For other injuries you may only need a couple of weeks before you can slowly transition to partial weight bearing and then to full, slowly being able to resume your normal activities again. Injuries such as a Lisfranc fracture can require 10 weeks or more of non-weight bearing.

You’ll be given advice by your doctor about how much you should move your leg and when you can put weight on it. It takes around 6 to 8 weeks for a minor fracture to heal. You’ll probably need to use crutches or a wheelchair during this time, until it’s possible to put weight on the leg again.

When can I bear weight? This will be determined on a case by case basis as weight bearing depends on the injury. Fractures take, on average, about 12 weeks to heal. If your fracture requires you to be “non-weight bearing” you can count on being off that leg for 12 weeks (three months).

Weight-bearing is essential for bone healing in patients with autoimmune disease, fractures, and following orthopedic surgery. Low-intensity weight-bearing exercise has shown to be beneficial in bone healing over non-weight bearing exercises.

The ideal is little and often. Try to walk as normally as possible partial weight bearing on the leg as this will help with your recovery. Partial weight bearing means that you should only be putting half of your body weight on your operated foot. You can aim to keep your heel off the floor to help with this.

Sometimes, a really bad complete fracture will not be able to carry weight or otherwise function properly. Most of the time, however, fractures can indeed support weight. The patient can probably even walk on a broken leg—it just hurts like the dickens.

Putting any weight on an operated foot or ankle can damage the repair that’s been done. Bones need time to heal. Plates or screws that may have been added during surgery need the bones to heal around them. Adding weight too soon can interrupt this important internal healing process.

During recovery, a patient may move from non-weight bearing to partial weight bearing and eventually to full weight bearing. Certain conditions require a complete NWB status for a period of time to allow the tissue to begin the healing process.

Ankle fracture patients (partial weight-bearing) showed a significantly increased deviation from the recommendation (p = 0.01). Conclusions: Our study results show that, despite physical therapy training, weight-bearing compliance to recommended limits was low. Adherence to the partial weight-bearing task was further decreased over time.

This happens if the fracture is displaced, open, or if there are any associated injuries. After the surgery has been completed, the doctor will typically instruct the patient not to bear weight on the affected leg for about two months. Even without weight-bearing, some exercises can be performed.

Weight-bearing protocols should optimize fracture healing while avoiding fracture displacement or implant failure. Biomechanical and animal studies indicate that early loading is beneficial, but high-quality clinical studies comparing weight-bearing protocols after lower extremity fractures are not …

Begin by using a scale to see how much pressure is on your affected leg when half of your weight is placed on it. Use your assistive device to stand with slight pressure on your leg. Your physical therapist can help you with progressive partial weight-bearing.