Physical Therapy for an Ankle Fracture

A broken ankle can severely limit your ability to perform basic functional tasks like running and walking. This painful injury can cause loss of lower extremity strength, range of motion, and pain. These impairments can make performing your normal everyday activities difficult or impossible.

You may benefit from physical therapy (PT) after a broken ankle to help you fully recover functional mobility and to return to your previous level of activity.

Ankle Fracture Symptoms and Causes

The ankle joint is where the talus bone of the foot connects with the tibia (shin bone) and fibula of the leg. Trauma to this area can break one or more of these bones, often resulting in significant pain immediately after the injury.

Ankle fractures typically occur from traumatic events like car accidents, falls, or sports injuries. Common signs include pain, swelling, bruising, and difficulty bearing weight on the affected ankle.

Treatment

While at the hospital following an ankle fracture, your healthcare provider may attempt to reduce the fracture. Fracture reduction is the term used to describe how a bone is fixed or set after it’s broken.

The pieces of bone must be put in close proximity to one another so that healing can occur. Fracture reduction is essential to ensure that the bone heals properly and to reduce the risk of permanent loss of function or deformity.

After your ankle fracture is reduced, your ankle will most likely be placed in a cast. This immobilizes the ankle and allows the bones to heal properly. Many times after an ankle fracture, you will require some sort of assistive device, such as crutches, to walk after an ankle fracture.

You might also have weight-bearing restrictions. Ask your healthcare provider how much weight you can safely put on the healing ankle

Physical Therapy

After your fracture is reduced and immobilized, you may be referred to physical therapy to learn how to use an assistive device like crutches, a cane, or a walker. Your physical therapist will also guide you on weight-bearing restrictions

Gentle exercises for the muscles of the knee and hip help prevent weakness during the healing process. If you have a cast or brace, you typically won’t do exercises for your ankle itself.

Once your fractured ankle heals, your doctor will remove the cast, and you can begin bearing more weight on it. You may still use an assistive device like a quad cane or crutches.

At this point, your physical therapist will evaluate your ankle for proper treatment. This evaluation may include assessing:

After a thorough evaluation, your physical therapist may start therapeutic treatments like heat, ice, or electrical stimulation to manage swelling or ankle pain.

Exercises

An ankle fracture exercise program should be the main component of your ankle rehabilitation following a fracture. Be sure to follow your physical therapist’s directions closely and ask questions if you have any.

You’ll most likely be required to perform a home exercise program for your broken ankle. This program may continue for several months after physical therapy has stopped, and the program may be an important component in your long-term rehab success.

Wolff’s law states that bone grows and remodels in response to the stress that is placed upon it. Your physical therapist can help prescribe exercises that apply the right stress in the correct direction to ensure that maximal bone healing occurs and that your fractured ankle will function properly.

Gait training will also be important following an ankle fracture. Your physical therapist can help you progress from using an assistive device to walking independently.

If you have had surgery to reduce your ankle fracture, there may be scar tissue around the incision. Your physical therapist can perform scar tissue massage and mobilization to help improve the mobility of the scar. He or she can also teach you how to perform scar massage techniques on your own.

How Long Will Physical Therapy Last?

Everyone heals differently, and everyone’s ankle fracture injury is different. Your physical therapist should discuss with you your overall prognosis with your ankle fracture rehab. This prognosis typically depends on how well your ankle is moving when you first start rehab.

Continuing your home exercise program is a component of your rehabilitation. Being diligent with it can help you regain function and get back to the activities you have been missing.