I broke my ankle in Jan. Will I be able to dive in May

[swbeard]

I broke my ankle 29 Jan, Now in a cast, for two more weeks then a walking boot 5 weeks after. I'm booked to go on a diving vaca. May 1st. Will have 2 weeks before leaving. If every thing goes as planed should I be able to dive, 2 times a day for 6 days, or should I look into rescheduling.
Will the pressure be a factor.

 

[Mike.D]

See your gp/specialist and maybe a physio to start strengthening exercises?


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[EastEndDiver]

Instead of asking for medical advice on an internet forum if I were you I would contact DAN:
Scuba Diving Medical Safety Advice ? DAN | Divers Alert Network

Even if you are not a member you can receive advice from medical professionals that deal with dive related ailments etc.,.

 

[MMM]

I broke my ankle a couple of years ago last November. Had surgery, pins etc. I tried diving about two months later and realized how much one uses their ankles when diving! (Pressure was no issue...flexibility, muscle loss and strength were). So I waited another 6 weeks and was OK...not great, but OK. It was almost a year before it was back to normal and ALL the swelling down. I was doing all boat/drift diving and didn't have to fin hard, walk anywhere or carry anything heavy. Don't know what conditions you are stepping into so that might be a factor. I think you will be on the cusp of OK if my case is anything to go by.

 

[TSandM]

It's really impossible to answer this question without much more information. Ankle fractures can range from small avulsions to injuries that disrupt the entire ankle mortise. They can be treated closed, or require surgery. We don't know what kind of fracture you had, or how it was treated, other than with immobilization.

Pressure won't be an issue, but strength and mobility and pain may well be. If you had a simple, nondisplaced fibula fracture, you may just have sore muscles. If you had a complex ankle fracture treated operatively, you may not have full range of ankle motion back by the time of your trip. It took me months after my tibial plafond fracture, before the pain went away and I got back as much range of motion as I was going to get. Also remember that if you have to carry gear any distance, you will be stressing the healed area more than usual, as well.

Your orthopedist is the best person to be able to tell you whether to expect any limitations of motion or function. Show him the motion you use when you kick. None of the issues are specifically diving-related.

 

[swbeard]

Thanks for the feed back. I have asked my Doc. and not being a diver was not able to give a straight answer. It was a simple clean fracture, no surgery. Was hoping to hear from people who may have been in the same predicament be for like MMM.

Any way thanks again

 

[MMM]

That makes a difference, I am sure. Plus I am old and things take longer to heal. If you are a young whippersnapper, you will probably heal faster than I did!

It was a simple clean fracture, no surgery. Was hoping to hear from people who may have been in the same predicament be for like MMM.

 

[TSandM]

I've had three ankle fractures, two treated closed and one operated on. For the two that were nondisplaced and treated closed, the biggest issue for me was muscle atrophy and weakness, once the cast came off. It does take significant time to build the muscle back, so I wouldn't attack any dives where you might have to swim hard! The worst one, which was fixed, took me well over six months to get my range of motion back, and I had quite a lot of pain at first.

You don't give us any information about your age, but if you are relatively young (under 40) and had a nondisplaced fracture treated closed, I would imagine you will be able to dive, but you may be sore. Older, healing is slower and atrophy comes back slower, too.

 

[Nemrod]

A long time ago, after finishing a marathon, my ankle swelled up. Turns out I had a fracture, I was wondering why it hurt so much during the last part of the run. I never stopped diving, but it hurt. My tolerance for pain is high.

However, now 3.5 years ago, I fractured my femur in multiple places, shattered it. That hurt and redefined my pain scale. I did not dive for nine months and really it took nearly a year. I started cycling on an indoor trainer at two months and went back to my regular swim schedule. I still cannot run unless I am on the padded track at the Y. The biggest issue keeping me from diving was atrophy of the leg muscles and the inability to walk with a tank on. So beach dives were out, on boats, I had to sit down and scoot along on my rear to the stern or if possible, just roll over the side.

In any case, if you can walk without pain then you can probably use your fins. If possible you might do some pool swimming with fins, maybe start with some small "swimmers" type training fins and then move up to your SCUBA fins. So really you can answer your own question, does it hurt when you use fins and can you tolerate the pain if it does?

N

 

[Dive-aholic]

Like Lynne posted the issue is lack of muscle use. I had ankle surgery this past summer. I was in a splint non-weight bearing for 10 days then went to a walking boot with partial weight bearing. I couldn't bear weight for about another week after getting the splint off because of the pain and instability. I had to use crutches and a cane for almost 2 months. My first dive went fine. My ankle was stiff but I swam over half a mile with steel cylinders on. That wasn't an issue for me. But I still had issues with weight bearing at that point. But I was also doing stretching exercises as soon as the splint came off. Over 8 months later and my ankle still doesn't have the same mobility it had before the surgery but it hasn't stopped me in my diving. Point of this is it's all a personal thing. You won't really know how you're own progress will go until at the earliest a week or so after the cast is removed.