comments:
hey friend! i'm 35 & had a similar break about 6 months ago (spiral distal fibula fracture, non-displaced, with lots of soft tissue damage). i'm gonna be real with you, it was a longggg healing process for me. everyone is different, obviously, but it's better to prepare for a lengthy healing journey & be surprised versus expecting a quick one & getting disappointed. spiral fractures are no joke, and mine STILL isn't 100% healed - even though i see people in this sub with other types of fibula fractures talking about how they were basically back to normal after like 6-12 weeks. for now, focus on rest. keep the boot on 24/7 (even at night) until you see the specialist, and keep it elevated as much as possible. if you need to loosen the boot, that's fine, but your foot needs to stay stable & lifted while you're in the early stages of healing. take ibuprofen if it's okay with your doctor, place ice behind your knee (since icing the boot won't do much), and get yourself crutches if you don't have them already. some people prefer a knee scooter, but personally i hated it. order vitamin d3 if you aren't taking it already, get your calcium intake up now, and consider buying one of those leg elevation pillows to keep it propped up/stationary while you sleep. i was non-weight-bearing (NWB) for around 6 weeks, so fully off the foot 24/7 (no exceptions). from there, it was a very slow & gradual process of partial weight bearing (PWB) where I was still using crutches & easing into putting weight on the fracture for another 2 weeks, before transitioning into full weight bearing (FWB) while still in the boot. then i started physical therapy again, every injury is different so every timeline is different, but there's no skipping steps when it comes to fracture healing. don't rush the process (otherwise you risk re-injury/impacting your future mobility), follow your doctor's recommendations, and fingers crossed yours is speedier than mine was.