How Soon Can I Start Exercising After Leg Surgery?!


Question: About three weeks ago, I had successful interior reduction surgery on my right fibula, which now boasts a plate and six screws. I'm still in a cast, of course, but I've had virtually no pain for 10 days or so. I've started to put light weight on the leg, as the surgeon said I could, with no adverse effects. I'm relatively fit, and have been going a little nuts without being able to go on my usual long walks and bike rides. I have a recumbent stationary bike ... Would it be all right to start using it lightly at this point? Would pain be a sign that I'm causing some sort of damage, or just a sign that I should stop? Thanks in advance to any orthopedic surgeons out there! (I'm seeing my own surgeon again in a week, but I don't want to bug him with relatively minor stuff like this.)


Answers: About three weeks ago, I had successful interior reduction surgery on my right fibula, which now boasts a plate and six screws. I'm still in a cast, of course, but I've had virtually no pain for 10 days or so. I've started to put light weight on the leg, as the surgeon said I could, with no adverse effects. I'm relatively fit, and have been going a little nuts without being able to go on my usual long walks and bike rides. I have a recumbent stationary bike ... Would it be all right to start using it lightly at this point? Would pain be a sign that I'm causing some sort of damage, or just a sign that I should stop? Thanks in advance to any orthopedic surgeons out there! (I'm seeing my own surgeon again in a week, but I don't want to bug him with relatively minor stuff like this.)

must be a pretty good fracture if they had to put a plate on it (most fibula fractures, even some displaced like yours, don't need surgery unless it involves the the joint at the ankle - reason being is that when you weight bear, the fibula doesn't take as much stress as the tibia (shin)) anyways, being that you're only 3 weeks out, your stitches (or staples) are out and you've been put out of that ugly splint from the hospital and into this cast. since he said you can weight bear on it (as mentioned earlier, you could have weight bear on it even if you didn't have the surgery - you just need to give it time to heal - but again, that's dependent on the type of fracture), its probably safer for you to not do any exercises. many reasons but here's a couple: 1) exercises will get your blood going, and with your leg down, it's going to swell up. you will swell into the cast and that could mean lots of issues. 2) even though stitches are out, i dont know how well the wounds have approximated (how well they're closed as seen during that post-op visit you had, there's still a chance you can run a risk of infection.
bottom line: i wouldn't do it, but call and find out. leave a message on his assistant's voicemail. they'll call you back same day (same hour if they're good)

Better to give your ortho a quick phone call. They would prefer to spend 5 min. giving you a call back than taking 20 minutes or several office visits later to deal with an injury (as someone who got back to life too soon after an injury, I personally would say it's worth the phone call).

If you feel not pain anymore and you feel comfortable,
you can start for excercise but not too hard.
Begin with a slow and a little excercise cause maybe you will get pain again if you go hard and fast.
The stationery bike , is a good to begin but slowly.
And control to the doctor.
Good luck.





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