It can take a long time to heal from a heel fracture. Your recovery time will depend on a lot of factors, including your overall health, the severity of the fracture, and the treatment you received. Work with your doctor to determine when you can safely begin rehabilitation, and ask for an estimate of how long it will be before you can go back to your regular activities.  Depending on your condition, you may be able to start working on physical therapy and other rehabilitation activities within the first week after treatment.  If your fracture was relatively minor, it will probably be around 3-4 months before you can return to your normal activities. For a more severe or complicated fracture, your recovery time may be 1 or 2 years. Unfortunately, many heel fractures never heal completely. You may experience some permanent loss of function in your foot and ankle. Talk to your doctor or a physical therapist about what to expect. Moving your foot and ankle early in the healing process may help you recover faster and prevent some loss of motion. Ask your doctor when you should begin doing simple foot and ankle exercises and how often to do them. You may need to wait until your pain allows movement or until any surgical wounds have healed. Early exercises may include:  Ankle pumps. Sit or lie down with your leg extended straight out in front of you. Point your toes away from you, then pull them back toward you. Alphabets. Point the toes of your injured foot and pretend you are using them to write the alphabet. Figure 8s. Point your toes and move your foot in a figure 8 shape. Inversion and eversion. Place your foot flat on the floor and roll it from side to side so that the sole faces first inward, then outward. Ask your doctor to recommend a physical therapist who has experience treating foot injuries. Physical therapy is essential for recovering from the injury and maintaining the health of your heel in the future. Physical therapy exercises can help restore strength and function in your foot and ankle, which is an important part of the healing process. In addition to exercises, your therapy program may include:  Massage to promote healing and prevent stiffness in the injured area. Regular evaluation of your strength and range of motion throughout the healing process. Low-impact full-body exercises (e.g., swimming) to keep the rest of you in shape while your foot is healing. Gait training as you begin to walk again. Help with learning to use assistive devices (such as crutches or a walker) and orthotic devices (such as braces or special shoe inserts). Once you begin walking again, you’ll need to be very careful not to aggravate your injury or damage any surgically implanted hardware. Work closely with your doctor and physical therapist to determine how soon you can start putting weight on your foot and what kinds of weight-bearing activities are safe.  Your doctor or therapist will give you instructions for how to use devices such as crutches, a walker, or a special shoe to minimize the load on your foot. Once you’re ready to start walking on your own, you’ll need to increase the amount of weight you put on your foot gradually. For example, you might increase the load by 20 pounds (9.1 kg) every 2-3 days until you are putting your full weight on your foot again. Healing is a complicated process, and it will happen faster if you take proper care of your entire body. While you’re recovering, make sure to eat well, get plenty of good-quality sleep, and get physical activity as recommended by your doctor and physical therapist.  If you have a medical condition that might affect your healing process, such as diabetes, work with your doctor to make sure it is well-managed during and after your recovery period. If you smoke, talk to your doctor about how to quit. Smoking can slow down the healing process.
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One-sentence summary -- Ask your doctor about your recovery timeframe. Start moving your foot and ankle as soon as your doctor says it’s safe. Work with a physical therapist to build your strength and range of motion. Follow your doctor or therapist’s instructions for walking on your injured foot. Care for your overall health while the injury heals.


Ducks tolerate cold very well, but tend to dislike wind. Make sure your ducks have some protection from the wind over the winter. This is important to their health and overall well-being.  Hang a tarp up in one corner of your duck's pen. If it gets windy, your ducks can shield themselves behind the tarp. You can also purchase a small outdoor wind shelter for your ducks. When they breathe, ducks tend to emit a lot of moisture. This can cause health conditions, such as frostbite, in the winter. A duck shelter should never be completely closed off from outside air. Keep some air vents in the shelter. You can use mesh material on some parts of the shelter, or install small windows. In order to protect your ducks from the cold and from predators, vents should always be up high. Do not install any air vents on ground level. Ducks enjoy swimming, even in the winter. While most ducks can tolerate water at cold temperatures, it's best to err on the side of caution. Wait until a sunnier, warmer day arrives to set out a pool for your ducks. Use a deep, wide pool on warmer days to allow your ducks to swim and bathe.
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One-sentence summary --
Make sure to protect ducks from the wind. Ventilate your ducks' shelter properly. Allow your ducks to bathe on sunny days.