I too have questions regarding this condition. I fractured my fibula in 2017 with ORIF repair (which would have been a simple recovery) but then fell with my knee scooter 3 months later and re-injured the ankle joint, however the docs at Mayo did not do anything other than tell me to take ice and take anti-inflammatories and to come back in 6 months if it was not better. 6 months later I was still unable to fully weightbear and received a diagnosis of moderate subtalar arthritis from the ortho surgeon at Mayo who fixed my fracture and was told that I will probably need future surgery, but was not given any plan for present treatment of my condition. At the time of that visit, he did not even touch my ankle for examination or look at it - he only looked at the x-rays on the screen.

7 months of PT have somewhat improved my ankle mobility and partial weightbearing but has not allowed me to fully weightbear or walk normally without pain. 4 months after the last Mayo visit, my ankle is still painful with every step, and I cannot walk without using crutches or a walker to take some weight off of the ankle. I also have numbness in my toes, and part of my foot, ankle, and calf, along with pain in the big toe with toeing off. I had to go to a second doctor to get actual evaluation of my ankle condition and am now awaiting a nerve conduction study for further information.

I am wondering what to do next to get myself the proper treatment so that I can someday walk again without constant pain... although I am somewhat older than others in this discussion, I am not old enough to accept being crippled and don't want to be a burden on my newlywed daughter the rest of my life. I am also wondering if there are any clinical trials or research regarding this and what treatment there may be for me now before looking into surgeries.

Any thoughts or advice regarding braces or other treatment are welcome - I am feeling very lost and discouraged right now. My husband recently died and I lost my health insurance with his death, so further surgeries may have to wait until I can qualify for Medicare.

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