fibula fracture

[finch83]

Here's the situation...

April 29th i fractured my fibula playing soccer. Went in for a tackle, my ankle got caught between the turf and opponents leg, rolled a way it shouldn't have, and ended up fracturing the fibula actually slightly below the knee. The pain was fairly unbearable so i went to the hospital and got x-rays. i got a removable knee brace to immobilize the leg as much as possible and a set of crutches. a week later (May 7) and the sports medicine doctor said i didn't need the crutches or the immobilizer anymore, and if my leg felt well enough could walk on it as i wished. i was also instructed to gradually return to activity as i desired over the next several weeks using proper judgement (based on how it felt, nothing high impact, etc.) Going into the 3rd week since the fracture i started riding a stationary bike and running on an elliptical machine since its low impact. so obviously this strikes me as a relatively mild, superficial fracture (i couldn't really even see it on the x-ray). I was told I could possibly return to normal activity 4-5 weeks from the time of the fracture.

Does 4-5 weeks sound like the right timetable for this fracture healing enough?

[Canuck Physio]

Originally Posted by finch83

Here's the situation...

April 29th i fractured my fibula playing soccer. Went in for a tackle, my ankle got caught between the turf and opponents leg, rolled a way it shouldn't have, and ended up fracturing the fibula actually slightly below the knee. The pain was fairly unbearable so i went to the hospital and got x-rays. i got a removable knee brace to immobilize the leg as much as possible and a set of crutches. a week later (May 7) and the sports medicine doctor said i didn't need the crutches or the immobilizer anymore, and if my leg felt well enough could walk on it as i wished. i was also instructed to gradually return to activity as i desired over the next several weeks using proper judgement (based on how it felt, nothing high impact, etc.) Going into the 3rd week since the fracture i started riding a stationary bike and running on an elliptical machine since its low impact. so obviously this strikes me as a relatively mild, superficial fracture (i couldn't really even see it on the x-ray). I was told I could possibly return to normal activity 4-5 weeks from the time of the fracture.

Does 4-5 weeks sound like the right timetable for this fracture healing enough?

Hello there,
Was the decision made in light of updated X-rays?

It sounds as if it was a minor undisplaced fracture, and to be honest it should be healed up in about that time scale. I doubt they would even re-Xray it in light of it being hardly visible. If pain persists over this time period, or swelling, then you may want to re-visit. Otherwise, I would self-refer to a physio to assess your return to sport functionality, or if there is loss of range of movement or muscle, soft tissue problems.

Yes. 4-5 weeks for a non-displaced fibular # sounds about right.