I broke the tibis and fibula in my left ankle ( plates and screws).
It's early days yet.I'm just getting the stitches out but they predict 6 weeks on crutches then 6 months before I can sail..
I do GPS on flat water and occasional lake chop when there is < 20kts wind.
55 year old female . I was very fit before the accident but sedentary now.
Any one been through a similar situation?
How long did it take any suggestions etc..I think I will be in a weight bearing boot in 5 weeks- only bandages now.

Serious bummer. Did you break it windsurfing?

No bushwalking...full on stretcher , helicopter rescue with heaps of ambos, SES, firies , etc etc 2 x heli's..

Sue, I feel for you, I broke my foot many years ago doctor's couldn't do much for me at the time so I just had to tough it out I was off the water for about 4 months. I did it by doing a silly bunny hop on my bump and jump board in a cold westerly. My foot was in the foot straps on the landing when the board hit the water it stopped and me and the rig went forward and my front foot went crunch.
I even kept sailing but soon realized it was bad and came in then the swelling came. Anyway its fine these days I can hardly feel any pain anymore and it does not effect my sailing. So chin up girl you will get over it and be flying around the lake again.

Bummer Sue. Sounds like you did it in style though, helicopter rescues etc.

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Kazza said..
Bummer Sue. Sounds like you did it in style though, helicopter rescues etc.

Yeah if I do it I do a good job. SES pics + helicopter video etc but on a FB page
Time for more painkillers and ice..

Sorry to hear that, Sue. Speedy recovery.
I broke just the fibula (playing soccer) 7 weeks in cast and plenty of physio after. Found running / bounding work on a mini trampoline (under physio supervision) really helpful.
An exercise bike is really helpful as you can still keep some fitness even with single leg exercise to start. Being on crutches is really frustrating. Full recovery but listen to physio advice as to when you are ready to return as everybody is different and depends on the damage done to the rest of the joint in the accident.

Ouch!! Get well soon(ish)

Sorry to hear that.
I fractured my ankle windsurfing (foot trapped in strap under breaking wave) 25 years ago. Nowhere near as bad as your break but being young and stupid I aggravated it by rushing back to windsurfing 2 months later, before I had strengthened the muscles around it again - twisted the ankle and was off water for a while longer.
It's been said above - listen to physio and make sure you build up the strength in the ankle before sailing again.
Good luck!

Plates and screws Sue are stronger than bone, it won't break again in the same spot. I would strap it and sail this Saturday - its going to be pumping. there are some excellent foot /ankle straps on the market that are thin, lightweight and very supportive. They will let you get back on the water earlier, ask your physio.....

Bummer.Only you will know when it's ready ..I reckon 2 months ..then duct tape it so it can't move, then do a flat water run .see if it hurts ..

6 months without sail

you will know .listen to your body ,it will tell ya .

take it easy .

Sorry to hear that Sue. Being injured sucks. Hope you have a good internet connection to watch lots of windsurfing videos during your recovery.

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Tinlyds said..
Plates and screws Sue are stronger than bone, it won't break again in the same spot. I would strap it and sail this Saturday - its going to be pumping. there are some excellent foot /ankle straps on the market that are thin, lightweight and very supportive. They will let you get back on the water earlier, ask your physio.....

Yeah right...

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Dean 424 said..
Sorry to hear that Sue. Being injured sucks. Hope you have a good internet connection to watch lots of windsurfing videos during your recovery.

Thanks everyone. Not at all tempted to sail at the moment....not sure whether videos would be good or frustrating when Im good enough will drive down to socialise and take pics.

Rotten bad luck Sue, get well soon. Think you did it in style......

Would be good to see you at sailing even if just taking your great photos sometime in the future.

Some pics taken by one of the ambos- Jo the one near the rescue heli. Only mobile phone so not that clear but gives a good coverage.
I went to sidle down a very steep loose open slope. I usually dig my foot in and roll the ankle into the hill so if I slip i just slide. No handholds . Not sure what happened but maybe I reached for a semi covered treeroot to grab onto and I fell out from the cliff sideways and rolled a 180 degree over my ankles. I remember thinking hmm that doesn't feel good. I rolled and slid c 50" managing to stop myself before I hit the rocks below. Everyone was amazed that I only had a few scrapes on my arm.
A bushwalking club member said ' Do you think you can scramble up to here where it's clearer so they can get you out?" I looked at my foot at 45 degrees to my leg and went " no way I'm walking on that!' We left my boot on ( luckily it was a high sided walking boot). My partner ( the master of understatement ) answered the guy " mm I felt a clunk when I felt her foot..."
Ambos entering the gorge. I was out the other side near the creek


Me comfortable enough. We had a nurse with us on the walk ( club member) so she splinted the leg packed me up and painkillers. Comfortable except on a rocky slope with rocks up my bum and having to dig a flat spot to brace with my good foot so I wouldn't slide any further down.

Stokes litter prior me

I was worried they'd drop me as very unstable footing but they had me tied of to a tree and c 10 people. They still had to stop and rest every few feet.


Puffing like crazy on the greenstick painreliever


They placed me under the ledge while they blew the area with the first copter before winching me out up top with the 2nd.So many people! Several rural firebrigades , ambos ( 2) , SES , 2 x helis must have been 40 people +!

Ledge where they protected me. Only a small hole in the canopy so they had to use smoke flares so the copter new where to go.

Not really that happy but painfree with safety glasses on

Jo in front of the copter

While plates might be stronger than bones it is highly recommended to not place yourself at risk intil bones have mended. Once you get xrays that show the bones have knitted together, then you can sail. What you'll find is a loss of movement so physio will be needed also.

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WaynoB said..
Rotten bad luck Sue, get well soon. Think you did it in style......

Would be good to see you at sailing even if just taking your great photos sometime in the future.

I'm going to miss everybody.

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hardie said..
While plates might be stronger than bones it is highly recommended to not place yourself at risk intil bones have mended. Once you get xrays that show the bones have knitted together, then you can sail. What you'll find is a loss of movement so physio will be needed also.

I was told you have been through something similar..What was your experience of returning to the sport?
Weight bearing Xray in 5 weeks to see how its knitted then maybe a weight bearing boot so I won't even consider trying until out of that ...

Don't worry Sue. Your misfortune has assured everyone else's good winds. Consider yourself the sacrifice to Huey.

I'm contemplating my first sail after 8 weeks in a VacoPed boot (great piece of kit), plus a few extra strength building weeks after a broken navicular (foot) bone, in virtually identical circumstances to Boombender. With the wisdom that should come from being in our decade of life, I think it comes down to knowing when you are confident that you don't go out too early and set yourself back even longer by being too eager. Medical advice plus intuition. So to answer your question how long?- same length in months as a piece of elastic in cm.

Not sure about with a broken tib/fib, but with my injury being able to do some mountain bike hillclimbs on bitumen, and swims to keep cardio fitness up has been great.

Ah injuries!- the price of being active. Hope you heal soon.

Bad luck Sue hope you get better soon !

Very sorry to hear of your accident Sue, I wish you a quick recovery, at least it happened in the worst season...you'll be ready for summer I'm sure.

I used to think how lame and bushwalking is!!!You proved me wrong!!!!

Might be a way to say you need to spend more time painting more Sue???

Hope your back on the water by spring!!!

Sorry to hear it .

It took me 6 months for a broken calcaneus. but i didn't have it pinned which would have speed the recovery

I broke my tibia right at the bottom and have two screws in it. I did it about 5 years ago in July and was back on the water by the December.

However the first summer was quite painful on my leg after even short sessions. The summer after and it was back as good as it was gonna get. Still get a bit of pain in that leg after long sessions when it's choppy. But not enough to stop me sailing.


I had no physio which was stupid but I was going abroad for a month just after the moon boot came off and didn't get round to it.

Just put your foot/feet up and give winter a miss and get some physio.

Enjoy your rest and look forward to sailing in the summer.

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AusMoz said..
I used to think how lame and bushwalking is!!!You proved me wrong!!!!

Might be a way to say you need to spend more time painting more Sue???

Hope your back on the water by spring!!!

I've got to work out how to sit and paint..have to get heaps work done so I can play later

Ankles don't come back strong unless you do a lot of work properly.
The wasting whilst it is in a boot will ensure that it is weak and you will HAVE TO do your physio well. We give our ankles hell when falling off and still in the strap, so stick with their advice

My one with the most minor break u can imagine, and few very minor tendon tears, was 6mths before sailing.

Like they said in your recovery time. Physo. to get some movement back. Then some weight training to strengthen the leg, as muscle waste away not being used.
Hint, lots n lots of step ups.
Mine took about that long, although I had a spiral shatter of the bone. Never quite forgot the break nor the incapacitation. Bloody simple mistake and the end result was sh1t!!
Sort of lost the passion for windsurfing after than.

No red meat, coffee, alcohol and take MSM (methylsulfonylmethane)
I took this advice from a mate who broke his femur and he recovered in amazingly short time.
Mine was only broken thumb but it sure did heal quickly.
Physios were amazed how quick I regained use.
60 yrs old when it happened for me, 64 for the femur man.

^^ dunno about the MSM. Very limited trials with no very conclusive results. Not approved by any Govt as therapeutic - and the FDA told manufacturers to stop claiming it was or face prosecution. That sounds a bit sus to me.
I'd stick with healthy diet and physio. Maybe glucosamine and calcium supplement if u don't have much dairy

I broke mine wave jumping a jet ski. Level 3, they said the worst break possible. Snapped the tibia and fibula clean off above the ankle bones diagonally and broke the talus as well. Pretty large plate and 9 screws. My avatar photo was taken in Maui 4 months later and I had sailed for the first time 2 weeks before that. I pushed very hard during recovery though. I was pushing down against the cast with the ball of my foot while it was still on so I wouldn't be too stiff when it came off and instead of doing the physio twice a day like they said I was literally doing it about 10 times a day. You've got to be pretty in tune with what your body can take though to push it that hard. Push it but be careful it will speed up your recovery time.