Supportive shoes for after broken ankle?

[Tokie]

Hey, it's been 3 months since I had my broken ankle surgery! Since then I've had treatment at the Wound Center for a skin wound caused by friction from the walking boot over one of my screws. I'm supposed to return to my (physically active) job as an outpatient surgery recovery room nurse. My primary concern is accidentally rolling laterally and re-fracturing my ankle again.(I have osteoporosis, my bone was "soft" per surgeon). PT though my ankle-high lace up Ariat boots would be good, but I'm afraid the pressure over the screws will cause another skin breakdown. anyone have experience with this? for now I am styling in my Salomen trail runner shoes(with all my clothes) -but am able to walk with care and deliberation at home. I still use crutches in public per MD to prevent people from bumping me (apparently if I went down again now, still at risk for re-fracture). Now I'm thinking-can I ever use - cross country ski boots? Hiking boots? Maybe I will want those screws removed....I can, but was hoping to leave them alone. I see my ortho on Friday, will get his advice then...Thanks for any info on shoe with ankle screws advice!

[Biciclista]

no good advice here but i'd sure want to get those screws out. it's not like serious surgery

[OakLeaf]

What about an ASO brace? IME it gives more support against rolling than any mass-produced boot could, while leaving you free to flex and extend the ankle. It's very low profile and fits inside most shoes.

[molliewog]

What about an ASO brace? IME it gives more support against rolling than any mass-produced boot could, while leaving you free to flex and extend the ankle. It's very low profile and fits inside most shoes.

This is a great brace. I had a trimalleolar fracture with 14 screws and a plate 3 years ago. When I was finally released from the walking boot, this brace is what my ortho gave me. It is indeed low profile, and gave me great lateral support.

[Tokie]

Yep, we take troublesome screws out where I work all the time. I'll ask MD how long it is optimal to allow healing before getting them out. And will ask about the ankle brace too. It looks like it would put pressure over my screws though. Ironically, when I was trying to heal the ankle skin erosion by padding the lateral side of the walking boot, it caused pressure irritation over the tibial screws. Sheesh. thanks for your input! tokie