Trimalleolar Fracture

About a year and half ago I broke my ankel in 3 places. The doctors told me I had a trimalleolar fracture, basically the worst kind of fracture. I had 2 surgeries. I still have hardware inside the bone which they told me will never be removed. To this day I still have pain in my right ankle. Heels are hard to wear. My knee will not straighten. Every morning I wake up with soreness and sometimes my ankle is swollen. Will this pain ever go away? Will I get my ankle back like it was before I broke my ankle?

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

Well, without an evaluation it would be difficult to determine the cause of pain in your case. Possibilities include hardware related causes, ligament sprain, re-fracture/ trauma, tendon/ ligament tears, nerve impingement/ pressure/ trauma, bony spurs, infections, bursitis, tendonitis, arthritis, etc. It is advised to avoid wearing heels since these would tend to put pressure on the fracture points, causing discomfort. If you need to wear heels, block heels are the only ones advised since they raise the foot evenly without putting pressure on the heels. The knee discomfort is likely to be unrelated to the heel and may need an evaluation as well. It would be best to get your symptoms evaluated by your orthopedician. If a secondary cause is diagnosed. It can be managed accordingly.
Hope this helps.

Take care!