With a broken ankle and fibula, it's important not to lose strength and flexibility in your ankle as you recuperate. There are ways to rehabilitate your ankle and fibula at home. Different exercises can be preformed while you rest you broken ankle and fibula or once you can bear weight on your leg.
Rehabilitation Exercises While You Rest
You want to improve your ankle's strength and flexibility. Start with easy exercises then progress to more difficult ones. Begin with exercises that stretch your ankle. Sit in on a hard surface like a chair. Loop a towel around the ball of your foot. Keep your leg extended and pull the towel toward you. Make sure you pull toward your chest and not higher. Hold for several seconds then release. You should repeat the exercise 3-4 times.
Try a roll exercise to improve your ankle's range of motion. You can perform this exercise before you try to put weight on the ankle. When you are in bed or in a sitting position, practice moving your ankle. Keep your knee straight. Turn your foot in around in a circle. Repeat the ankle roll exercise several times.
Once You can Bear Weight on Your Ankle
Once you can stand without pain in your ankle, start weight-bearing ankle exercises. A heel exercise can increase your ankle's strength and rehabilitate your fibula too. Stand behind a hard surface, such as a counter, table or chair, then hold on to the surface for balance. Make sure you stand with the ball of your feet firmly on the floor. Then slowly lift and lower your heels. Repeat 10 times then perform 3 more sets of 10. Once you regain your balance, you can try this exercise without using a hard surface for balance.
Stand on your injured leg without any support with your unaffected leg behind you. Hold the position for approximately 30 seconds then repeat at least 3 times. Also, stretch your calf muscles to help rehabilitate your fibula. Place your hands on the wall about eye level. Make sure your injured leg is positioned behind you with your heel on the floor. Then turn your foot slightly inward. You unaffected leg should be bent and in front of the other leg. Slowly lean into the wall. You should feel the back of your calf stretch. Hold for 30 seconds. You can perform this several times a day, if you want.
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