Cast Claustrophobia

Does your cast make you feel like you are stuck in an elevator or make you feel like the grinch?

Well, you are not the only one. On one study performed in the UK at Manchester University Foundation Trust between October 2018 and February 2019, showed that 80% of their study group suffered from cast anxiety.

Several years ago, I found myself in the same situation. We had just returned from the grocery store and had the van loaded with groceries. Of course, being the man I am, I loaded both arms with as many bags as I could. After I entered the house, I just so happened to miss the step and rolled my left ankle. Down I went, groceries and all. Immediate pain and swelling. I iced my ankle, elevated it and wrapped an ace wrap around it. Thank goodness I worked in orthopedics and had one of our surgeons look at it the next morning. Well, a short leg non weight bearing cast is what I got. It wasn’t so bad at first but over the next several days, the anxiety kicked in. Not only was the anxiety getting to me, so was the cast itself. The rough cast would catch on about everything. Sleeping at night? Yeah, right. Every time I would move or roll over, the sheets would stick to the cast. The coarse outer shell would rub on the other leg causing it to become raw. I had to start sleeping with a pillow between my legs. Well, you how long that pillow stayed there after falling asleep. This lasted for 4 weeks. I couldn’t stand it any longer. I had to tell my surgeon that it had to come off. Thank goodness for me, I was healed enough to have the cast removed for good. I wish the technology would have existed back then as it does now. I could have opted to get an ActivArmor cast(which is FDA listed). It would have eased my anxiety by allowing me to physically see my leg, touch it or even wash it.

If I ever have to have another one, hopefully not, I am definitely getting an ActivArmor cast.