had a cast removed yesterday after 7 weeks no load bearing on my leg.
it now resembles a twig, whilst my other resembles a oak branch.
only partial load bearing for the next 6 weeks.
how can i build it up a bit whilst sat?
physio at hospital was not available when i asked yesterday

Saw your Flickr stream pop up on mine

Not nice fella 😯

You could use resistance bands while sitting

http://www.myprotein.com/sports-equipment/myprotein-resistance-bands/10615601.html

Partial weight bearing normally means 50% weight through the injured leg(you would need to check that is the case for you)

So if I was in your position this is what I would be doing:

In sitting, single leg calf raises, and to increase the load I would lean onto knee with upper body weight a bit.
5- 10 reps 5 times a day, but not to to much fatigue, with progressive load increase (but staying within partial weight bearing limits)
and then progress into standing double leg calf raises as that would still bee 50% of my weight on injured leg. I would then do this two times a day with slowly increasing reparations.

Not saying that’s what you should do but That is how I would start.

Been there done that. Start with straight leg raises. Then add – say – a walking boot/shoe. Finally some very light weights, you can fudge that using a small bag with a few odds and ends (maybe 500g and build to 1kb .. ) in it suspended on over your shin/foot Take it easy it’s scary how quickly the muscle goes.

Yep – I did as jambalaya using a mesh shoe bag over my ankle when sat. Started with some practice cricket balls and I actually ended up with 2 x 1kg weights, but that was a good way down the line. Combined that with adding in as much supported work as I could as per dis40.

The biggest problem is favouring your good leg and developing a gait (walking and riding) that continues that when you no longer need to. It takes quite a bit of effort down the line when you’ve got the strength back to break the habit. I thought my legs were even again (over a year later) and went skiing only to find I was having great problems turning right as my left leg was still weaker! Took to the gym after that and beasted it until it was equal.

For some reason I read as just calf looking like twig, but if whole leg I would still do the calf advice above but add in sit to stand which works pretty much the whole leg, just slowly increase reps and make sure you are not leaning over to your none injured side(this only applies if you are 50% weight bearing)

If unable to do sit to stand then Can also try isometric hip extension, flexion and abduction, 5reps 5 sec hold several times a day using just above knee as contact point on to wall, heavy table, ect.

Can do same thing for quads and hamstrings, depending where the injury is.

Seek professional advice first to find what your limitation should be. I was in exactly the same boat as you and i assumed 50% would be ok. It wasnt, they had a different strategy for my injury and thus in my eagerness to restore my muscle i may have damaged it, we will never know. It might be worth looking at some stretching as well as you may have lost flexibility too. I have one of those rubber band thingys which i bought from Netto that you can have if its part of your rehab.

given you have had your ankle fused it’s maybe not a good idea to go hanging weights off your foot, however light ? I’d be speaking to a physio before doing anything – another few days won’t make any difference, but you could setback recovery by doing the wrong stuff surely…

I’ve just been through this after breaking my patellar in January (different part of the leg but the atrophy will have affected the whole of the leg anyway I’m guessing)

As above, try straight leg raises. Once you’ve built up to doing sets of a dozen without any problem try seated kicks (starting from a bent position with foot flat on the floor and slowly straighten your leg out. If you struggle with that, use a small cushion between the knees as it helps to stabilise the weak leg.

Resistance bands were easily the most effective exercise for me. Hook one round a chair leg and over your ankle and then slowly push the foot out. I’d send you mine in the post but I’m still using it (as above though if your ankle is affected seek medical advice first)

Other ones I’ve been doing (once the leg is built up a little more) are sitting with my back on an exercise ball against the wall and moving slowly up and down. also squats with both feet on a couple of cushions, which helps with core stabilisation. If you can do these in front of a mirror it will help you to assess whether you’re being over reliant on the stronger leg.

Agree with blader1611 and seeking professional advice. Get proper help from a proper physio. Doing exercises is only of value if they’re a). the right exercises and b). if you’re doing them properly. The NHS physios were great when I shattered my knee last year.

Ankle fused means the calf muscle is pretty much redundant doesn’t it?

Work on wiggling your toes and stretching your thighs

swimming? Treading water perhaps

i wont be hanging anything from my ankle for sure. and the surgeon told me to build up the weight bearing from next to nothing to standing without crutches, over 6 weeks.
i will sit and do some leg raises without weight, and get a band and do some gentle pulling with it placed mid shin.

WCA, it does mate, as you know. toes are moving as i type.

teej, once the scar is healed i will ask about that.

Seek professional advice first then maybe join an old ladies yoga class. I’m being serious. Normal classes will be a struggle. Find one in a local community hall. My 70 year old neighbour goes to a class, I went along just because she wouldn’t shut up about it. Anyway it was quite relaxing. Light stretching and the like.

Surely they’ll get you regular physio appointments? When I did my elbow I had loads of appointments with the physio (mainly because she was lovely!)

Back when I was 7 or 8 I got run over (by a bike, my brother riding it) and bust my Tib and Fib. Eight weeks in plaster and my legs had completely forgotten how to walk, together with the wastage. I got onto a bike with stabilisers fairly quickly, swimming(or at least bobbing about with the weight off) too. What helped immensely with the muscle and the skin was a daily massage with olive oil. This being over forty years ago in NornIrn, olive oil was obtained in a tiny bottle from the chemist, not by the half gallon from ASDA.

Why was your leg in plaster?

I broke my tib and fib 12 weeks ago and fortunately due to the wound I was fitted with a removable cast once I returned to the UK (after 1 week).

Saw a physio at 3 weeks and since I have not had to have the cast on (just under 6 weeks) I’ve followed my physio advice to the letter! I was only doing small up and down motions in the 3 weeks, no rotation due to crack down to ankle too.

I decided to go down a private route for the physio as

a) I wanted someone looking after me to get me back on my bike as soon as I was ready and available as and when I needed them in between sessions.

b) many people are in far more “deserving” need of the NHS limited resources, ultimately I’d only broken my leg.

I rode my MTB off road on exactly the 12 week date of my accident 🙂

I can’t stress enough get PROPER advice, DO NOT rush things, eat as much “bone fixing” foods as you can, focus on your body mending Oh and get PROPER advice, DO NOT rush things 😉

I’ve been very luck, I spend at least 2 hours every day doing my physio and its working well so far, but still alot to do.

Anything I can help with let me know.

I was non weight bearing for 4months.

I just gradually built up. My biggest issue was learning to walk again…

The consultant said there you go walk and I couldn’t. I just sort of flopped my leg forward like a drunk.

+1000 for the seek professional advice from somebody who knows what you have done, how you were treated and how your recovery is going.
-1000 for do this or that cause I did it.

Injury recovery is not a formula or picture book guide!!

As above but with emphasis on getting the correct guidance from proffesionals. When I snapped my achilles, the best advice came from physios not doctors so that could be a good route for you to investigate.

Also don’t neglect the ‘good’ leg. It will be taking more load in different positions to those familier and could / will suffer as a result.

Make sure you stretch and massage that one as well.

Ton – Just to offer you some light at the end of the tunnel – last night I did a 30 mile ride around the New Forest with the Thursday night mob before stopping for a beer.

Nothing special, nothing extraordinary but that is just the point. It was just a nice ride and a beer, something I haven’t managed for the four years before having the ankle done and feared I wouldn’t be able to afterwards.

thanks for all the advice fella’s, appreciated.

Nick, that is brilliant, well dome mate.
did 4 little walks on the foot yesterday, with the walking cast on and most of my weight going through the crutches.
i am just a bit scared thinking i will snap the fusion whilst walking on it. would this be a possibility with all the steel work inside, god knows. 😕

Also don’t neglect the ‘good’ leg. It will be taking more load in different positions to those familier and could / will suffer as a result.

This is good advice, it was ongoing problems with my “good leg” that ended my (mediocre) squash career after I’d ruptured my achilles and spent time on crutches.
The worst part of the achilles injury was seeing the almost complete wastage of my calf muscle after only a couple of weeks in a cast, I never realised muscle wasted away so quickly.
The bad news is that the calf is still undersized 12 years and loads of training/exercise later.
The good news is that I replaced squash with mountain biking.

i am just a bit scared thinking i will snap the fusion whilst walking on it. would this be a possibility with all the steel work inside, god knows.

The metal work holds it together. Definitely do not go full weight bearing, it helps but until fully healed it isn’t a replacement for strong bones.

It takes more than 6 weeks to be fully healed, so just take it easy. I’m sure I read somewhere the gradual weight bearing helps with the “fixing” of the bone but don’t quote me!

I was told my plate stays in unless it gives me issues – what did they say to you?

I was told 3 months for a full heal up really DEPENDS ON THE INJURY So speak to your doc.

surgeon told me the metal work is staying in.
i asked him about gentle exercise like easy cycling. he said, as long as it carries on repairing as it is doing now, then gentle cycling should be ok in 6 week time.
that will be 3 month from the operation.

I’ve been through this twice for a longer period than yourself. It took me a long time too put the muscle back on as someone who doe not put weight on easily. The 2nd time round I used a compex electronic muscle stimulator whilst in a cast and this made a massive difference in that it prevented the muscle wastage for the most part. The difference was massive and very noticeable. The surgeon was impressed with the difference it made. A bit late now for you but I also used it post op on top of physio and gym work. There are programs for disuse-atrophy and muscle building. Definitely worth looking into.

you could try using a turbo just to start with, also flat pedals might be a good start, quite suprising the force needed to clip out.

I turbo’d from 8 weeks – felt so nice to turn pedals again!

Get copies of your x-ray for the physio it will help them with the appropriate exercises.

I am 12 months down the line and according to the Quack I am still healing.

The good news (for you) is that I did a semi-destructive stress test on my fused ankle after 9 months.

I rode my foot into a tree stump at about 15-20mph resulting in a bent pedal crank, shear broken big toe, massive bruising in the foot and an evening in various wards in the General Hospital.

There was no damage to the ankle which was a great result.

Gratuitous photo’s as everyone likes other peoples injuries

[url=https://flic.kr/p/KdPBWK]20160717_163339[/url] by WCA!, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/JhkFeW]20160717_172512[/url] by WCA!, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/KherNn]20160719_092652[/url] by WCA!, on Flickr
Oh look, ^^^^ the big toe on the right is shorter than the left. It pulled it to the right length after discharge from A&E

And just for Ton’s info, this was my ankle after walking around the Big Bike Bash for a weekend. Swollen and a bit painful but bearable
[url=https://flic.kr/p/KN38eP]20160828_234219[/url] by WCA!, on Flickr

A couple of tips you may already know about…

I used a set of bathroom scales to understand what each percentage of weight bearing feels like. The surgeon would say “this week move up to 40kg” and I would press down on the scale until it reached 40kg. Sometimes it felt like a lot, other times it felt like hardly anything.

Secondly, after a few sessions, the physio said to me “you do know limps are optional, don’t you? But you need to work at learning to walk normally.”

Compression stockings are good if recommended to you. As is wiggling your toes and keeping your foot elevated. Believe me, you don’t want a DVT.

I’m reading this thread with interest…

Ive recently broken my ankle quite badly and had some metalwork. Surgery was 2 weeks ago.
Have been told it will be minimum of 6 weeks but pribably 8 before partial weight bearing.

10 months ago I broke my patella into umpteen pieces. 3 weeks before I could stand and 7 before I could walk so not quite as bad as yours but my legs are near enough the same size again now after 5 months of riding.

Be patient it will come back.

managed to hobble for a bus this morning. 200 yard to bus stop, the half a mile from bus station to barbers, because i looked like a tramp, from being locked in the house for 7 weeks.

then repeat journey back, had me in cold sweats, and trembling a bit.
but managed it ok. tried to put a bit more weight through it than yesterday. felt ok.
my forearms and shoulders feel pumped though.

onwards and upwards eh?……………… 8)

Shattered my patellar in January and have same problem with a lot of muscle wastage on one leg. Now just back on bike (thank God). My solution is to have a power meter which measures each legs input so when I ride I can make sure that the weak leg is putting equivivlent power to the normal leg. Been using a wattbike in the gym and now aiming to buy a quarq meter for my road bike.

I remember non-weight bearing on crutches across London by the Tube.

Sweating like a bastard climbing up the stairs, got to the top and realised there was some South African guy behind me holding back a crowd of people I had been holding up.

I got to the top and he applauded and said if I did that for the next few months I could bench press an elephant.

I expected all the people who I had held up to be angry or just rush past but most either clapped or congratulated me.

Weird place London. You get told it is hostile and unfriendly but I almost had to punch old women to stop them trying to give up their seats for me. I had two big fellas pick me up and carry me up stairs (in a friendly manner). I had random stranger in bars taking my money to the bar, bringing me back a beer and giving me all the change.