The fibula is the smaller bone in the lower leg that supports the tibia bone and forms part of the ankle. Whether you break the shaft or the lower end of your fibula, the processes used for rehabilitation share a number of features. Another rehab process is used to treat a type of fibula fracture called a stress fracture.
Shaft Fractures
If you break the shaft of your fibula, the main goals of rehabilitation are reduction of your pain levels and restoration of normal function in your lower leg, according to MDGuidelines. Methods used to ease pain include applications of a cold source and applications of a heat source. Methods used to restore your lower leg function include balance, endurance, strength and mobility exercises for the joints above and below the point of fracture. As you progress through these exercises, your doctor and physical therapist will help you walk with a walker, then crutches, and then a cane.
Ankle Fractures
If you break the lower end of your fibula, the main goal of rehabilitation is pain-free mobility in your ankle joint, MDGuidelines explains. As with fibula shaft fractures, methods used to achieve this goal include balance, strength and mobility exercises as well as assisted walking with a walker, crutches or a cane. You will recover more quickly if you start mobility exercises as early as possible. However, your doctor and therapist won't begin this type of exercise until your healing bone is stable enough to withstand the rehab process.
Stress Fractures
Another form of fibula fracture, called a stress fracture, produces cracks in the surface of the bone. Rehabilitation for a fibula stress fracture commonly includes rest until the pain associated with the injury subsides, stretches for the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles in your calf, and stretches for your shin. You may also benefit from a form of massage called sports massage, which aids the rehab process by releasing muscular tension and improving blood flow to the site of the injury.
Exercise Examples
Specific exercises used for both shaft and ankle fractures include foot and ankle circles, foot and ankle up-and-downs, and foot and ankle in-and-outs. You can also use these exercises to address the effects of a fibula stress fracture. Typically, you will exercise your ankle or lower leg three times a day unless these activities cause you pain or otherwise worsen your condition. Your physical therapist may also ask you to perform balancing exercises on a device called a wobble board, or ask you to strengthen your leg or ankle with exercises using a resistance band. Ask your doctor and physical therapist for more information on rehab processes for a broken fibula.
