Relearning to Walk After Broken Leg.

How old is he?
Doesn't he have any physical therapy to help him build his muscles up again?
If you've ever worn a boot - it forces you to walk strangely.
When I wore one I had to find a shoe for my other foot which matched the boot height so it wasn't putting pressure on my hips with the booted leg being longer than the other.
Talk to your doctor about it.
I'm sure a physical therapist would recommend some swimming or kicking around in some water to help get those muscles moving again.

What does your Dr say?

It’s normal that he’s not going to have “his” walk back without practice. It will take some time to adjust from cast to boot to his normal self.

Ask your Dr what you should be expecting at each step during his progress.

I hope he recovers well and on time!!

I broke my foot about 18 months ago, and it was really weird when I tried to walk. II would wear my boot during the day and take it off in the evening. Little by little I trusted my foot more, and I didn't really know HOW to walk. I know that sounds strange, but I really had to try hard not to think too much about it and just let my foot do it's thing.

The walking boot was great for me, because it really took the pressure off of the part of my foot that I broke. But it kept my foot in a flexed position, where the toe was higher in the air than the heel. It also kept my heel a couple of inches off the ground. There's no way for him to walk "normal" while wearing the boot.

One thing that did help me was walking around and moving around in the swimming pool. I have a membership at the YMCA, so I went to the pool there as often as I could just to move around and work my muscles in an environment where I felt safe.

Another thing I did was move my foot around as much as I could while sitting on the couch or lying in bed. Any movement (where he isn't afraid of falling or putting too much pressure on his leg) is going to help those muscles.

I don't think you're helping him at all by telling him to try to walk normal. He likely is trying to do that and is trying to figure out what that is.

He will walk 'normally' again - don't worry about it. Our family members have gone through this. He may not walk exactly as he did, and that's ok too. He's broken a bone and it will never be exactly the same, so he may compensate a tiny bit, but over time (months) he will gradually put pressure back on his foot/leg and get used to walking on it a bit more.

It just comes very gradually day by day. It's partly psychological (would you want to put pressure on something that caused you pain/hurt?) and partly just feels weird. Then suddenly it takes off and he'll be walking on it.

The boots do make you feel weird - it's like walking in a ski boot - not the same, but forces you to walk in a strange position. So there's unlearning that, and then standing again.

It will all come. Some people do physiotherapy - but usually the doctor will recommend it if necessary.

When our son broke his elbow (during a growing period, which then froze), he did physical therapy in order to use his arm correctly after the casts (of which there were multiple) were off. I would check with his doctor about doing some physical therapy to correct any lingering issues.

Make sure this doctor knows what's happening. Film him walking and send the film to the doctor. If he or she is on the fence about physical therapy, this should help you get it.

How old is your son? My son broke is femur when is was almost 3. We did not do physical therapy or anything because the orthopedic surgeon said that a child desire to move and walk is better therapy than paid therapy. The reason being that physical therapy is forced and painful and kids are afraid to use there legs because it hurts. It took about a week for him to walk and then he tripped, fell, and freaked out and didn't walk again for about another week. It was probably about 3 - 4 weeks before we walked normally. I would probably mention to his doctor just for peace of mind but I probably wouldn't do physical therapy unless it goes on for more than a month without after he doesn't need the boot anymore.