Thread: looking for a little advice....

O.k., here's the deal. I've got a pretty annoying problem and I was hoping some of you may have some advice.
About 7 years ago I had the incredible luck of recieving a spiral fracture of my right fibula...I had to have surgery and my right ankle is pretty much held together by a steel plate and some screws. As a result I was always a little nervous about squatting too heavy, and I mainly used leg presses for the last few years. Recently I've started squatting again on a regular basis...I can get 275 for reps relatively pain free, but anything over that hurt my ankle like hell, and it keeps hurting for the next 3 or 4 days.
I called my doctor a few months back and he pretty much told me that the only thing he could do is to remove the plate & screws, but that may cause arthritis in the joint...personally, this does not sound like a good option to me.
Anyway, here's my questions:
1. Should I risk the surgery or just suck it up and limp like a cripple for 4 days a week?
2. Should I use free squats or a smith machine?
3. Should I squat light and leg press heavy? (for some reason I can leg press 450+ without too much pain)
4. Should I train calves on a different day?
5. Would an ankle wrap be of any use at all?

I know, it's alot of questions, but I'm getting a bit frustrated about the whole thing, and I have an irrational distrust of doctors, so if any one has any opinions or advice, it would be greatly appreciated.

So you have a problem with shearing, and to a much lesser degree (else you couldn't do leg presses, eh?) compressive force on the stabilized joint fracture faces. What did the orthopedic surgeon say about connective tissue? Intact, repaired (screwed in place) or partially missing?

What is your gait like? Normal, limp. What about ROM? Reduced?

Biomechanical issues need to be addressed. *How* you squat..form, depth, upper body loading, could make a difference on the later shear and torque moments on the stabilized bone. Others here can help you, maybe provide some insight and suggestions on movements that get you closer to your goal.

The recommendation for wraps sounds reasonable -- go ask in the training section for on-line sources for good quality lower leg stabilizing wraps/tapes for lifting.

Meanwhile, lets try an unconvention approach to knitting the bone and improving connective tissue integrity.

Edit: we had our chat. I confirmed ROM and minor tendon damage (scarring) that limits elastic response of the tendons (nightine forshortening). Training (elevated standing heel raises, two legged body weight first, later on 1-legged bw then with plates held in the opposing hand, 2-3 sets alternating legs, 20 reps), may help - folks in the training section can corfirm or alter the suggestion. I also recommended a bioactives formula to depositionally harden and strengthen the bone and aide in tendon thickening and repairs. The longer you wait after such an injury for this type of treatment, the slower the response (due to lack of activating growth factors naturally produced after an injury of this type), but it can be done. With luck, he can have the hardware removed without the arthritic complication, using digestive enzymes. I'll post an interesting technical explanation why (gene regulation) some time.