UKC

Has anyone out there had an ankle ligament repair (Brostrom repair)? I have had recurrent ankle sprains which is really hindering any bouldering and giving me intermittent pains if I position my ankle awkwardly. I have been offered ligament reconstruction by my surgeon. I have done some rehab on it. What kind of outcomes have you had? I do not want to rush into surgery...

In reply to andrea83:

Andrea,
I had many years of ankle problems, starting with a bad sprain 20 years ago. It got progressively worse, with my ankle repeatedly turning, until I couldn't rely on it anymore. I tried physio and excercise but didn't really help.
I finally had a Brostrom last July. Following 6 months of physio and excercise I started climbing again regularly at the start of Jan. Early days, but so far it has held up well to wall climbing, some outdoor stuff and skiing. The ankle is a bit stiff and gets sore at the end of a long day, but I think that could be caused by some bony spurs he removed at the same time.

My surgeon said there was very little ligament left and my big regret is that I did not have the operation earlier when the ligament was less danaged. Unfortunatley I believed my GPs who said there was not much that could be done. If your ligament is damaged it will not get any better and if you keep spraining it (based on my experience) will just get worse.
If you do have a brostrom don't underestimate the op and the recovery. I was on crutches, non load-bearing, for 6 weeks then a couple more weeks befor fully confident walking around again. Also, make sure your surgeon is a specialist ankle one!

Feel free to contact me direct via the forum email if you need further info.

In reply to andrea83:

What about eccentric exercises, strength exercises, not saying you haven't but few people do this to its full potential, meaning surgery may remove bits that could have helped but now need even more work to make up to full potential.
Fella on here described years of almost non climbing due to a tennis elbow type pain and remedied it with an eccentric exercise to be back at E4 6a in weeks.
jimb

In reply to Slarti B:

Thanks Slarti B. Thats really useful. I'd be interested to see how you get on over the next few months/years. Numerous sprains now, resulting in blavk and blue ankle, unable to weight bear through the ankle for a few days. Old medial mallolar fracture, a medial bone spur, anterior spur and lateral ligamet rupture there. Yeah lengthy rehab.

All the best with your recovery.

Thanks too to howifeel-yeah, rehab is really important, have done quite a bit, could alwas do more I expect!