Diving after an ankle fracture

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Hello everyone.
Recently i broke my ankle(lower end of the tibia) after a slip from the stairs and was stuck on the cast for 6 weeks .Didnt need a surgery for it and as soon as the vast came off was able to bear weight on the boat again with a little bit of limping .Im a professional diver working in liveaboards doing mostly 3 dives a day and i still walking with a little bit of a limp but decided to start working again after 15 days and doctor gave me the ok to dive again .I got no problem with giant stride entries and mostly use my good foot on the dives ,got a little problem with climbing up the ladder with my gear on .My question is ,am i risking my ankle by diving too soon and diving so much since it is hard work and my ankle does swell up quite a bit by the end of the day .
Im in my late 20s and quite fit physically .
Any reply is apreciated .
 
A lot depends on the actual fracture, but it's important to realize that many injuries that result in broken bones also result in soft tissue injury, which can actually take longer to heal to a pre-injury status.

In general, if an activity is resulting in pain and swelling, it's doing some damage. In rehabilitating injuries, it's often necessary to do this to get normal range of motion and strength back, but it is not a bad idea to have someone (in the US, it would a physical therapist) monitoring how much and how soon.

Improper rehabilitating can lead to long term problems with ankle instability or with arthritis in the joint.
 
Hello everyone.
Recently i broke my ankle(lower end of the tibia) after a slip from the stairs and was stuck on the cast for 6 weeks .Didnt need a surgery for it and as soon as the vast came off was able to bear weight on the boat again with a little bit of limping .Im a professional diver working in liveaboards doing mostly 3 dives a day and i still walking with a little bit of a limp but decided to start working again after 15 days and doctor gave me the ok to dive again .I got no problem with giant stride entries and mostly use my good foot on the dives ,got a little problem with climbing up the ladder with my gear on .My question is ,am i risking my ankle by diving too soon and diving so much since it is hard work and my ankle does swell up quite a bit by the end of the day .
Im in my late 20s and quite fit physically .
Any reply is apreciated .

Don't you really think your doctor's opinion is the best possible advice you can get?

This is the Internet with a bunch of strangers that don't know you or your ankle!

One thing I will say, if you're concerned about climbing up the ladder with gear, why not take it off in the water and hand it up to someone else? At least for a while longer until your ankle heals a bit more?

Sorry to hear about the ankle. Good luck!
 
First, I am so sorry this happened to you! Next:

Along these lines I suggest a followup with your orthapaedic doc and ask about physical therapy.

I dislocated my knee (cap) a little over two years ago in a blunt force trauma accident, ambulance to the ER, and saw ortho twice and PT a few times and kind of did a "trust me" type of rehab/recovery. Even though things weren't progressing as I thought they should and I was unhappy I took them at the "it takes time don't worry about it attitude". Now, almost two years later I have switched to a bit better insurance and am now being told knee surgery is inevitable due to less than ideal treatment/rehab resulting in cartilage damage and I guess the initial injury might have needed surgery anyhow...

So, based on this personal experience I would push to see them again and let them know what's going on with you. It's a process and you may have to go a few more times before you can get a safe and effective recovery plan, which will evolve, and there may be strategies they can give you to manage your job while you are not yet in top form. You should be able to recover to your previous lifestyle and limitations, but you can cause long term damage if you are not doing things appropriately.

Good luck!
 
doctor gave me the ok to dive again (...) my ankle does swell up quite a bit by the end of the day

I wonder whether the doctor was fully aware of the kind of strenuous activity you would be engaging in, I would definitely want to not only have a follow-up visit, but possibly talk them into taking another image. I had what apparently turned up to be a small fracture in my shoulder about a month ago, and I was told not to lift anything heavy.

Don't you really think your doctor's opinion is the best possible advice you can get? This is the Internet with a bunch of strangers that don't know you or your ankle!

There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking questions on an Internet forum... good ideas can come from many sources, and sometimes the best ones come from strangers. While you may not be comfortable making your own decisions what information to trust, and what opinions to distrust, many people here are quite comfortable with it...
 
While you may not be comfortable making your own decisions what information to trust, and what opinions to distrust, many people here are quite comfortable with it...

I'm sure you're 100% correct.. Still doesn't mean it's a wise decision if there happens to be someone that wants to give him the green light to ignore pain and swelling and return to work since his doctor gave him the go ahead.

So again, I would recommend for the OP to consult with his doctor again, especially if the ankle is having swelling and or pain issues. Also, did you tell the doctor that you would be climbing up a ladder on a rocking boat with 60+ lbs. of gear on your back? Unless he's very familiar with diving, he might not have considered that aspect of the sport.
 
If your doctor familiar with diving and the pressures and movements you will have to put on your ankle when you get back into it? If not you may need to seek out a specialist to be sure. You could try contacting your local chamber for a consult. I know a fellow instructor who did this after a break, and the information and advice he was given was above and beyond anything he would have gotten from his regular GP - and make him feel much more comfortable in his all clear!
 
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