Case Study - A triple ankle fracture from a road traffic accident
BH is a 59 year old gentleman who was involved in an RTA as a pedestrian in November 2017. He sustained a triple ankle fracture which required surgery to fixate and was subsequently non-weight bearing for 8 weeks after. Once his cast was removed he was fitted with a boot and allowed to fully weight bear, so his rehabilitation could now begin.
His main goal was to be able to walk comfortably whilst on his cruise holiday at the beginning of March.
BH attended AquaPhysio in mid-January 2018, he had significant swelling in the foot, ankle and lower leg, along with reduced and ROM in all directions and reduced strength. He was unable to stand on one leg for more than about 5 secs and was unable to achieve heel strike when walking.
Using the properties of water, he was prescribed a programme of exercises to help reduce swelling and improve ROM and strength. The hydrostatic pressure of being in the water helps to reduce the swelling and BH could see the improvements within a couple of weeks. He said “in the mornings my leg was starting to look normal again”, with regards to the swelling.
Alongside regular gym sessions on land, BH has been progressing well. He went on his cruise and was able to walk around the boat and explore the various places that they stopped at.
