So, being the graceful guy I am,I slipped on the ice Friday and broke my
ankle. Acutally, it is the outer bone in my left (slide) ankle, and dislocated the other bones about 1/4 of the way.This coming Tuesday, I will have surgery to put hardware in to secure the break. It is a nice clean break, but the
way it is pushing on the other bones they want to secure it. So, I just spoke with a local Dr., and she couldn't/didn't want to answer my queations.

So, I am asking here if anybody  has experienced this, how long:

1. Until I get the cast off?
2. Do they put a temp cast on so they can remove stitches/staples
and then put on a hard cast?
3. How long before I can bowl.

I am 47, slightly overwieght, and normally heal fast. Non smoker,
casual drinker.And I pray to the bowling gods religously. ;o)


thanks,
raff
--------------------
Cause I''m a Lumberjack baby, gonna cut
 you down to size.

Sounds like you broke your lateral malleolus?   and if you dislocated it, it would have to happen at the anterior fibula joint, you can't dislocate a bone unless it's at the joint.  

You are better off with a break then a 2nd or 3rd degree sprain.    

I have to believe you are done for the next 5-6 months

raff -
I didn't break my ankle, but last year I broke my left radius and dislocated the ulna at the wrist (Galeazzi fracture).
I had a plate and 5 screws surgically installed to fix the bone, plus 2 temporary pins inserted to hold the wrist immobile. The staples from the surgical incision came out at 2 weeks, the pins at 4 weeks. My cast was changed to be removable after 2 weeks. (This was nice as it allowed me to shower much easier!). I was done with the cast entirely at 4 weeks, and went to a sewn splint with velcro closures.
I started therapy for my rehabilitation at the end of the 5th week.
After 10 weeks of therapy, I had regained 95% of the mobility and 90% of the strength back. It took another 6 months to get the rest of the way back.
While I could do normal activities after 12 weeks, I was always leery about using the arm, and was a little overprotective of it. It took about a year before I was really "back to normal", with minimal aches and pains after physical activity.
(Disclaimer: your mileage may vary).

My advice is to follow the doctors and therapists advice to a "T" and not overdo it. Work hard, but be careful not to reinjure it during your therapy sessions. Do the therapy homework (stretching with elastic bands, strengthening exercises, ice and elevation) as prescribed, and you will come back a lot quicker.

Sorry to hear about you bad break. Good luck in your rehab.
--------------------
======================
Dan
======================
Engineering * Bowling = a fun and practical application of rotational kinematics.

Bowling Nerd Herd (TM) Member

Edited on 12/14/2008 8:23 PM

Thanks for all the replies. I have not had any broken bones except for a few fingers over the years, so I am a little nervous about this. The not bowling part has me upset, but it is just a very small part of life. I'll get over it, and who know's, maybe something will change for the better.

Thanks again.

raff
--------------------
Cause I'm a Lumberjack baby, gonna cut
 you down to size.

Since it's your slide foot,I'd call it a season.Follow the rehab orders from your docs and let it heal.
 There may be some good in that you might have to use a treadmill in order to get some walking rehab,if you will.A good exercise at our age.Also,since there's pretty much no doubt that you'll be a little leery of bowlign for awhile,you will probably slow down your approach and be even more accurate and a better bowler for it.
 I had a sore left knee(slide/plant foot)last Wednesday.After worrying about it and only managing 413 for the first two games,I slowed down,the pain disappeared,and shot 254(8 count on the fill ball in the 12th).  

--------------------
Chris
 JTTDB---Just Throw The Damn Ball
 Don't "think"---that ball isn't in your bag yet..........