Ankle injuries

[Christy]

Showering. I've tried just sitting on the floor of a walk in shower and sitting on a low stool, but neither offered a good way to deal with my bad ankle. Will a taller stool work better?
(Choices: https://www.accessmedicalequipment....=12,21&group=Bath Equipment Rentals and Sales)

I just watched a video where someone with a broken leg got in and out of a tub. That didn't seem so easy either.

 

[Jenny]

I used a plastic cooler, but it's probably the same height as your low stool. I do think that the higher stool would be easier, but I always just had DH haul me out of the tub, so never tried it.

 

[Jenny]

I asked if it was okay to take Oxy I got after my hysterectomy in 2013. The urgent care practitioner looked horrified and said, please don't, i'll prescribe something.

This made me laugh. My leftovers are from 2018, but I doubt she'd think that was any better.

 

[Christy]

I used a plastic cooler, but it's probably the same height as your low stool. I do think that the higher stool would be easier, but I always just had DH haul me out of the tub, so never tried it.

A cooler! What did you do with your bad leg? I don't understand where to put mine. Resting it on the tile doesn't seem right.

 

[santacruz skier]

Thick soles are dangerous, or at least in my experience they are. That is why I don't like those very popular HOKA athletic shoes. I'm surprised so many people find them safe. Was it HOKAs that allowed your ankle to roll?

I've been wearing Hoka's for years now..... Have never heard they are dangerous.

 

[Jenny]

A cooler! What did you do with your bad leg? I don't understand where to put mine. Resting it on the tile doesn't seem right.

Bad leg was in the shower bag and since I was supposed to be total non weight bearing I just held it up off the ground and when I got tired of that I just propped it on my other knee. Then, getting out, I remember turning sideways and heaving both legs over the side of the tub and then pulling myself up and over to sit on the toilet or counter and finishing up the drying process.

 

[Christy]

Bad leg was in the shower bag and since I was supposed to be total non weight bearing I just held it up off the ground and when I got tired of that I just propped it on my other knee. Then, getting out, I remember turning sideways and heaving both legs over the side of the tub and then pulling myself up and over to sit on the toilet or counter and finishing up the drying process.

Okay. Two days in a row I've hovered mine while sitting on the tile or a low stool in the walk in show and my hip flexor is very unhappy about having done that.

 

[liquidfeet]

I've been wearing Hoka's for years now..... Have never heard they are dangerous.

Just me, just my personal experience.

 

[Jenny]

Okay. Two days in a row I've hovered mine while sitting on the tile or a low stool in the walk in show and my hip flexor is very unhappy about having done that.

Got a small cooler or pail or something you could put in there to rest it on?

 

[fgor]

I think if you're allowed to be weight bearing in the boot, you should be fine in the shower sitting on a stool and letting the foot rest lightly on the ground or on another object. I am NOT a doctor but it seems like it should be okay.

There's a certain amount of stability you need to be allowed to be weight bearing almost immediately after a broken ankle. It seems to relate to how intact the ligaments are as well as the nature of the break. E.g. mine was an unstable break but on the borderline of being able to be treated conservatively, so I was strictly non-weight bearing for ages haha. Since they've opted to treat yours with a walking boot it sounds like there is quite a bit of inherent stability so things like sitting for a shower and resting the un-booted foot on the floor should be fine (not a doctor, just talked at length with doctors when i broke mine haha, I was also SUPER anxious about mine)

When I was strictly non weight bearing but had a removable boot (weeks 4-9 of my injury) I sat on a stool in the shower and crossed my injured leg over the other leg to keep it off the ground when i was sick of hovering it, if that makes sense - once I was allowed to start partial weight bearing I rested it lightly on the ground.

If you can find something to rest your foot on to keep it a little elevated I bet that would be more comfortable again!

It seems odd to me that the doctor says I don't need crutches, that I am fine in the boot. I'm not sure if I should go ahead and get them anyway. I am paranoid I'm not inflating the boot enough, or overinflating...

I totally understand this anxiety because I was really worried during my ankle injury as well. Is it possible to talk to your doctor or an ortho nurse about your treatment so that you can understand exactly what you can and can't do, and get more guidance around using the boot?

 

[Iwannaski]

Alright, @Christy I’m dumping here everything I set up for my husband when he tore his SECOND Achilles (at which point, I was a pro).

1) at least temporarily, make sure you have a handheld shower - have husband put this on before he leaves? I literally did this the morning after both tears. Sad, but true.
2) you can pick up a shower stool, adjustable height at walgreens ($40?)
3) there are cast covers. If you’re worried about taking off the boot, put that over the cast, if you’re not, then sit down on the stool, take off the boot, set it outside the tub, and then shower
4) if they’re telling you to put weight on it, put weight on it.

his second tear was different than #1, and the treatment had actually evolved to weight bearing MUCH sooner… our friend who is a PT said that they’ve learned a lot about the value of earlier weight in the last decade.

If you feel like your ortho sucks at patient education, ask for the following from their office:
1) does he have a PA who can do more education?
2) who is your PT going to be? Can you have an early session to ensure that you’re loading that foot correctly in the boot? The PTs are VERY knowledgable about mechanics and the current treatment protocol and usually do better education than the ortho.

Sorry if that’s too much… he’s had two ankle surgeries and a second torn Achilles with me as his advocate, so I have the luxury (!?!??!) of third party exposure.

 

[Iwannaski]

Side note, divas… husband tore #1 2 weeks before baby 2 was due. I did the shower head and replaced a ceiling fan in toddler’s new room (he had to move to new room out of nursery) while 38 weeks pregnant. That’s why women are amazing.

 

[BlueSkies]

Okay. Two days in a row I've hovered mine while sitting on the tile or a low stool in the walk in show and my hip flexor is very unhappy about having done that.

Got a small cooler or pail or something you could put in there to rest it on?

You could avoid the weight on the ankle by using 2 stools with the second being a bit lower. Sit on the higher stool and support the leg by resting your calf on the second stool. Or if on the floor do as @Jenny suggests and keep the object small/low enough to be able to rest your calf on it.

 

[Pequenita]

I can’t remember my shower routine, but knowing me, I probably showered infrequently, washed my hair even less frequently, and did washcloth “baths.” My leg injuries are seriously the reason that, when I remodel my bathroom, I want a no-threshold shower with a bench and handrail.

Could you stand on the good leg and bend your other leg at your knee and move the leg backwards using your hamstring (knee in flexion), rather than hovering the leg? It would take the movement from the hip flexor, which would remain in neutral.

 

[DebbieSue]

A cooler! What did you do with your bad leg? I don't understand where to put mine. Resting it on the tile doesn't seem right.

I think you can rest it on the tile. That's not weight bearing, if you are sitting down. It is bearing some of the weight of the leg so I can understand your hesitance, but it is not bearing your body weight which is on your pelvis if you are sitting. Anyway, you are allowed weight bearing in the boot, so the point is moot. Sit down, take the boot off, rest it on the tile while you shower, admire how the swelling is decreasing, wiggle your toes, dry off, boot back on, then up and out of shower. If your fracture is not displaced and "stable" I think you can be free to move with boot off, IF you are sitting down. When it comes time to planting weight on the injured ankle with flat foot as though to stand . . . well, that's what you shouldn't do. For that you need the boot and your weight should be on your good leg, with minimal weight on the booted foot just for stability while rising. I'm only an ophthalmologist, but that's what booted/no crutches (which is partial weight bearing) means to me.

 

[Christy]

There are some really great ideas here, and I truly appreciate you guys taking the time to write them. I was relaying some of them to my husband and the lightbulb went off over his head and he went into the basement and came back up with a bunch of that extra thick bubble wrap. I think I will be comfortable resting the injured leg on that, rolled up, on the hard tile.

@Pequenita Rob is genuinely baffled that I want to shower every day. I love my showers though. I have oily hair and skin. Btw he still knows you as "K2 Sidestash."

 

[DebbieSue]

There are some really great ideas here, and I truly appreciate you guys taking the time to write them. I was relaying some of them to my husband and the lightbulb went off over his head and he went into the basement and came back up with a bunch of that extra thick bubble wrap. I think I will be comfortable resting the injured leg on that, rolled up, on the hard tile.

@Pequenita Rob is genuinely baffled that I want to shower every day. I love my showers though. I have oily hair and skin. Btw he still knows you as "K2 Sidestash."

BRAVO!!! Excellent use of that non-recycle-able bubble wrap. And I concur with daily shower (I also have oily hair and skin) esp if I'm feeling down physically or mentally. I'm glad you are working thru the various challenges.

 

[Jenny]

Daily shower just helps me wake up.

 

[newboots]

I had a cast on my hand and a sprained ankle and don't have much useful advice, except: this whole process is exhausting. Trying to wash my hair was dreadful. Keeping my weight mostly on one foot while trying to wash my hair with one hand was pretty much impossible. And the oxy (or whatever I had) made it dangerous for me to do these high-risk things. Besides, my shower was downstairs.

So give yourself all the credit for doing the basics, and don't try to do too much. I had my daughter come up and she washed my hair, put it up, shopped for groceries, cooked a few days' worth of dinners, picked up and vacuumed, and mowed the lawn before driving 2 hours back home to prepare for her husband's birthday dinner party. If I was too impaired to manage my life, at least I knew I had raised Wonder Woman!

I've had several sprained ankles, and I found crutches to be very hard on my wrists. Glad someone has suggested more ergonomic ones!

 

[Christy]

I had a cast on my hand and a sprained ankle

At the same time??? Ugh.