Physical Therapy After Ankle ORIF Surgery
What is ORIF? It is an open reduction and internal fixation. This surgery is performed after a severe break in the bone. You will require physical therapy post surgery. This will aid in recovery time as well as restoring your ankle’s ability. Not doing so early enough can lead to stiffness and loss of muscle tone that will prevent full recovery later on. Physical therapy can take a few months or longer, depending on the severity of your case.
What is expected?
Right after surgery, they will probably put you on a boot or a cast while not putting any weight on the affected foot. You will go through gait training through the use of assistive devices like crutches, how to safely transfer weight, going up and down the stairs, and in and out of a bathtub. We recommend ice packs and foot elevation to manage swelling. We teach accessory exercises to you (e.g. quad sets, straight leg raises, more – depending on fracture and the type of ORIF surgery) to the prevent loss of muscle tone in the surrounding area. This is done so when it is time to train your ankle and/or to bear weight, you will have a relatively easier time to perform those exercises.
At around the 8th week, you may be weaned off your boot and be trained for strengthening using bands as well as increasing your range of motion for your ankles at the discretion of your doctor and physical therapist. They will work on your walking pattern to be normalized, stretching the calf, any other tight muscles.
At around the 12th week , you will continue on strengthening and working on full weight bearing on your calf by heel raises, single leg heel raises, lunges, squats, step up/downs, and advanced balance exercises. This will go on for a few weeks until your normal recovery. Anything beyond necessary for sports activity, speak to your physical therapist to train you in plyometrics and specific sports movement patterns starting from low impact exercises and progressing safely into higher forms of exercise.
Remember to always listen to your doctor’s and physical therapist’s advice. (These are general protocol which varies depends on type of fracture and surgery performed for it.)