely limited in dorsiflexion (steep hills are difficult to impossible). Swelling has subsided drastically but pain will ensue after a long day on my feet.

I think my biggest hinderance is a contracted Achilles from the prolonged immobilization from casting. I also transected my posterior tibial tendon (rare according to my surgeon). This meant my foot was placed in the cast with a more pronounced plantar flexion - making gains in dorsiflexion more challenging.

I had my syndesmotic (long screw) removed on 13DEC2020. I felt some improvements were made following that minor surgery.

I have good days and bad days. Currently having a bad one (tight and locked joint). Optimistic a full hardware removal and ankle scope can provide further gains in ROM.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery. I will say this has been more challenging than I ever presumed (28yo and athletic - felt I could rebound from anything in weeks). Still working at it.

WARNING GROSS PICTURE 

Here’s an example of a hugely positive outcome.

Took a 16/18 foot fall back in 2013 and landed all my weight on my left ankle whilst wearing hiking boots.

Broken tibia and fibula, but luckily minimal damage to muscles and tendons.

Doctor did an amazing job putting it back together, and I was back walking, working and climbing within 3 months. Was not allowed to put any weight on it for the first 6 weeks (my mother was fantastic at enforcing this) and then gradually started putting weight on and doing low impact activities like cycling. 

 I have full movement and flexibility (which came back within 5/6 months). Had the 6 pins and plate in the fibula removed as they were rubbing, but still have the 2 pins in the tibia. Only issue is slight numbness around where the bone exited the flesh.

Yay, go medical science!

Hope you have a speedy recovery too :)

Sorry to hear about your injury. Someone from MP reached out to me after my injury and gave me hope when I was feeling pretty down, so I hope I can do the same for you.

Disclaimer:
I am not a trained medical professional.

My experience:
I suffered a tib/fib comminuted (on fib) fracture in Nov 2017 due to a fall resulting from rock failure while on lead so I can't speak to the recovery/outcome for your particular injury, but from what I recall and from looking back at my calendar in an attempt to confirm is that I was able to resume low impact activities at 12 weeks post op, and started top roping indoors at that time. Skiing, running, jumping, and essentially anything where abrupt impact forces were possible or the norm were off limits for longer, I think by 4-8 more weeks.  

Also, in typical fashion from what I've seen in other x-rays of tib fib fracture ORIF repairs, when the syndesmotic screw was removed that reset the clock on some elements of what was and wasn't allowed in terms of weight bearing status and any "impact sports".

Due to residual pain I had the hardware removed two years post op, and a few screws broke in the process so I have some hardware left over in my medial malleolus. This removal resulted in a new low impact sports window for some time.  Now I am able to run, hike, climb, ski etc with no significant pain, and climb better than I did before I broke my ankle. My dorsiflexion is roughly 97% of what I can do with my uninjured foot. Long days still result in some swelling but I hiked 70mi in the Wind Rivers this summer and took Aleve as needed.

My advice:
Having been a bad patient before and having paid the price for bad choices as a patient I recommend that you follow your physician's orders, don't put on excessive weight (I quit drinking alcohol for my entire recovery), and DO YOUR PHYSICAL THERAPY. I know it's anecdotal but everyone I know who stayed in shape and followed PT has had a much better outcome than those who did not. 

In summary a good outcome achieved by waiting a few extra weeks or months now will likely pay dividends in good climbing days and other things you enjoy doing for years or decades to come.

Similar, but different injury, shattered calcaneus in February 2008, 4 months non weight bearing, climbed in the gym a couple times, top roped most of the summer, did an FA of a 12c that fall. Obviously all injuries are different and healing occurs at different rates.  The good thing is that if you sport climb steep stuff close to the car, you will be climbing sooner than you think. I ran a mile about 11 months out which was later than climbing activity by quite a.bit.  Hang in there!!

 12 weeks ago I had a medial malleolus avulsion fracture from landing on my left foot from a 15 feet boulder and then absorbing the impact with extreme dorsiflexion. No surgery, just a boot for 1 month. I think I am about 70 % back to normal now, with small but noticeable improvements every week. I am able to climb/boulder at the gym but still far from rope jumps or running.

I tried in person PT but I found this online program better: https://theprehabguys.com/program-ankle-dorsiflexion-overhaul/

I am currently on week 1 of the program and liking it a lot although I cannot say I am improving any faster. 

I have not heard anyone on these forums talk about the iwalker 3.0. That thing made a huge difference the first few weeks as it allowed me to continue to work as a surgeon right away after the injury.

Good luck

This thread is a great reminder..... about taking it easy out there.  Wow.

A year ago my right ankle got dislocated while climbing and the bad news was I'm unable to rotate my ankle. The dislocated part was pretty painful and the x-ray didn't reveal any fracture. So I was referred to a physiotherapist for a speedy recovery. It almost takes 6-8 weeks for ligament and bone to heal(depends). Now, I feel better and happier. Wishing you a speedy and full recovery. Hoping you feel much better very soon!