Just under two weeks left before plaster comes off and large bolt removed, where I broke my let in two places just above the ankle (after crashing at Aston Hill and twisting my foot through 180 degrees!)

I'd welcome any advice on what I should/shouldnt do once the plaster comes off, in order to get back on two feet (and two wheels) as quickly as possible.

(And please no horror stories of how long it took to recover – I have heard enough of these already!)

Need something positive to focus on…

I was driving two days after my plaster came off and back on a bike a week later. The doctor told me not to do stuff like that but I wasn't really listening. I did put a flat pedal on the injury side for a couple of weeks though because I didn't fancy using clipless until my muscles had recovered.

I got out of my cast and rode 1000km around the Med a couple of weeks later, and I wasn't even that fit to start with. Physio said I needn't bother with any rehab after that. HTH.

Broke my ankle in 4 places. Within 48 hrs of the cast coming off I'd got weight on it, and "walking" (in the loosest sense) without crutches after about another 2 days. I was a bit eager as I managed to split the staples and open the wound. Not good. I was on the turbo trainer after about 2 weeks – absolute mare getting on and off it though.

When you're on the bike the biggest problem for me was putting my foot down. Incredibly painful. The pins and plates don't help with that though as tey resonate. Silly in hindsight but I have very good flexion now and I'm convinced it's as a result of excercising it "to the point of pain, not beyond it" as the physio kept telling me.

Best advice is to listen to your orthapedic consultant, and ask them all the questions. Have them written down if need be so you don't forget.
If you're having the metal work out then there's more to worry about in terms of infection control.

edit…and the above points to everyone being different

It's hard to say. Every injury is different, the only truly reliable information you will get on recovery times will be given to you by the ortho surgeon and the physio.

DO NOT push yourself hard and try to rush your way back into things. You'll do far more damage in the long run, so just be a patient patient.

EDIT: See what I mean? Some folk on this thread got straight back into things, whereas I'm still struggling with mine and having remedial surgery and physio 8 years on. No two injuries and no two bodies are the same. Listen to the guys that have poked around inside your leg, studied X rays or know the injury.

I was at my physio within an hour of the plaster coming off – but the surgeon had already phoned him to say I probably would be straight round and take it easy!

It depends what kind of break. If it was a spiral fracture then you might have to be careful about too much load until it's properly bonded.

The medical profession are like mirrors – you show determination to get well, they will too. You behave like you don't care – ditto.

Get a good physio and try to get weekly or 2 weekly sessions at the fracture clinic.

Get them to tell you the difference between pain and damage. To regain full movement some of the exercises are going to hurt a bit – but you can put up with it as long as you know it's not doing damage, in fact you learn to relish it.

Try not to focus on the long term – get the physio/consultant/surgeon to set weekly targets for improvement and work on them.

Get some flat pedals, and learn to fall to the right.

Use your bathroom scales to judge what it feels like to be putting the requisite weight through it. The surgeon said once "this week I want you to put 6 stones of weight on it" Doesn't sound a lot until you try it on the scales.

And ask if you can have copies of all the x-rays. They destroy them 6 months after you're discharged. In future, somebody might need to know what's in there.

And keep your leg raised, and keep wiggling your toes. You don't want to develop a DVT. Especially the sort that has me wearing a compression stocking most days, 13 years on.