Skiing after a broken ankle (spiral fracture in fibula)

[Artis]

By the end of October 2018 I slipped and fell outside my apartment resulting in a spiral fracture of the fibula. Surgery was discussed at urgent care, but the doctor ultimately decided to leave it be. It was, his words, a highly unstable break but nothing moved so if you don't put weight on it, not pinning it will make heal it faster. Recovery was slow, accidentally put weight on it twice ( I am not good with crutches), but luckily everything looked OK at every X-ray.

Was allowed to walk with an aircast right before Christmas and the aircast came off January 6. PT decided I could try skiing IF I could get my boots on and off. The 14th I was back on ski's in my brand new boots (bought them right before I broke my ankle). Things were going well as long as I stayed on the groomed runs and took enough breaks. After 4 days of skiing and an ankle slimming down, I realized my boots were too big! Ha, that is how I managed to squeeze in an ankle that was twice the size of my old ankle! Went back for a proper boot fitting, got new boots and they are perfect. I don't even notice my injury while on groomed runs, anything other than that is still a challenge though. Any impact on the ankle still hurts a little and that makes me scared to venture anywhere off-piste or bumpy... Goal for this season is to get back on the more bumpy and variable snow with confidence. It is a challenge, part of it is physical but a big portion is mental as well. I am afraid of pain, afraid of falling, afraid of re-injuring myself. BUT I am not letting that stop me, I said it in another thread too. I am pushing myself but taking it slow at the same time. At the same time the PT and I are going all we can to get the flexibility and muscle strength back to what it was. Every time I go out I am a bit better than the last time. So yeah it is frustrating, but I am still improving every day so I know why I am doing endless drills and exercises, haha.

Maybe some of you Diva's had the same confidence issues after a pre-season injury? Any tips and tricks besides taking it slow, pushing yourself and taking a class?

 

[snowski/swimmouse]

FWIW: I wouldn't push to bumps this season. Just get out there and enjoy being on the slopes. Better to go into next season ~solid~! Sooo, glad you were able to avoid surgery; That's huge to avoid the pinning, etc! Where you should continue to push is at PT, building those muscles, etc. I had a spiral fracture of the femur and was pleasantly surprised that improvement occurred for up to two years. But I don't need a brace or any such because the muscles are strong. I've always started each day, if possible (ie not with people who can't wait to challenge themselves) on a green run to get a feel for the snow that day and so I start out relaxed as stiffening is always counter productive. Initially I wanted someone to sweep behind me to prevent unpleasant surprises, but that eased off with time on the slopes. As for taking a class, I take them every season, especially at the beginning to avoid bad habits. #1? Just get out there and enjoy yourself! EEK!

 

[contesstant]

Yes. DON'T OVERDO IT. You are SO fortunate to be back out there this season. I'd work on slow speed drills on easy terrain; use this as an opportunity to improve your overall skill set without risking aggravating it or further injury because you are defensive because of some pain and fear.

 

[Artis]

Thanks for your replies! The PT says I can try and do anything I was comfortable with before so I am conflicted on the "leave bumps this season", but yeah maybe I shouldn't push it. Pre-injury I was pretty fearless and I've always been a pretty aggressive skier so it just feels a lot less fun this way. But yeah, I am also pretty lucky to be back out there this season at all... Other people with similar injuries weren't that lucky.

I think I will book a private lesson sometime soon just to see what kind of fun things and drills I could focus on this season without risking anything!

 

[Artis]

By the end of October 2018

Ok I see that I wrote October in the op but it was actually NOVEMBER. I broke it on the 25th of November. Sorry for that, I can no longer edit the post to change it. But it does make me realize how little time has passed and I feel even more lucky to be out there!

 

[Jenny]

Now I'm even more nervous that you want to do bumpy things that hurt!

 

[Artis]

Now I'm even more nervous that you want to do bumpy things that hurt!

Yeah you are totally right! Im leaving the bumps for now, no need to re-injure myself over something that I can ski without!

 

[2ski2moro]

Your story sounds like mine! I fractured my fibula in April, 2002, on the ice rink at Rockefeller Center. (some day, I will tell you the story of the ride in the ambulance, when the taxi hit us, the insane wait in the NYC ER, the trip down the Grand Staircase at Grand Central Station, and the drive through the snow back to upstate NY.)

The doctor also wanted to try to let it heal on it's own in a cast without surgery as long as I could be non-weight bearing. He also said that he would do surgery, if necessary. I was good and only had one minor toe touchdown without total weight on it.

When the cast came off, I could feel the bone was larger/wider at the site of the break. The doctor told me that the mineralization or callus that forms on a newly healed bone fracture is stronger than the surrounding bone for a while, but there is still a chance for a break in the old or new bone.

The good news is that it healed perfectly without incident. I have no pain at all anymore and the bone size is the same as the other leg.

Good luck for your recovery.

 

[Artis]

Ok so I have a little update:
My dad is here for a 5-day skiing trip, yay! Yesterday was day 1, ended up on a bumpy run by accident. Took it real slow and it did not hurt one bit!!

Today was day 2, tried a few mogul runs with easy escape route to a groomed run to test the waters: no pain!! Ended up on an un-groomed double black and that was also painless! Taking it slow is the magic word though, no need to go superspeed down those bumps this season.

Tomorrow me and my dad have a semi-private lesson and day 1 and 2 have boosted my confidence, so I am real excited for what we can work on tomorrow.

 

[Pequenita]

The best thing you have going for you is that your injury did not happen while skiing, so you don't have that association. Sounds like you're having a good week!

 

[SkiCopperPenny]

I had a tib fib compound break with surgery & then a sprained ankle during recovery. Now given the go ahead to ski. I went on 2 greens & my leg/ankle hurt the entire time. I was using my lightest boots as walking is still difficult. Will try different ski boots & going back to PT & working out to strengthen muscles. Aside from taking it slowly I’m looking for other helpful suggestions that have worked for others to get back on slopes with less pain.

 

[fgor]

I had a tib fib compound break with surgery & then a sprained ankle during recovery. Now given the go ahead to ski. I went on 2 greens & my leg/ankle hurt the entire time. I was using my lightest boots as walking is still difficult. Will try different ski boots & going back to PT & working out to strengthen muscles. Aside from taking it slowly I’m looking for other helpful suggestions that have worked for others to get back on slopes with less pain.

Hm, how long has it been since your injury? Sometimes it just takes more time.

I had a similar injury to others in this thread - unstable spiral fibula fracture treated non-operatively (with the option for the surgeon to change his mind and operate at any time if he felt it wasn't healing well). However I also had some severe ligament damage at the time of injury which made the recovery drag out for a long time. I was honestly pretty crippled for many months but with time and consistent PT, I did get there. I now have two full winters of skiing under me but I couldn't have imagined skiing only a few months after that injury. It took me around 7 months to be mostly pain-free for every sport. Every injury is a bit different! Tib-fib compound break sounds like a pretty nasty break :(

 

[Wasatch Girl]

I had a tib fib compound break with surgery & then a sprained ankle during recovery. Now given the go ahead to ski. I went on 2 greens & my leg/ankle hurt the entire time. I was using my lightest boots as walking is still difficult. Will try different ski boots & going back to PT & working out to strengthen muscles. Aside from taking it slowly I’m looking for other helpful suggestions that have worked for others to get back on slopes with less pain.

I am so sorry to hear you're going through this! I also did a spiral fracture of my tib-fib (coincidentally skiing "Corkscrew" at Alta--always nice to match your injury with the name of the run ;)). Mine was an extensive break resulting with my leg hanging on backward and ski still attached. I had an IM rod and 6 screws surgically inserted that night and my recovery was very slow. This happened March 22 of 2008 and I didn't stand on skis again until President's Day weekend of 2009. I sold my alpine setup as I couldn't get my mangled leg back into my old boots and I skied on my backcountry setup for several years because it was lighter and more flexible. I can say that doing any activity of impact such as mogul skiing, running, or even hiking long distances put me in extreme pain. Fast forward to 2013 after a pregnancy and birth of my daughter, I decided to have the rod and screws removed. It was the best decision I ever made. Once I healed from the surgery, I noticed an immediate improvement in pain. I was able to run, and to ski off-piste again. That being said, the mental scars have anything but healed. If anything, the PTSD gets worse by the year and I find myself regressing in ski ability. I've developed a severe fear of heights, of steeps, of speed, and of people. I'm also super jumpy in the car when DH is driving. I hope you continue to heal both physically and mentally and am happy to chat about the process. I know I felt very isolated through it all. Hugs to you!

 

[snowski/swimmouse]

I had a spiral fracture of the femur, repaired with titanium rod + screws (which I still have in but do not bother me at all). What I can share with you is, that to my surprise, I continued to see improvement for two ~full~ years! And, particularly in the early days back on skis, it greatly helped me in multiple ways, if someone I trusted was skiing behind me so that I didn't stiffen up every time I heard a skier or snowboarder coming up behind me. As a result, I've done this for others who've been injured/had surgery to help them get back out there, too!

 

[Jenny]

Mine was an extensive break resulting with my leg hanging on backward and ski still attached.

OMG!