Modified Brostrom Recovery Blog – 8 weeks out

I’m 8 weeks out from surgery and very pleased with recovery.   The ankle has been rapidly improving since I have been allowed to put weight on it.  They took the cast off at 4 weeks and I transitioned to a walking boot at that time.  I wore the boot for about 10 days and have been walking on my own since then!   It’s the little things…

The joint feels quite stable.  Initially, when I put weight on it I would get sharp pain or electric shocks in my heel and up my calf.   As I eased back into weight bearing, those pains quickly went away.  The more I exercise it, the better it feels.    This past weekend I had my most active day since surgery, playing a pickleball match and then a 10 mile bike ride.  At the end of the day, it was pretty tender and walking was uncomfortable – but the next day it felt the best yet.  Recovery seems to be about pushing it in very measured, controlled ways.

I don’t have any toe strength yet.  When I was on the bike, I would have to shift the pedal under middle or back of my foot to go uphill – can’t press with my toe yet.    It will be interesting to see how this comes back because my left ankle was noticeably weaker than my right pre-surgery.  I could lift my body weight with it, but just barely.  On my uninjured ankle, I can go up and down without issue.

The big question:  was the surgery worth it?  Honestly, I don’t think I’ll know the answer to that until I’m 6 months out, but preliminary indications are positive.