Was it rude to ask this question?

Pesky social etiquette dictates your niggling self doubt.
It does you credit & so with no harm done, rest easy.

At the grocery store, possibly rude.
At a center for PT, seems fair game.

You were both in the PT’s office so that kind of question isn’t as bad as if you were out shopping and asked it randomly.
She didn’t take offense, so i wouldn’t sweat it.
I often use a cane and have been asked all sorts of stuff.People never have a mean or rude tone of voice when they ask and I haven’t been offended even if I think it is a bit on the nosy side.
In fact, they often seem embarrassed to have asked when I tell them my “problem”. :)

I’m not sweating it really but did think it worth bringing up as a question. Thanks for responding guys.

I agree that the context here is important. At the PT place, not inappropriate at all.

I wouldn’t consider it amounted to “rude”, which I’d say is a personal call anyway.

But I might choose to start by asking a person whether they mind if I ask them about their case or not.

I find that people recuperating from severe illnesses are usually keen to talk about their experiences rather than keeping quiet about them. Suggesting someone is showing symptoms of a stroke is maybe taking a chance. If they haven’t had a stroke they might find it offensive. What they are suffering from will probably come up naturally once you start talking with them.

Not rude. It’s possible you could have come up with the answer you sought by getting around the exact words in another way. Like asking if she had been in an accident.

I know you are well intentioned.
It’s just the words; it’s the inflection, body language, facial expression…
People have a low butt-hurt threshold. I’m glad it was well received. It could easily have gone the other way

I wouldn’t start out by asking the other person what their ailment was. I would start by saying something about myself. I’d say something like “Therapy is so tiring it’s nice to sit here for a minute and take a rest. My ankle really hurts today. I was hiking in Guadalajara with my family and I fell and broke it.” Then I’d see if the other person offers what happened to them. If they don’t, then I’d assume they don’t want to tell me or they don’t feel like talking. If they do, then we have a conversation.

Well, it was in keeping with the place and the moment so it’s all good.

IMO not rude just normal curiosity. I’m still trying to formulate in my head why the person who was asked might find it rude. The person’s mood at the time might play into it?

You never know WHO might find some random thing rude / offensive / insensitive in today’s Facebook world.

I can only say I would not have asked.

If it was she would had told you outright.
The fact that she didn’t meant that she was OK with it.