Calcaneus Surgery ORIF Success Stories?

A followup for anyone curious enough to read my previous posts. I am now very nearly 100%. I would say 96% just to be cautious as I haven't Rock Climbed since falling off the ladder to really test the heel and muscles, joints et. al very well. I climb peaks up to Class 4 routes just fine and can carry my 25# backpacking pack up trails with no noticeable difference from before. Sometimes I have a hard time remembering which heel was broken. There is no soreness. There is no sensation that there is a steel plate in there. A year and a half ago, I had a throbbing when kayaking in cold water, but I can't say if that remains as I haven't kayaked since then. TMMV / FWIW

To comment on the latest posts, I used to work on my computer sitting on a chair very comfortably. I had a ottoman ( Hassock, platform, etc ) a little lower than seat height and put a bed pillow on it to rest my leg. I had no boot on when at home, only when going out on crutches to shop as I felt rather vulnerable to someone knoking it inadvertantly. ( I actually drove with no boot then put it on to go in the store and took it off again to drive home ) ( Right Heel Injury, Automatic Trans, Left foot braker for years ) HTH

43 days since I broke my heel, 36 since surgery.

Still have pretty intense skin pain on my shins. I suspect it's some sort of nerve damage or something, since the skin doesn't look raw or irritated despite feeling like it is. I saw my regular doctor for a  checkup and she said there are medications that could help if it is the nerves being crazy. I may consider it, since it's such a distraction, but I'm also never very enthusiastic about trying new meds. The side effects often seem worse than the cure.

That said, she also recommended I try marijuana to help with sleeping. Now, I grew up with Nancy Reagan shouting "just say no!", and I never found the idea of marijuana appealing. My parents smoked it on the regular, and I found it pretty disgusting (I mean, it smells like farts). My rebellion was to never touch it I guess, and be a punk skater kid. Nevertheless, I followed her advice and tried it for the first time at the age of 45 years old and my entire outlook has changed. Somehow we've been taught to believe that opioids are "safe", while marijuana is more dangerous than heroin or meth. After trying an edible with 10mg of THC, I couldn't believe how far I've been misled. It helped reduce nerve pain significantly, didn't make me feel dizzy, didn't mess up my digestion for a week, and didn't leave me feeling dull or "out of it" the next day. Its effects reminded me of the "happy buzz" you get from alcohol (before drinking too much), except it didn't have the effect of me not having control of my body. For me, it not only relieves pain, but it makes me feel generally relieved. Like a little vacation from dealing with the injury. The worst side effect: dry mouth and hungry. No joke, 5mg of melatonin has worse side effects.

If you're in a state where you can use marijuana then I'd highly recommend looking into it as part of your pain management. You may still want opioids to begin with, but transitioning to THC may allow you to stop using the opioids much sooner. I'm not a doctor, so talk to your doctor obviously before listening to me. THC isn't for everyone. My sister tried it for pain management once, and she said it just made her feel really nervous.

In any case, even with that discovery, sleep is still challenging. As my foot heals, it seems like it's having fun trying out all the nerves in various ways. I'll feel sharp bolts of pain seemingly at random shooting from a toe to the heel, or my arch will feel cramped, or whatever. It's as if it's testing all the possible pain combos out sometimes.

Another new thing: now that most of the swelling has stopped, I can see some of the bolt heads. Kinda creepy. I tried on one of my shoes out of curiosity, and it fit fine. That's encouraging, though I won't know for sure if the bolts will cause a problem until I'm really walking.

And boy do I want to walk. The earliest I'll be given the OK to begin putting weight on my foot will be 21 days from now. I hope it goes quickly. Given how fast my lower right leg has lost muscle, I worry that by the time I'm allowed to, I won't have any ability to walk for lack of muscle.

If anyone has tips on how to actually gain some muscle in my lower leg before then, I'm all ears.

David Pneumanwrote:

To comment on the latest posts, I used to work on my computer sitting on a chair very comfortably. I had a ottoman ( Hassock, platform, etc ) a little lower than seat height and put a bed pillow on it to rest my leg. I had no boot on when at home, only when going out on crutches to shop as I felt rather vulnerable to someone knoking it inadvertantly. ( I actually drove with no boot then put it on to go in the store and took it off again to drive home ) ( Right Heel Injury, Automatic Trans, Left foot braker for years ) HTH

That does help. I use my aircast when I'm not laying in bed, mostly because it allows me to just sort of flop my leg anywhere without it hurting. It's a good buffer. My tolerance for sitting in my office chair at my desk has improved, though I need to have a lot of foot rest options. I moved my desk so that it backs up against the side of my bed, which allows me to use the bed as a foot rest. Also under the desk are various firm foam blocks used for yoga and stuff. All the various height combos help, but eventually the rest of my body has had a enough. Prioritizing the comfort of the injured foot means the rest of my body has to be less comfortable, and eventually it catches up.

Michael,

Try some indica edibles instead of smoking it. It's much better that way and you can tune your dose much better as well to avoid any side effects that you don't like. Around 5 mg is perfect for me to get pretty sleepy (that's 1/2 of most cookies or gummies), but not feel "high". Doesn't help with pain as much, but I fall asleep like a log regardless.

As for muscle strengthening: try to find a good PT and do loads of exercises, but only after your foot heals up! If you have to wait - 1 month won't make a huge difference. You could focus on your other leg or upper body in the meantime. Don't force the recovery - it takes time.

Vlad

Vlad Swrote:

Try some indica edibles instead of smoking it. It's much better that way and you can tune your dose much better as well to avoid any side effects that you don't like. Around 5 mg is perfect for me 

That's what I've been using, though 5mg isn't even noticeable for me. 10mg works well, though not always. Not sure why, but sometimes I feel nothing. Other times, I definitely feel it. Not sure it's just inconsistent amounts in the edibles, or my body just metabolizing it differently.

That said, I'm starting to phase out THC as well. I'm no longer taking any pain meds, in fact, and my heel feels fine. I have general soreness like I stubbed all of my toes in the worst way, and soreness in my arch, but it's not bad. Feels like I went for a much longer run than normal the day before. I still have pain on my shin. I was trying to think of how to describe it and remembered a very familiar pain. If you've ever encountered stinging nettle, that's what my shin feels like. When it's at its worst, the entire shin feels like it's stuck in a stinging nettle bush. My totally unqualified theory: because the muscles on my lower leg have vanished, my skin isn't stretched out. So where my nerve endings would have been fewer per square inch, now they're more concentrated into a smaller area. It seems possible, since when I gently stretch my skin out, I can touch my skin and it just feels normal. Let it relax again though, and it's stinging nettle time. Weird.

I haven't had the all clear to put weight on yet, but I'll admit that I have tried it while wearing an aircast. Surgery was 6 weeks ago, and my heel is pain free when squeezing it or resting on stuff. Wound is healed, and there's little, if any, swelling. I've put about 10-20% of my weight on it, and it was great. Obviously not ready for much more, but handled that without pain. Being able to simply stand reminds me of feeling "normal" again. Physiologically, standing on two feet, even if leaning on one more than the other, feels great.

Range of motion seems good too. I can nearly match what my non-injured foot can do without pain. If I don't mind it hurting, I can get much closer.

I'm still two weeks away from seeing my surgeon for the meeting where I hope we'll talk about walking and PT. I'm going to call them and ask if i can start riding the stationary bike as soon as possible though, because I need to do something. I really need to build stamina and stuff that gets me breathing hard again. When I had a hip replacement, the hardest part of recovery was rebuilding muscle that had wasted away, as well as my general fitness. I think getting some muscle back will help a ton with recovery, so hopefully they give me the OK.

One other thing I did recently was get one of those cheap inflatable hot tubs. Cheap compared to the full size fiberglass ones, which you can't even get because of covid currently. That hot tub is great though. Being able to just float without my foot resting on anything provides a welcome break from being injured. Even if that silly hot tub only lasts a few months, I think's probably worth every penny.

Michael,

I noticed for edibles, it makes a huge difference if you do it on empty stomach or full. I also feel close to nothing if I eat my cookie even 1 h after a meal. Glad you don't need it any more. The stinging nettle feeling likely from nerve damage from the surgery. It went away completely after ~2 years since nerves can slowly regrow. Try not to worry about it and get used to it - it becomes less and less noticeable anyway.

Hey, same story as everyone. I’m 2 weeks post op. Broke my calcaneus, femur, and pelvis. 16 screws and 2 plates in my right heel. Nerve pain is unreal.

Any alpinists out there? More into ice and mixed in the big mountains than rock climbing. Wondering if I share that in common with anyone who has had this injury? I can’t imagine these injuries will allow me to get anywhere near where I was or if I’ll even want to take the risks involved with it again. But wondering if anyone’s come from a shared experience and has been able to climb in the mountains after this. Seems bleak from the “success” stories.

Brad Wardwrote:

Hey, same story as everyone. I’m 2 weeks post op. Broke my calcaneus, femur, and pelvis. 16 screws and 2 plates in my right heel. Nerve pain is unreal.

That sounds gnarly. Sorry to hear it, but welcome to the club. Are your injuries all on one leg?

From what I've experienced so far (8 weeks post ORIF), the period you're in now was pretty hard for me. The nerve pain is real, but I think what made it worse for me is how "weird" it was (and was - it still happens sometimes). You'll have pain shoot through part of your foot or leg that doesn't seem to be justified in any way, basically randomly. I joked about how it was like a crazy cat. One moment, things are fine, good even, and then boom, it's freaking out.

The nerve stuff, for me, has improved. I suspect it will for you too, but given the added femur and pelvis injuries, will take longer.

Whether or not you'll be able to, or want to, climb again depends on a lot of stuff, I'd guess. A few years ago I had a hip replacement on my left hip. A few months after the operation I didn't think I'd be able to do any sort of physical stuff again, except for walking. The combo of pain and losing so much muscle in my leg while recovering just made it seem impossible. But a year after that operation, I hardly even noticed that it'd happened. Running, skateboarding, snowboarding, biking, whatever, it wasn't even a concern. I've known other pro skaters who have broken their femur and pelvis in a single fall, and they eventually were skating again. Two of them are 50+ years old (Tony Hawk and Steve Cabellero).

Others have said it, but it's worth repeating: you get to decide what you do after you heal, and at what level. I don't think it hurts to set that bar high.

For me, I won't be skateboarding anymore. At least not at the level I was. Not because I won't be able to, but because I just don't like the risk vs. reward anymore.

Update on my ORIF story: I'm about to go see the orthopedic surgeon for my 8 week follow up today. Really hoping he gives me a plan for walking again, especially since I've been testing stuff out and feel like I'm ready physically. Mentally, I've been ready for 7 weeks. No pain in the heel, even if I'm putting 10-20% of my body weight on it or feeling where the hardware is. I can wear my normal shoes without issue. If I use crutches and mimic real walking, the only pain I feel is in my 4th toe (my "ring finger" toe). I used to have the same pain in the 5th toe, but it just stopped one day. 

I don't know all the correct terms for motions, but my range of motion seems pretty good too. I can bend the foot up (toes towards my knee) almost the same distance as my good foot. Pointing away from my knee isn't as good, but it's getting close. Maybe about 80-85%. Other movements seem good too, though I think I'm more limited by lack of muscle than the joint's ability to move. Using my hand, I can move my foot all over the place without pain.

I still have crazy nerve pain all up and down my shin. It happens less, but when it does, it's just as bad as it's always been, and always happens when I'm trying to sleep. I'm going to ask if there's medication or anything else to get that to stop. I want to sleep for more than a 3 hour stretch. It's like I'm a parent of babies again, but now I'm old too for that kinda thing. Not good for the brain or morale.

Had my appointment yesterday. Imaging showed that there's still a rather large fracture that hasn't healed, which means I'll be keeping all weight off my foot for another month, at least. When seeing the fracture, I assumed I'd jumped the gun and done it to myself with my exploratory weighty bearing, but the doctor compared the latest imaging to the post-surgery imaging and it's not new. He doubts I caused it by putting weight on it. But, he knew that if I did start trying to walk it'd put me at risk of needing to re-do the entire thing. He said healed bone is 10x stronger than bolts, so it's worth whatever time we allow for letting it heal. I don't want to reset, obviously, so will stay off the foot.

If I'm honest, it was a big blow to morale. With how good the foot's been feeling, I didn't expect to see that fracture. I certainly didn't expect to be told I needed to stay off it for another month.

We decided to also try Gabapentin for the nerve pain. I took it last night, but didn't seem to notice it. We'll see how it helps over the next few nights before deciding it doesn't work. Reading about the medication, it's the kind of stuff I think if I can avoid, I probably should. But the need for real sleep is starting to become a very motivating need.

Wish me luck for the next month.

Brad Wardwrote:

Wondering if anyone’s come from a shared experience and has been able to climb in the mountains after this. Seems bleak from the “success” stories.

Every time I see this thread I go back and read a lot of the posts here. When I was injured I read through this thing probably 20 times, for better or for worse. 

Best advice I got was from one of my surgeons after his colleague got finished telling me I'd never be able to hike again, and surely never climb again, "It's gonna suck. It's gonna hurt. I've seen people with this injury become lethargic and stay glued to the couch because it hurts to get up and move, but if you get up every day and kick that day's ass, eventually you'll be able to do what you want to do."

It's been 3 years for me. I'm no alpine ice climber, but since my injury I've done more big days than I ever did before. Chances are you'll be affected by this in some shape or form for the rest of your life. Early on, find what can be fixed and fix it. When you find things that can't be fixed, find work-arounds that work for you. For me, long approaches kill me. My feet swell, nerve pain flares up, and I get intense cramps. I work around these problems by wearing compression socks and figuring out somewhere I can bivy to recover. 

I have no doubt you'll be able to get back out there. You'll have to fight like hell, but when you find yourself in the mountains again it'll be sweeter for it.

Been a long time since i posted here, im able to walk but cannot run ,back of the heel is little deformed...  screws will remain in no reason to take them out.the rest life goes on , have faith .

God bless you all.

Hi Everyone. I have ready some really helpful things in here. I fractured my heel on august 7. August 13 I had surgery with 9 pins and a plate. I had an appointment with my surgeon on august 24 (6 weeks after surgery). He said the fracture was healing and I could put as much weight on my foot as I could tolerate. I can put about 100 lbs but I am afraid to do more. I’m sure it is all in my head, how bad will the pain be? I never want to feel the pain that I felt when I fell. Does it get better after the initial pain? 

@Anne

I'm a bit jealous. I'm still not allowed to put any weight on my foot, and broke my heel a month before you. I'm also happy for you though.

Since I'm still a few weeks away from knowing if I can put weight on my foot or not, I can't speak from experience. That said, my doctor basically said that for most people, 6 weeks is the minimum amount of time it takes for bone to heal (including the healing needed to lock screws in place). I thought I'd be ready at 6 weeks, but x-rays suggested otherwise. I'd say that if you're worried, and if you're able to, get another opinion.

When I'm able to walk again, I suspect the biggest challenge will be less about the heel itself, and more about all the loss of muscle in my lower leg. Even if my heel was rock solid, I can't imagine a scenario where I'd be able to put 100lbs on my injured foot. There's just nothing that'd keep me steady yet. I think the pain of rebuilding that muscle is going to be non-trivial, but worth it, knowing that it'll get better the more I exercise.

Let us know how it goes. Nothing wrong with playing it safe, setting reasonable goals, and listening to your body so you can adjust those goals as needed.

Small update from me.

I'm 16 days away from knowing if I can start putting weight on my heel. The last few weeks haven't been easy. I've been super strict about putting no weight on my foot so I can give whatever still needs to heal a chance to heal. I think doing that has reversed progress on the general health of my foot. My range of motion seems less, and it seems to swell more easily. I suspect things will get better once I'm using my foot.

Aside from that, I'm just tired and sore from the various ways in which I need to move through the world. Using the knee scooter makes my knee hurt. Using the iWalk makes the same knee hurt, and makes my hip on my good leg hurt (which is saying a lot, since that hip is made of titanium). Using crutches makes my entire body and soul hurt.

I've forgotten what real sleep is like. I consider it a win if I manage a 4+ hour stretch in a night.

I'm also just sort of fed up with planning out every move. It's so easy to take for granted the ease in which we can move through the world when everything is working. I also have a new and profound amount of empathy for people who lose use of a leg permanently. All those little obstacles to movement add up, physically and mentally.

Wish me luck as I get through the next 16 days.

I am not a rock climber but I am a big hunter. I have done Colorado Elk hunts where I packed in on foot 7-10 miles with 75+ lbs of gear on my back. I am 39 years old and in pretty good shape. Most of my hunting is in my home state of SC from elevated deer stands. On September 12, I fell somewhere around 16’ setting up a loc-on deer stand with ladder sticks. I shattered my calcaneus and crammed it up into my subtalar joint. Had some other bad scrapes and bruises, but that was my most serious injury. On September 27 I had surgery to piece my calcaneus back together and pull it back down into place. I had 8 screws and a plate put in to accomplish all this. I had huge splints put on each Dr visit and after my surgery. On October 11, I had my stitches removed and was put in the walking boot, but told that I was still NWB for 10 more weeks. The boot is great because I can remove it and lay in bed to do some light ROM exercises and also remove it to wash my leg & foot finally! I thought it was gonna be like magic once the splint was removed but I have less than 1” of up & down movement and -0- left to right movement of my foot. It was very disappointing. I have a 2-story house and 2 small kids. I have a good bit of pain and discomfort every day but most days my mental state is ok. I elevate my foot while sleeping and wake up to a semi-normal looking foot with very little pain. My dad owns the company I work for so he bought me an electric scooter and gave me a desk job to keep me working. By about 2:00 my foot is usually pretty swollen and hurting, but it beats laying in bed all day. I have had several times of weakness where I get pretty worked up about my physical limitations and what my future holds. That’s how I came across this website. There is so much negative and depressing stuff online about this injury and my Dr hasn’t really been very optimistic either. Reading the success stories on here has helped me so much and I hope to give some positive updates as I get further into this journey. I am 3 weeks post op today. 

Hey James, sounds like you’re on the road to recovery. I’m glad you’re still able to work at a desk job. This injury is so debilitating, idk how people continue to work. I’m happy for you. Do you know when you’re starting physical therapy? I’m curious if it happens when you get your moon boot or when you’re confirmed to to begin weight bearing. I’m sure physical therapy will help a ton

I read through so many pages of this post, I might as well share my story too.

On Friday 10/8, I fell while at an indoor rock climbing gym and fractured my foot in three places: the cuboid, talus, and a comminuted fracture in the sustentaculum tali (a horizontal bone between the talus and calcaneous). Kinda a freak accident. While bouldering, my foot slipped off a hold and hit another handhold on the way down. I was maybe five feet above the ground, the hold just a foot below it, yet somehow I must have hit to perfectly because it really messed me up.

I just had surgery yesterday (10/18). They placed a plate on my sustentaculum and drilled four screws into it to secure it. It was a comminuted fracture, so it was split into three sections.

I’m instructed to be non weight bearing for six weeks and then weight bearing as tolerated after six weeks. I swap from the splint to moon boot in two weeks.

I think my specific injury is a bit different than others I’ve read on here. Most people seem to have fractured their heel bone, but somehow I’ve managed to fracture a singular, horizontal bone above it. No clue if that’s better or worse though. I’d love to hear any info from people that have also fractured this bone.

Either way, we’re all in the same boat. I’ll continue reading your success stories and wishing you all the best on your recoveries.  

pizza sheet, they gave me a moon boot when they removed my stitches. I still have 9 more weeks of NWB and there has been no talk of physical therapy yet. They did tell me to remove the boot several times a day and do some light ROM exercises while laying down (like trying to write the alphabet with my foot in the air). Only letter I can do so far is I. Haha. I’ve got a long road ahead and it is disheartening at times but I’m trying to push through. Reading these stories and telling my own story had made me feel a lot better. I go back to MD in 3 weeks. That will be 6 weeks post op. I hope they wanna start some partial weight bearing early, but I don’t think that’s going to be the case. That sucks you had so much damage from such a short fall. You could probably fall the same way 99 more times and not hurt a thing. Like you said, just a freak accident.

Hey James,

Thanks for the kind words. You can write an “l” and a capital “i” so that’s two words you can write in the air! Lol. I’m rooting for you. I don’t expect to put any weight on this for six weeks so I feel you on that. Fingers crossed for your progress and partial weight bearing at six weeks!