Returning to riding after a broken ankle?

[NU ABO]

Just wanted some opinions/experiences with this.

Basically broke my ankle on Saturday at an SJ event, went to the hospital today and found out they want me to have an operation tomorrow as the break is a relatively severe one in the Medial Malleolus and they want to pin it in order to improve the rate of full recovery.

What sort of time frame should I be looking at to be able to start riding again?
And is there anything I can do to increase recovery rate? Should I be looking at sports physiotherapy, ankle supports, at-home exercises?

Would be very grateful for any information you guys might have

 

[Sukistokes2]

I can not help you as I have no experience. I just wanted to wish you a speedy recovery as well as a merry Christmas. Your post made me chuckle because you have just had an operation and your first thought was when can I ride, my first thought would be the same...

I just read your post to my non horsey OH and he rolled his eyes....that made Me chuckle as a well.

Get well and back in the saddle soon!!!

 

[saddlesore]

Ages! Sorry :-( I've broken my left one 3 times and the stiffness and lack of stability and difficulty doing rising trot take ages to fix. If it's your left one it's also hard to get on.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Ha! Did mine on 13.12.12..... lovely xmas that was
Got on in 1st week feb, felt very weak & wobbly, core strength not good. (tho I HAD been working on fitness exercises).
Had a couple of mech horse sessions, hacked a bit, prob really wasn't riding to 100% till mid/late April.
Confidence prob not fully back till 9+months later, some weakness still there - most noticable when stirrups are jacked up for jumping & I can cope for around 20mins or so.

Good luck - and DO the physio exercises

 

[Sprout]

Gave mine 8 weeks before I rode again. in the meantime I had loads of really good physio, and did all my exercises at home religiously.
I did wear an ankle brace to start with, and it felt very weak and got sore very quickly, but that gradually improved.

Good Luck with your healing.

 

[CIJ]

Depends on your horse I broke my ankle when I was 18, I had broke bones vertical and horizontal and was in hospital for 4/5 days before they could operate on it due to swelling. They put six pins and a plate in it and I came out with no plaster cast as they wanted me to move it manually to improve movement.
Once I was out of hospital (1 week) and had mastered the crutches I was actually riding very soon but only hacking without a stirrup on that leg. I did have my mum who brushed/tacked up and held him when I got on, so all i did was hack but I wanted to get back on as soon as I could so was happy doing just that.
I can't remember how long it took to heal enough for me not to have crutches as it was a long time ago, but once I could put weight on it I rode with a stirrup again and had a jumping lesson. I rode with an ankle support bandage for a long while after otherwise my ankle would ache too much afterwards.
I think it is much better not to have a cast on. The exercises that I did was just to put a bandage round my toes and pull my toes towards me and back again, they wanted me to get as much movement as possible so that was why I had no cast.
My sister broke her leg when she was 14 and had a cast on to her knee and rode with that, but that was many years ago, I remember us having a riding lesson and the instructor made us all ride without stirrups so my sister wouldn't feel left out That was a hard lesson! I've still got the pins and plate in 18 years later with no pain!

 

[NU ABO]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'll definitely look into the sports PT, anyone know if it's worth looking into the Sports Injury Clinic, as it's relatively nearby I was going to think about giving them a call when it's time to start thinking about PT.

saddlesore, luckily it's my right one, so getting on should by okay. My initial plan is to start riding in the arena without stirrups to increase my core strength and leg muscles without putting pressure on my ankle joint.
Obviously this will be first done under supervision from my instructor who is aware of the situation.

It sucks because we were just getting into this whole Hunter Trials malarky and now we're going to miss the spring shows and we'll have to wait until Autumn again!

Why didn't I just land on my bum like I usually do!

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

If you are really desperate, you could go to Brian Simpson (the 'bones man) who will be prob one of the best & he is in east Anglia
I always recco our racers (motorbikes) to use him as do many other sports people, you will need to take your xrays of before & after pinning with you. Likely to want you along as soon as poss, worth making contact asap (if you have a deep pocket). He will give you costs tho if you ask

Good luck

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Here you go: http://www.physioclinic.net/

 

[m1stify]

I broke mine last year and tbh only realised recently that I don't mind it anymore and I wore high heels out without worrying! Was riding within 6 weeks but my break not as bad as yours but still have trouble keeping my heel down on that leg ☺️ I find wearing supportive boots helped so ride now in the Bromonts that I used to keep for competing. Best of luck with your recovery!

 

[paddy555]

been there and done that. The things I learnt were to try and make life as easy as possible for yourself.
Even if you get put in plaster to start with press to have an air walker, immediately if you can.
You can google it but basically it is a full length walking boot. As soon as you can be weight bearing you can walk in it with a walking stick to start with and soon without. This gives you freedom. There is nothing like the loss of freedom with crutches and plaster.
I long reined in my walking boot and lunged in it, mucked out, fed and did everything in the stables but ride. You adjust the tightness of the boot with the air pump. You can pump it up very tight when you need to be safe around horses but reduce the air pressure when you are lying down.

unlike the plaster cast that you cannot clean under and your ankle is pretty stuck in position you remove the top of the walking boot (you are supposed to) and you can wash and, lying on the bed, also do very gentle ankle moves with your ankle completely stabilised and protected in the bottom of the cast. This means when the "cast" comes off you are halfway there in strength and movement. As you have been walking around relatively normally your body is also relatively fit.

I found physio a total waste of time. The best physio was my horse. If you get an ankle brace and bandage it on so that it is very tight to protect the ankle it feels safe to ride and if you lengthen the stirrup and then just walk on a quiet horse (or being led) you find that the rocking movement of your ankle acts as the physio. No effort on your part at all you just sit there. A week of this and your stirrups are up at normal length and your ankle a lot more supple.

Whilst physio exercises were a total waste of time I was offered chiro treatment which I turned down as I was too scared. When I did eventually give in I realised I should have had the chiro treatment when the cast came off as it really helped to improve the movement.

As soon as I could ride I bandaged the ankle brace on for several months to give extra ankle support trotting etc.

 

[Peglegs UK]

Ouch, sympathies! I broke my ankle a few years ago slipping on an icy pavement and found that the major issue was in regaining strength in my calf muscle so that I could rise up on my foot again. It took a few weeks before it came back and I found the embarrassing way that 3 months later I wasn't really strong enough to support a large motorcycle if it started to lean over to that side when stationary. This thread popped up because I have a Google Alert running for news of broken ankles. I am the UK importer of a hands-free crutch that I discovered during my own recovery and I have supplied several to horse people, who tell me that they find them extremely useful around the yard and stable, allowing them to carry on with the care of their horses while recovering. You will find my website if you care to Google my username.

In any case, enjoy your Christmas break anyway and I hope you heal easily.

 

[burtie]

I was riding 2 weeks after plaster came off so a total of 8 weeks, but I was lucky in that I didn't need a pin. They were worried my fracture might slip (vertical break of the fibula, plus break in the ankle itself)so I had to be completely non weight bearing and keep my leg horizontal at all times possible. If yours is being pinned I'm guessing it will take longer. I was told 3 months if my fracture moved! Ankle breaks can be so many different things so you won't know until you've seen the specialist. Sorry!

 

[Gloi]

My break wasn't as bad as yours, done by pony falling over onto my leg, but probably not a good idea to follow my example. I wrapped the plaster cast in a plastic carrier bag, took off the stirrup, put my foot with the cast in the leather and used the time signed off work for extra riding. I was young and foolish then and also had a moped which could also be ridden in a cast while I couldn't drive the car.