Calcaneus Surgery ORIF Success Stories?

I’ve read many of your long recoveries. Im13 wks out and my major issue is the severe nerve pain down the lateral aspect of my leg , behind my heel to my 4 th and 5 th toes. Although I can use a walker I can’t apply normal pressure to my injected left foot
I’m looking for your experiences to guide me through this time. Does more therapy help, steroids, or just time and acceptance?

Jody Aronsonwrote: I’ve read many of your long recoveries. Im13 wks out and my major issue is the severe nerve pain down the lateral aspect of my leg , behind my heel to my 4 th and 5 th toes. Although I can use a walker I can’t apply normal pressure to my injected left foot
I’m looking for your experiences to guide me through this time. Does more therapy help, steroids, or just time and acceptance?

Not sure if its the same, but I remember having pain behind my heel near my achilles that i thought to myself, if this doesnt go away I am gonna be so sad.  It did go away.  13wks is still pretty fresh, there is hope that whatever you are feeling now won't be permanent.  

Hello everyone. fractured my heel on April 27th. Ortho doctor thought best option was surgery. Had surgery may 15th. Had to wait for swelling to go down. Surgery went well. Doctor didn't need to install any plates. 5 screws and repair of torn tendon. Told me no weight bearing for 8-10 weeks.  At my six week follow up visit post surgery, doc gave me okay to start weight bearing. Said bone has healed enough. At this point  great. My question is what experience did people have when they started weight bearing. As for me, it's been six days and it still extremely painful. I'm.walking with a walker putting most of my body weight on it. I try to do 3  45 minute sessions a day walking back and forth in my house. Don't know if I'm pushing it to much. Physical therapist tells me to walk on it as much as I can. Also the pain seems like it's coming mostly from the the top of the foot near ankle. Any advice would be much appreciated.Thankyou.

David Matyszkawrote: Hello everyone. fractured my heel on April 27th. Ortho doctor thought best option was surgery. Had surgery may 15th. Had to wait for swelling to go down. Surgery went well. Doctor didn't need to install any plates. 5 screws and repair of torn tendon. Told me no weight bearing for 8-10 weeks.  At my six week follow up visit post surgery, doc gave me okay to start weight bearing. Said bone has healed enough. At this point  great. My question is what experience did people have when they started weight bearing. As for me, it's been six days and it still extremely painful. I'm.walking with a walker putting most of my body weight on it. I try to do 3  45 minute sessions a day walking back and forth in my house. Don't know if I'm pushing it to much. Physical therapist tells me to walk on it as much as I can. Also the pain seems like it's coming mostly from the the top of the foot near ankle. Any advice would be much appreciated.Thankyou.

I have read this site for the last 4 months and have gotten a lot of positive useful information so i thought it would only be right to contribute and possibly help others the way ive been helped during this journey. I shattered my right heel on march 18th 2020 in a motorcycle accident in which person on other motorcycle crashed into my heel. I was rushed to hospital and had ORIF surgery following morning. I dont remember the accident or the first following days. Anyway i received a plate and 9 screws. Absolute agony! Worst pain ive ever experienced at 50 years old. Always been an active person and work as a aircraft machinist. I am approaching the 4 month mark now and i will admit it has gotten better but its a very very slow process.I had a couple set backs .soon after surgery skin turned black where bones broke through and smelled horribly, went in for a surgical debridement, next set back was the some of the screws were protruding out of my heel and were extremely painful when i ATTEMPTED to wear regular shoes. Went for third surgery 2 weeks ago and had 3 screws removed. I go tommorrow to get stitches removed. Every time i start walking half way decent with moon boot ive had another set back. I live in connecticut and am not a rock climber. Im grateful to god though as doc said 50 percent chance of amputation with an i injury like this at beginning. I can walk with moonboot and cane pretty good but not long or too far. I push it...feel pain keep walking..im stubborn and determined. Swelling and nerve pain have been my biggest issues.Still not able to work but i periodically do range of motion exercises but my main thing is to walk up and down my driveway.i had a horrible wound from bones puncturing thru and its getting close to being reasonably healed. I have read a lot of different things on this injury, some are positive and some are horror stories. Thank god every day for the positives that are going right and pray and hope that the negatives get better. Almost 4 months since injury and i can stand on just my bad foot and sustain weight, can walk but only with moonboot with a cane and without cane also...push push push...dont give up hope ..keep pushing...NEVER surrender! ..thank you to all the people that contributed on this site..most positive stuff ive read

Thanks for sharing Stephen! NEVER SURRENDER is right!!! I'm 5 years out and still working my flexibility and calf strength, and still improving. Keep at it!

I had ORIF surgery about 2.5 years ago after a climbing fall. Doctors told me that climbing/running/hiking were not in my future, and I was likely going to end up with early arthritis. But I was back to climbing within 5 months (granted just some light toproping), and fully climbing outside again around 3 months later. It is a rough recovery -- I was in so much pain I ended up in the ER after my surgery because I was unable to manage the pain myself. And I do feel a screw in the back of my heel near my achilles that does bother me when I wear tighter shoes or try and do heel hooks. My range of motion is limited -- jamming my foot in cracks does take a greater toll on my affected ankle compared to my good one. But overall, I would say that I have gotten used to the few limitations I have and am climbing at a higher level than I was before my accident. I would say the biggest advice I have is to be patient and don't push it too much. 

Hey folks!

Wanted to share how my recovery is going almost 2 years after my fall as I am a critical stage now - waiting for hardware removal surgery in October. I was 34 when I broke my R heel in a bouldering fall on 12/26/2018 (Surgery on 1/11/2019). Too many pieces to count. I have 2 plates, 12 screws and a mis-shaped heel now. My recovery is going as follows:

1-2 mo after surgery - toproping in the gym while using 1 foot. Lots and lots of fingerboarding and weight training while non-WB.

4 mo after surgery - partial weight bearing, 25% weight for a week, then 50% for a week and so on. Staring to use the foot for balance in the gym while climbing, but not pushing off with it. Once the bone fully heals, there is no pain while standing on the foot. Flexing it is a different story.

5 mo - full WB in a boot, I used a stiff approach shoe to climb in the gym, which allowed me to get up a couple of 5.12s. 

6 mo - full WB without the boot. Went climbing outside with a 30 min rough approach (I used hiking poles, but carried a heavy pack). Mostly top rope, but leading in the gym. Some days with no pain already. Some gym bouldering, but very cautious to not fall

8 mo - ran 1 mi, hiking 2 h/day not a nice trail, but a pretty rough approach to a climbing crag. Obviously sore and limping the next day, but feels ok after the first 30 min.

9 mo - 3 h hike carrying a pack and my 35 lb son parts of the way. Started bouldering again outside, falling 6+ ft in the gym onto pads is ok (very scary at first).

10 mo - 2 mi run, sore and limping afterwards

1 year - 4 mi run, sore and limping afterwards. Can do 1-leg (pistol) squat on the bad leg, holding balance is the tricky part. Skied a bunch while teaching my 4 year old. Even skied with him on a leash which is extra challenging (he just wanted to go super fast, so I had to do all the breaking). My foot hurt a tiny bit and felt weird, but was not a big deal.

1 y 2mo - climbed my hardest route, much harder than anything I've done before breaking my foot. Used a gel pad meant for heel support on the side of my shoe (that is ~1 size bigger now) to pad for a painful heel-hook. Using my injured foot for knee-bar rests is possible, but it's definitely weaker. 

1 y 4-5 mo - running up to 6.5 mi and totaling around 24 mi per month. Very serious pain started that doesn't go away after trail running and running downhill. Pain every day and limping for the first 30 min after waking up or getting up after a longer rest. Standing on the injured leg is challenging and I tend to fall over. Walking on uneven surface can be painful in some positions. Waking barefoot on rocky ground is quite painful. Standing on tippy-toes is almost impossible. Breaking in new climbing shoes is hellish, especially since the climbing gyms are still closed in California. 

1 y 6-9 mo - Bouldering at about the same level as before outdoors. I can still run, but it hurts too much and isn't worth it. Even walking is painful. My leg has gotten weaker in the last few month and I decided to try hardware removal / debridement. Not sure if it is the right decision, but since I've had a major regression for the last 4-6 month I think it is justified.

So, in conclusion hiking, running, skiing, climbing are all possible. I also hope my recent setback can be resolved and I could enjoy all of these activities with less pain. I'd love some feedback as I'm still not sure removing the hardware will help me. 

Vlad

Heello healers!

A year ago you helped me through pain and fear as I sat prone, foot elevated, in pain like nothing before. Today, I am grateful. Sunday will be one year post op. I am doing as well as I could hope. I can run, surf, peddle. I swear by Birkenstock’s though. I have weird pinky toe pain still. Stiff as f*&$. But I am working on it, bit by bit. If you are new to this trip, I can only say stay positive, ditch the meds ASAP, and have faith. There will be light.

Pfails

I just broke my calcaneus on my right side. Unfortunately I already only had one good foot because I’m an above knee amputee on my left side then I did this. I was worried I might have my good one amputated as well but doc said he will save it. I got off the meds almost 2 weeks ago (on norco and gabapentin for 2 weeks). Pain is manageable with patience and mmj. My goal is to be walking by thanksgiving, hopefully without a cane. I just finished a big obstacle course race in July and I was training for my first marathon when I had a terrible bike crash while jumping dirt jumps and did this. I’m praying I can get back on track. Accident happened 8/29/20 and operation 9/2/20. Thank you for maintaining this forum.

Lukas! So sorry to hear about your accident. I'm 5 years out from bilateral calcaneus fractures and doing very well, hiking long distances and climbing harder than before the injury. Your path to recovery depends on the specifics of your injury (comminuted?, extra vs intra-articular). Also, like you mention, with an above the knee amputation you're going to have to get creative with your recovery process. But I know you can get there too!

First, if I could offer my 2 cents about settings goals. You're in for a long, multi-year recovery process. I would focus on the most immediate goal and celebrate the small successes as they come. There are many milestones on the way to walking (figuring out self-care/hygiene pre-weight bearing, flexing and extending at the ankle with a resistance band, partial weight bearing, walking in a pool, balancing on one foot...). Then, even after walking for years, I am still improving strength and flexibility and occasionally managing pain. I found it helpful to avoid setting date specific goals like 'walking by Thanksgiving'. In my view, if you're making progress and putting in the work towards your goals you're succeeding. 

-I had some family who came out and helped out for the first couple months. If this is an option, I'd do it. 

-Hygiene: I installed a bench in the shower for bathing (insurance covered this I believe). And also cast aside dignity and bought knee pads so I could crawl on my knees to the bathroom which was up a flight of stairs. Take care of your good knee and avoid bursitis! (going to get into nitty gritty now ...) I was non-weight bearing on both legs for 2 months. So going to the bathroom was a major ordeal each time including transferring to a wheelchair from bed, then backing into the bathroom with the wheelchair, another transfer to the toilet....then the reverse, all the while hovering both feet in the air. I eventually got a plastic urinal for bedside and highly recommend if you want to save yourself some trips. 

-Wedge pillow: I got a pillow like this to keep my feet elevated while in bed. You'll be spending tons of time there and this works MUCH better than regular pillows. 

-Knee scooter: This might be tricky for you but it could be helpful for short to medium distances on flat surfaces (tile, hardwood etc). 

Thanks all for now, I hope this is helpful. Good luck with your recovery! Keeps us posted!!!

Dennis

Very grateful to find this forum. I fractured my Calcaneus on my right foot 9/7/2020. had surgery 9/23/2020. so far its been a real struggle for me. I'm a very active 33 year old with a new baby (now 8 months). i am now 7 weeks into this and only 4 weeks since surgery. currently i am in a cast and its driving my crazy i have never been in a cast before and mentally its tearing me down. as of now i have most of the major pain under control but i have a tingling sensation all over my foot all day and night and at the point of my incision i keep getting sharp pains (is this normal). my next appointment is 10/29/2020 to get the cast removed have some X-rays done and hopefully leave in a walking boot. 

from what I have been reading it seems like i have a long road ahead of me. does anyone have advise of how to prepare myself to get threw this, things I should be buys for PT or everyday living. 

my biggest issue is that i cant sleep. does anyone have any suggestions or tips on how to get better sleep?

Thank you, looking forward to any help

Hey Jared, sounds like your situation is almost identical to mine 2 years ago (see my recent post above). My son was 2 at the time of my accident. So:

- Tingling pain is totally normal. Get used to ignoring it. It will go away eventually and will continue getting better and better until that point. It's because of the nerves that were severed during your surgery. By the time you are walking it won't be a big deal and will likely be gone 1 year after the surgery.

- I found melatonin to be very useful for my sleep (try 5 or 10 mg). I am a light sleeper and could only sleep with a cast every other night when I was already extremely exhausted.

- It really sucks for your partner to deal with the kid with less help from you. Try to be extremely patient and nice to her. It was definitely a huge strain on my relationship

- Get a knee scooter. $50 used will change your life (if you don't have it already). i-walk was also very helpful around the house, especially if you want to make yourself useful. Handicapped placard from DMV is pretty nice too.

- Get ready for some lower back pain and dealing with it due to not being able to use one of your legs for so long. Try to address it sooner. I can elaborate on that more if needed.

- look into new footwear: from everyday shoes to climbing/running or whatever you like to do. Gel inserts are very helpful for me. I needed to change my sizing a bit as my bad foot is about 1 size bigger.

- PT is very simple and straight-forward. You don't need anything special. You just have to do it. Lots of it! And be very diligent. Most of it revolves around stretching, walking (with good form), and later strengthening.

- Try not to step or fall on your bad foot for the next 2-3 months by accident. It hurts for days and is very demoralizing as it feels like a huge setback in your recovery.

- Find a way to stay active. I've been doing weights for upper body. Climbing on top rope with just one leg on, training on the fingerboard. Later swimming (and underwater walking before you can put much weight on your foot). Picnics with your kids!  All of these help you stay positive and get through it. 

Remember: it will get better. When they let you walk it might be very gradual process. Putting 25% of body weight on for a week, then moving to 50% for a week, etc. So, it could take 1 month extra. Be patient - it gets a lot better. 

If you need to talk on the phone - I'd be happy to chat and give you more advice or moral support. Let me know!

Vlad 

P.S. I'm in a f***ing cast right now as well, but hopefully for just a few weeks. Got all my titanium out on 10/15!

Vlad

thank you for all the great advise. my wife has been great so far through this tough time. luckily because of covid she works from home everyday. i did purchase a knee scooter its very helpful but due to some old sports injuries my knee becomes very painful if I use it to much. 

GOOD NEWS the tingling feeling pretty much went away last night. I'm looking forward to getting my cast off on 10/29 and getting the walking boot. 

i will try the melatonin tonight. not sleeping much is really starting to take a tole on me mentally.

all in all im trying to stay as positive as possible and take it one day at a time. This forum has really giving me hope.

had car accident friday, 1st consult tomorrow, surgery on wednesday.  Have no idea how this new journey will unfold.  Hope to get more advice from you all, as I start this new chapter in my life.

Just found this forum, cracked my heel Aug26,2020 falling off a ladder. Surgery on the 28th. Hardware and 8 screws. 6 months in, I can walk with a limp but swelling results at the end of the day. I Stay up beat most of the time but I do on occasion have a "pity party". Im 57, but consider myself very active. It's good to read your stories, wished I had found this page much sooner. The advise given hits home and is very positive but not sugar coated. To much negative on the internet about this injury.

Not a climber, but an active hiker and dancer (ballroom and Latin). Fractured calcaneus and fibula with the standard plates/pins/screws. Was told today that I can expect to regain/preserve only 50% range of motion. Like many here, advised uneven terrain would be problematic; dancing is going to be a real challenge (left to right motion/rotation is crucial.) 

Glad to hear so many positive stories about the hikers and climbers getting back into action. Any other dancers in this thread? Any thoughts/insight/advice? 

I've been reading people's recovery stories here, for which I'm really grateful. I'd like to share my story too, though I'm not a climber.

I'm a 45 year old former professional skateboarder. Retired from skateboarding for a living about 10 years ago, but still kept it up until a few years ago. Skateboarding my entire life, I'm no stranger to injuries. I've broken every rib at least once, some of them twice, some broken in two places in a single fall on the same rib. I've broken my tail bone and dislocated/broken fingers. In December of 2018 I had a hip replacement (on my left side) and will eventually have my right hip replaced too. Flinging myself off 10 foot stair cases over and over again before nailing the shot took its toll.

On July 15th, I was riding a one wheel electric skateboard, and let my guard down for a split second as I was trying to give some kids ahead of me on the path plenty of room. It was my second day riding the thing, and I figured it wouldn't hurt. Except it did. I think my years of skateboarding actually failed me. I hit a small bump, and I reacted instinctively as I would if I were on a skateboard. Except the one wheel isn't a skateboard, and instead of doing what I thought it would do, it wobbled out from under my feet.

I ended up rolling, as you do, out of the fall, and into a sitting position. I knew right away something bad had happened. The first sign was that I was missing my shoes. It's a sure sign of a bad fall when your shoes fly off. The second sign wasn't as visible. I knew for sure my foot was messed up bad.

I didn't even bother trying to standup. I just texted my wife with "ER time", and sent her my location. She knows the drill.

I've never felt so much pain. That drive to the ER was unreal. In addition to broken stuff, I've had cavities drilled out with no anesthesia (I was poor, long story). I've also had pancreatitis and kidney stones, and I thought all of those were bad, pain-wise. The broken calcaneus made those seem trivial. I've never sobbed from pain, but I was straight up sobbing.

The ER saw me right away, and took xrays. The ER doc said "there's a small fracture in your calcaneus. We'll get a CT scan just in case." After getting a CT, they splinted me up and referred me to a podiatrist. I didn't think it too odd at the time, but whatever. We went home. That's when I realized I also broke a rib, but I've done that so many times, I knew what to do.

The next day, my wife got a disk of the CT scan files. We loaded them up and took a look, and it was shocking. There wasn't a small fracture - my calcaneus looked like a bag of marbles. We immediately cancelled the podiatrist appointment and scheduled an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon specializing in feet five days after the injury. When he saw my CT images, he couldn't believe the ER sent me home, and scheduled emergency surgery for me on the spot.

I ended up with 12 screws and a plate holding my right heel together. Surgery took 8 hours.

I had a nerve block injection, as well as a "balloon" nerve blocker thing that I went home with, making my lower leg dead to the world for the first few days. It did a great job with reducing the need for pain meds, for sure. So creepy pulling out two inches of tubing from leg once it was done too.

One interesting thing about my recovery that differs quite a bit from others I've read here is that I'm not in a boot, cast, or splint now. My doctor told me to keep all weight off my foot, but also encouraged from the start to practice range of motion, and specifically, make sure to stretch my achilles out. Maybe my doctor is crazy, or maybe things have changed over the last five years. Maybe it's because I only broke my calcaneus and no other nearby bones. Whatever the reason, I'm happy to not be in a cast or splint.

That said, I'm still in early days. For some reason, my entire shin is crazy sore and sensitive, the skin included. It could be a side effect of the original nerve block that will go away, or part of the trauma of injury and surgery. Trying to sleep at night is misery though, because for whatever reason, night time is when the nerves in my foot and leg want to make everything that touches me feel like razor blades and sand paper. Nothing soothes it, and I lay there miserable just trying to sleep. I may just become nocturnal, because in the middle of the day, things feel fine.

Advice I'll echo here for "new club members" is to avoid crutches. The ones that you lean on with your armpits will hurt you. The ones that have a cuff on your upper arm aren't terrible, but take a bit more balance and arm strength than the pit versions. I got an iWalk 3.0, and I can't imagine how miserable I'd be without. It takes a bit more to use, physically, than crutches or a scooter, but it'll help keep your legs and core in shape a bit, and it frees up both of your hands. That alone is priceless. I can carry heavy things without too much fear, go up and down stairs (though going down, you must go backwards, and you need a hand rail, no exceptions). I can't go on epic long walks with it, but for around the house stuff for 20-30 minutes at a time, it's as close to "normal" as it gets. The amount of time I'm able to tolerate it is increasing too, so that's good.

Other random stuff - the skin on my injured foot is peeling now. I think because of the original swelling, but also because of just a general lack of friction on that foot or something. It's just weird and disturbing to have skin peel off the bottom of your feet. And my poor lower right leg. It's starting to look like my forearms it's so skinny. Even with the stretching, the muscle is just fading away from lack of weight bearing. Building back up is going to be a project, for sure.

Thanks to everyone who posted honest stuff here. It's helped me a ton so far. There's no question that this is my most serious injury to date, and that recovery is going to take time and effort. But I will recover and get back on the board.

Michael Bwrote:

I've been reading people's recovery stories here, for which I'm really grateful. I'd like to share my story too, though I'm not a climber

Thank you for writing that up- good luck with your recovery!! 

It's been 31 days since I broke my heel.

It's kind of crazy how sometimes it's felt way longer than that, and how sometimes it feels like time flies. I wish it was more of the latter.

I think the most difficult part of this injury so far isn't pain. It's boredom and discomfort. I can only watch so much Netflix and Youtube while laying in bed or laid out on a couch. I can't really sit in a chair normally for very long yet. Having the foot down low gets uncomfortable pretty quickly, making it hard to work remotely. I'm a lead software engineer, but I'm not getting a lot of code written. I basically attend remote meetings, do some planning and design work, help guide junior engineers, then retreat to a bed and followup on emails. I'm barely at 25% of my normal "output", which doesn't feel great. My company has been great though, saying "take whatever time you need," so I'm not too worried. Putting out 25% of my normal at least makes me feel like I'm not wasting my time.

There's also this crazy sort of primal urge to walk. I don't know if it's because of my lower leg muscles are crying out for some attention or what, but it's interesting. Hopefully that urge becomes useful when it comes time to put some weight on the foot. In the meantime, I do pushups, pullups, lift hand weights, and walk in the iWalk, and that seems to get me tired enough to not want to walk.

The skin on my tibia is still super sensitive. It's puzzling. It's the primary cause of poor sleep, since anything touching it, even the softest fuzzy blanket, feels terrible. I think if that went away, it'd make things so much more tolerable.

Since my first update I also got a better boot. An Aircast Elite medium length boot. It's such a better product than the boot supplied by the hospital that it underlines how messed up the US health care system is. The hospital billed my insurance company $350 for the garbage boot they supplied, and insurance company bargained it down to $250, leaving the $100 for me to pay. The same boot on Amazon is $30. The exact same model and brand. The Aircast Elite was $143, and is so much more comfortable, and feels so much more "locked in" than the other boot.

Only 19 days until my 6 weeks from surgery date. It takes bones 6 weeks to heel, so this is a pretty important milestone that I'm looking forward to. Hopefully I can remain sane until then.