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Our user asked: "I had a spiral fracture of my tibia in my lower leg, just above the ankle in early Dec. '07. (My fibula also was broken, but that's not a problem). Once I started putting weight on it, the worst pain was in my knee, around the site of the top screw (nail?) of the steel rod. I had PT for that, and with Celebrex, that calmed down. My complaint these days is that whenever I get up from sitting (I'm at a computer screen most of the day for my job), my ankle and the site of the break is so stiff that i have to hobble for about the first 10-15 steps. What can I do for this? I am fairly active -- a brisk 30-40 minute dog walk a day, stationary bike 2X a week, yoga 1 or 2X. Do I have to exercise even more? should I go back to PT?"
Ask a PT Response: "Glad to hear you are doing better. In regards to your question "my ankle and the site of the break is so stiff that i have to hobble for about the first 10-15 steps. What can I do for this?" It is not unusual for some patients to continue to experience stiffness at the site of the break and at the ankle after the fracture has healed. The patient may have developed scar tissue around the involved region and structures such as muscles/tendons and ligaments may have tightened up as a result of healing, guarding, and lack of use while recovering from the injury. Range of motion and stretching exercises along with joint mobs are usually prescribed to these patients. There are some examples of range of motion and stretching exercises on the CyberPT Exercise Videos page: http://www.cyberpt.com/cptvidlist.asp - http://www.cyberpt.com/cptvidlist.asp . Exercising more probably will not result in decreasing your stiffness if the underlying cause for your stiffness is not addressed. Consultation with a physical therapist may be a good idea as he or she will be able to determine what limitations you may still be experiencing (ie. decrease joint mobility, decrease ROM, decrease flexibility, decrease strength, etc.) and develop an individualized plan of care for you based on findings. I hope this helps and thanks for using CyberPT."
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