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Anyone ever broken a leg?

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  • January 20, 2012 at 3:12 pm #14864
    charliemac74

    I fractured my tibia and fibula in one of those stupid 5mph falls from the bike November 10th. Clever, I know. I had an internal fixation the day after with the cast removed 4 weeks ago. I have been to the hospital today (20th Jan) and given the green light to start to weight bear and use the turbo with light gears.

    I’m waiting for a physio appointment to come through which I am expecting to be soonish as everything has been from the hospital concerned so far (Royal Derby = fantastic service) , but until I get to see the physio I am a bit stuck in that I don’t know how to walk!

    Maybe that’s an exaggeration, I can remember how to walk but I’m not sure how to get started again gradually increasing the weight on the foot, and that’s in addition to the psychological fear of the leg crumbling beneath me!

    Not sure if I’m explaining it too well but I’m guessing that anyone who has been through it will know what I am on about, so any suggestions anyone??

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  • January 31, 2012 at 10:36 am #662327
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    charliemac74

    Thanks guys. Went to the
    Thanks guys. Went to the first physio appointment yesterday amd after pointing out some basic foot movements and adjusting the crutch height I am practically dancing round the room. He was hopefull that I would be able to ditch the crutches very soon.

    Onwards and upwards!

    January 30, 2012 at 5:48 pm #662325
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    JonD

    Firstly – ignore what you
    Firstly – ignore what you read on internet fora 😉

    Walking aside, if you’ve been told you can put weight on it then you should be able to do that regardless, and get used to that first. Presumably it’s been xrayed/judged to have healed enough to take the cast off, so I think you can trust the doctor that far at least. Or put it another way, it’s almost 12 weeks, *and* plated, vs about 6-8 weeks for a non/lesser load bearing break – your leg’s not going to fall apart !
    Since bone mass is built/maintained via weight bearing exercise I’d have *thought* that ought to help – not hinder – any recovery so long as you don’t overdo it. Plus if you turn up at the physio not even able to put weight on it I’d guess it’ll limit what they can do with/for you on the first visit, which’ll slow you progress. And it’s not as if the physio’s gonna send you away for another xray before they get you doing anything..

    Not the same, but by comparison I bust my fibula some years ago (non-releasing SPDs…) – had to keep weight off for 6 weeks then start weighting it/walking – inflatable cast came off at 8 weeks. Pretty sure I went from weighting to walking – carefully – in fairly short order. In fact when the doctor found out I was a cyclist he didn’t even suggest physio.

    (For that matter, I’ve also bust a collarbone – and was cycling to physio at about 3 weeks, and bust my little finger – spiral fracture – about 5 weeks ago. That’s now usuable but it’s achy if I load it too much or catch it, and still very swollen, especially one joint which I suspect may have dislocated)

    One thing you may need to be wary of is how much flexibility you have in your ankle – walking up a spiral staircase at work was giving me some knee trouble, ’til I realised that all the twisting was being accommodated in my knee, which is missing a bunch of cartilage. The normal pedal action means your foot twists out as it lifts, if the ankle’s stiff something else has to move. Try to avoid limping if at all possible – you wind up putting more strain on other bits instead.

    For a month or two I used the gym flywheel/spinning bikes single-legged – I had a pretty skinny calf, already skinnier than t’other ‘cos that was the side of my dodgy knee.

    Oh, and get well soon !

    January 22, 2012 at 12:06 pm #662323
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    Mostyn

    charliemac74 wrote:Cheers for

    charliemac74 wrote:
    Cheers for the comments, but I don’t think I have explained myself too well.

    It’s definitely time to start using the limb and gradually increasing the weight through it – as Simon said I am not running before I can walk so will be taking everything slowly and easily.

    My issue is that I don’t know how to walk – Stumps and Simon seem to know what I am on about having been through similar. I dont want to put too much weight on the leg, but aren’t sure how to put only partial weight through it. The physio will go through all this when I get the appointment, I just wanted to get a head start now I have been given the all clear to begin using it.

    Oh – and Raleigh & Gkam84 – I wouldn’t give up the day jobs just yet ;)

    I’ve been in your situation on a couple of occasions! Your unsure of how much weight you can actually put on the limb; and fear it may give some concern if you do! I used a walking stick for a while until my confidence in walking and allowing the leg to bare all the weight of the body. As said above! Swimming and some gentle cycling will restore your confidence in the strength of your recovering limb.

    January 21, 2012 at 9:39 pm #662321
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    Raleigh

    charliemac74 wrote:
    Oh – and

    charliemac74 wrote:

    Oh – and Raleigh & Gkam84 – I wouldn’t give up the day jobs just yet ;)

    Maybe when I’ve finished school…

    Don’t take advice from faceless people on the internet, that’s my advice.

    January 21, 2012 at 9:06 pm #662319
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    Mat Brett

    I bust my tib and fib a few
    I bust my tib and fib a few years ago and have a load of metalwork in there.

    Like Gkam, I started off walking with crutches, gradually taking more of the pressure off my arms and onto my leg. It only took a few days.

    See what the physio says but make sure you tell him/her you’re a cyclist. The ones I saw were pleased that I wanted to be back on the bike as soon as possible: a good way to get range of movement back and rebuild your muscles without impact.

    But, as Gkam says, be guided by the physio. Don’t listen to any of us. We don’t know what we’re on about.

    January 21, 2012 at 4:26 pm #662317
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    charliemac74

    A good point well made.
    A good point well made.

    January 21, 2012 at 3:36 pm #662315
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    Gkam84

    Yeah its a strange
    Yeah its a strange situation.

    I was lucky, i did it when i was 17, so coming up 11 years ago, when i was playing semi-pro football, so had loads of support to get me back playing again.

    But i went from no weight, to a little with a crutch, to a little more with a walking stick and then normal walking again, all the time having physio and doing lots of session’s in a pool to get the muscle’s back to full strength.

    But without causing offence to the other posters here, i wouldn’t take any advice as to what should or shouldn’t be done until you’ve had a session with your physio, because at the end of the day, they are there for things like this and only you know your body and they can help with whats right and wrong.

    Its easy for me to say, go get some time in the pool, do this and that, dont do this and avoid that, but i don’t know what condition your leg is in, how it has healed or any under lying problems.

    Leave that to the guys qualified to do it and just take it easy in the mean time

    January 21, 2012 at 3:23 pm #662313
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    charliemac74

    Cheers Gkam. It’s a weird
    Cheers Gkam. It’s a weird scenario isn’t it, been walking for 36 years then stop it for just 9/10 weeks and can’t start again!

    January 21, 2012 at 2:15 pm #662311
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    Gkam84

    Sorry, Charlie, i have been
    Sorry, Charlie, i have been through the same having broken my fibula while playing football.

    It was a problem i can up against aswell, unless your walking with an aid (crutch, stick or something like that) then your never going to be able to only put a percentage of weight down your leg, if you try this, your going to learn to walk with a limp/dragging your leg.

    This is why i suggested trying to walk in a swimming pool. because your not putting weight through it as much and your also getting resistance against your leg, which will help to strengthen your muscle’s in the process

    January 21, 2012 at 11:29 am #662309
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    charliemac74

    Cheers for the comments, but
    Cheers for the comments, but I don’t think I have explained myself too well.

    It’s definitely time to start using the limb and gradually increasing the weight through it – as Simon said I am not running before I can walk so will be taking everything slowly and easily.

    My issue is that I don’t know how to walk – Stumps and Simon seem to know what I am on about having been through similar. I dont want to put too much weight on the leg, but aren’t sure how to put only partial weight through it. The physio will go through all this when I get the appointment, I just wanted to get a head start now I have been given the all clear to begin using it.

    Oh – and Raleigh & Gkam84 – I wouldn’t give up the day jobs just yet 😉

    January 20, 2012 at 9:04 pm #662307
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    Raleigh

    Gkam84 wrote:All we need is a

    Gkam84 wrote:
    All we need is a resistance pool and some nice letter heads/business cards, Do it a little cheaper than the normal £30 odd an hour 😕

    Here is a list of what NHS pay £21,176 – £27,534 (band 5). This can rise to £25,472 – £34,189 for specialist physiotherapists (band 6) and £30,460 – £40,157 for advanced physiotherapists (band 7).

    So private you’ve got to be looking at 50k anyways

    I’ll haul in my mate who’s just become a qualified dietitian with a BSc in dietetics

    If only it were that easy :”(

    A nutritionist is an open title, as in you just send off a £100 cheque to the head nutritionist, and you get a certificate.

    Also, I have basic knowledge of Biology GCSE, so we’re half way there.

    January 20, 2012 at 9:04 pm #662305
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    Simon E

    It’s probably stating the
    It’s probably stating the obvious, but don’t try to run (or turbo train in anything but the very lightest gears) before you can walk!

    Take your time. If the quacks have said the leg is OK to weight-bear then gentle weight-bearing exercise will help it mend further. Start very gently, get your walking sorted first (it should come back quickly). When you feel strong enough then start some really easy rides and take it from there.

    Swimming is a great aerobic workout and low risk, low impact. My femur was pinned (slightly different scenario, but serious muscle loss) though it wasn’t straightforward. Once I dispensed with crutches I just walked and swam loads.

    If you’re still worried then speak to a GP. Patience and perseverance will get you sorted.

    January 20, 2012 at 8:33 pm #662303
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    Stumps

    I had an operation on my knee
    I had an operation on my knee where the fibia was drilled in 8 places and the kneecap realigned. I was on crutches for 3 months – but no plaster. After losing the crutches my hospital physio basically said that the bone would not let itself get hurt and you would know what you were doing was wrong long before it caused any damage.

    Obviously easier said than done but i was advised to get on the indoor bike for about 10 mins max a day for the first week and just build it up from there.

    Whatever route you take good luck as i know its a long hard slog, but worth it in the end. 😉

    January 20, 2012 at 8:20 pm #662301
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    Gkam84

    All we need is a resistance
    All we need is a resistance pool and some nice letter heads/business cards, Do it a little cheaper than the normal £30 odd an hour 😕

    Here is a list of what NHS pay £21,176 – £27,534 (band 5). This can rise to £25,472 – £34,189 for specialist physiotherapists (band 6) and £30,460 – £40,157 for advanced physiotherapists (band 7).

    So private you’ve got to be looking at 50k anyways

    I’ll haul in my mate who’s just become a qualified dietitian with a BSc in dietetics

    If only it were that easy :”(

    January 20, 2012 at 8:07 pm #662299
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    Raleigh

    Hey Gkam, shall we set up a
    Hey Gkam, shall we set up a physiotherapy?

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