week 12 · last reviewed 2026-06-08
Ankle ligament surgery recovery: week 12
Clinical procedure: Ankle ligament repair (Broström).
Typical, evidence-anchored estimate only. It is not medical advice, not a prediction for your body, and not a substitute for your surgeon or clinician.
what's typical at week 12
typical pain · week 12
Around week 12, the typical pain band sits at 1.4/10 (range 1–3.1). This week was measured directly in the cited cohort.
weeks 6–12
Weeks 6-12 · out of the boot, into a shoe
Most protocols transition out of the boot into a supportive shoe with a brace around weeks 6-8. The PMC8298351 cohort reports a mean time to normal activity of about eight weeks. Strength work (calf, peroneal, tibialis posterior) and proprioceptive work fill this window.
Three-month VAS in the measured cohort averaged 1.4/10 — well-anchored data. This is the first hard endpoint in the curve. By twelve weeks most patients are walking normally, can manage stairs without holding the rail, and are about to start return-to-running drills.
documented at this week
This week
Running clears around week 12
Return to running is typically cleared at about 12 weeks, with sport training from month 3-4 and unrestricted sport around months 5-6.
What's typical
Three months out, pain sits near 1
At three months, measured pain averages 1.2-1.5/10 (arthroscopic vs open technique, n=51), easing to about 1.0-1.2 by six months. Low-grade ache on hard days fits inside the published curve.
milestones around now
- wk 12 ·Return to running (About 10-12 weeks, criteria-based (gait normalized, strength/hop symmetry))
sources
What this page is built from
- Modified Broström procedure, open vs arthroscopic: VAS at preop/3/6/12 months (n=51) prospective cohort · reliability 7/10
- All-inside arthroscopic modified Broström-Gould: 2-year outcomes + rehab protocol prospective cohort · reliability 7.5/10
- MGH rehabilitation protocol for Broström lateral ankle ligament repair clinical protocol · reliability 7.5/10
Track your own week-by-week so a flare doesn't erase the months behind it.
Start a recovery logThis is a typical, evidence-anchored reading of ankle ligament surgery recovery at week 12 — not medical advice, not a prediction for your body, and not a substitute for your surgeon or clinician.