Broken Calcaneous need advice for journey ahead.....

Caroline777 · 03-28-2008, 05:39 PM

Hi all,

I broke my heel bone about 8 weeks ago. I have had no weight bearing on the foot since then, I have had two hard cast and I cam currently in an airboot. I broke my heel into 4 peieces, I did not need surgery since I had almost no displacement. I recently went for a nerve test and it was determined that I did not have any nerve damage or I should say the only nerve that has any damage to it is one that branches out to my little toe. The doctor is not sure whether the nerve will heal or not but since it is only a sensory nerve no one seems to be too concern about it. I still have some swelling but it's not that bad, I haven't experienced much pain either

, just in the very beggining but now not at all. Just once in a great while my heel will feel "tired". I am not sure when I will start physical therapy, I'm guessing next time I see my orthopedic he will send me for physical therapy. Once I start physical therapy what should I expect? I'll have to admit that I am scared to death of putting any weight on my foot. Even though I've been lucky with the pain so far I have a feeling that is going to end once I start therapy. Can someone tell me what to expect, any advice for the journey ahead would be appreciated.

Thanks

jk4507 · 03-28-2008, 06:38 PM

Caroline,
I first suggest you search all the threads here for "shattered heel" or "calcaneous"; the past posts at HB were very valuable to me during my recovery; I'm fully recovered 2.5 yrs later and I enjoy helping the new heelers.

You are very lucky you did not require surgery (no displacement); surgery add it's own issues (infection, nerve & blood vessel damage, scarring).

I would be interested in hearing all the details about your injury.

John

Caroline777 · 03-28-2008, 07:13 PM

Hi John,

Thanks for the response. I fell off of a ladder and I broke my heel into four pieces on Jan 28th, I did not have any displacement so as I mentioned before I did not need any surgery. All of my pain has been on my outer ankle (right leg), my foot still swells but it's not that bad. My outer ankle looks thick and swollen. Last time I saw the doctor he told me that the thickens may never go away entirely. The most frustrating thing about this injury is that no one wants to give you a definite answer. I guess my doctor doesn't want to scare me but the standard answer can't always be "eventually". I now know that there is no timetable for my healing. As I'm reading the threads I understand why my doctor is so vague. Everyone heals differently, your right I have been lucky that I did not need surgery and I have not experienced pain in the way that so many others have. From reading the threads this afternoon I'm starting to get scared about physical therapy. I have been eagerly waiting to start but now I'm finding myself getting scared. Looks like I'm going to be in some pain. Do you know what exactly happens to your muscles and tendons when you have suffered this type of injury? I am assuming that they all got traumatized. Since I haven't used them in so long do they just stiffen up and that's what makes physical therapy so hard? How long did it take before the swelling stopped for you? Also how long were you home from work? My job is performed oh I would say about 85%-90% sitting down. I know my foot is going to swell some especially when I first get back but I'm sure I will be able to elevate it at least waist high. I am worried about getting around with crutches at work, I hate using those things!

Right now I'm looking at returning during the first week of May.

jk4507 · 03-28-2008, 07:50 PM

Caroline,
Reading the posts is the best therapy; especially for you since you now know it could've been much worse.

I'm going to answer some of your questions:
- Swelling in the ankle area can take up to a year; from my experience, when it starts to diminish after in Month 10, it goes away quickly.
- I loved doing PT; Because I could see my range of motion improvements when the PT guy gave me the results at the beginning and end of every session. The pain is nothing to worry about. There is some mild pain but it is very bearable. "No pain, no gain" applies here.

I have more to add later...

Please keep on asking more questions. I will answer them all.

Caroline777 · 03-29-2008, 03:31 PM

Hi John,

Your right I've been getting a lot of info from past post I did search for "shattered calcaneous" got a lot of good info. I'm gonna spend the rest of this afternoon researching somemore post.
You mentioned "no pain no gain" I can understand really well, before the accident I was a jogger, I was jogging 3-4 miles daily so I do understand pushing yourself. I think I'll take up that mentality for my pt when it starts.

Type to you later