When can you walk on a broken ankle?

If you’ve been diagnosed with a broken ankle, we know you’ll be worried about one main thing: how long you’ll have to stay off your feet. You see, when you break one or more of the three bones in your ankle (the talus, tibula and fibula), we will need to immobilize the injured area to allow for healing. Now, if the injury is stable, we may allow you to wear a walking boot and preserve your mobility. But if your fracture is unstable, or if the bone was displaced during the injury, you will likely require surgery—and you’ll be staying off your feet afterward.

In the past, people were told to stay off their feet for six weeks after surgery for a broken ankle. But now, things are changing, thanks to new research suggesting you don’t need to avoid weight-bearing for that long. So, when can you walk on a broken ankle that’s stable? And when can you bear weight after surgery? Keep reading to find out. 

Recovering from a Broken Ankle: Location and Severity are Key

In some cases—like when your ankle is deformed or bone is visible through the skin—it’s immediately obvious that you’ve broken a bone. But, for most people, we’ll diagnose your broken ankle with x-ray imaging. And, after the diagnosis is confirmed, we can begin to come up with your treatment plan.

Regardless of the location or severity of your fracture, we will have to take weight off that bone. Otherwise, it just won’t heal. If you have a clean break, and the bones haven’t shifted, you may end up in a walking boot. But a cast may be necessary, depending on how severe an injury you’ve sustained. In such cases, you won’t be able to walk on that foot until the cast comes off—usually between four and six weeks later.

Of course, if you have surgery for your broken ankle, that timeline will be different. And, often, it will depend on your surgeon’s preference. You see, some people think you should start walking on a broken ankle very soon after surgery; others prefer that you wait at least six weeks to bear weight after surgery. But what does the science say? Let’s take a closer look.

When can you walk on a broken ankle?

Recently, a study in The Lancet explored two timelines for walking on a broken ankle after surgery. There were 561 adults included in the study; they underwent surgery at 23 different hospitals across the United Kingdom. Sixty-four percent of participants were women and the average age of participant was 50 years old.

For the purpose of the study, these participants were divided into two groups. One group of patients were allowed to walk two weeks after surgery; the other group waited a traditional six weeks before getting back on their feet. Then, the researchers checked in with those patients four months later to see how they were doing. Here’s what they found:

Four months after ankle surgery, there were no major differences in the number of complications experienced by people in either group. Similarly, walking after two weeks or six weeks did not seem to change their ankle function—subjects in both groups experienced similar stiffness, pain and walking ability, regardless of when they first started walking on their broken ankles after surgery. And by the one-year mark, ankle function was identical in both groups.

Interestingly, there was one notable difference linked to earlier walking after ankle surgery. Patients who walked two weeks after ankle surgery ended up taking slightly less time off of work. As a result, their treatment cost was determined to be about $900 less expensive. As such, researchers concluded that “Walking 2 weeks after surgery for a broken ankle is as safe as waiting 6 weeks…This means that people could return to normal activities earlier.”

Broken Ankle: When Can I Walk Again?

What do these study results mean for you? While every patient is unique, and your individual injury will have to be taken into consideration, you may be able to walk much sooner than you feared after a broken ankle. Now, it’s important to understand that many people were excluded from this study because it was not safe for them to try walking on a broken ankle after two weeks. So you can’t assume that you’ll be eligible for early-weight bearing if you break your ankle.

If that’s the case, why are we sharing these results with you? Here’s the deal: in our Houston podiatry practice, we always aim to provide the least invasive treatment that will deliver the results and healing you need. So, if we tell you that you need surgery for your broken ankle, know that it’s truly necessary. But also know that, if it’s safe to consider, we will try to get you back on your feet at the earliest junction possible.

So, when can you walk on a broken ankle? If you come into the office immediately after an injury, we can provide timely diagnosis and treatment. Afterward, we can come up with a customized plan to get you walking quickly, safely and comfortably.