Stress fracture of the fibula query (x-rays, pain, surgery, arm)

[stinkydonkey]

My posts get swamped in that huge thread & tbh it's not looking like i'm anywhere near fixation surgery at the moment.

The history of my injury can be read here:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/7298015-post845.html

I've been in a cast for 6 weeks & am now in my 4th week of the cast off.

Unfortunately, i 'know' i've not healed. I still get the same dull tenderness in the same place. I thought to be fair, when rubbing my leg & i felt that familiar tenderness, i'll shut my eyes & keep my fingertip on where it hurts the most. I looked down & it was EXACTLY the spot the stress fracture was/is.

I've not seen the 'main' specialist for the past 2 visits & those i have seen recently have been useless, to be nice.

I was told last Dec that i may need a plate fitted if the cast doesn't work, but this hasn't been mentioned since.

The not knowing is the worst part. The bone scan showed the bone still trying to heal itself 16 months after the injury (last Nov)

I'm left wondering now & hopefully someone can give an answer through their own experience .... is there a fair chance that this just will NEVER heal anymore & it's healed as much as it can?

Bear in mind, the bone scan showed it was still trying to heal itself - according to the main specialist guy i saw.


I am sooooooooooo P'd off with their "see how it goes" attitude. Why i didn't have another bone scan to find out what the deal was i do not know. My GP can't work it out either.

It has cost me to date, 8.5 months pay with time off work. It's cost me a lot of 'downtime' as my hopes have been shattered everytime i think i'm on the mend. I've really had enough & just want some answers.

I go back to the hospital next Monday. Hopefully i see the main guy as he's been ok when i have seen him.

IN SHORT:

* I had/have a stress fracture of the fibula. It went undetected for 16months
* It then went into a cast for 6weeks, non weight bearing
* I'm in my 4th week out of having the cast
* i feel it hasn't healed as i still get the same pains in the same places
* most the medical staff i see, i'm not happy with the service i've been given. The one guy i think has been ok (main specialist) doesn't always see me.

* from anyone who's had similar experience, do you think i have any chance of healing with so much time gone by?
I'm looking for someone to (hopefully) say they had the same & did heal, but even if you didn't, then still feel free to post up

[haggardhouseelf]

What is your age? Are you overweight? These things can influence the amount of time it takes for a stress fracture to heal. My son had a stress fracture and he was good as new in about 9 weeks. But he was 11, and not overweight at all, he's totally healthy otherwise. Also, some drugs - prescription or otherwise - interfere with the bodies ability to repair itself. So that's also something to consider.

Have you considered going to see a Naturopath?

[jimboburnsy]

From the description in the linked post, that doesn't sound like a stress fracture. That sounds like a fracture.

I've had a similar injury and I know how frustrating that is. I'm an athletic person and I just plain feel crappy if I can't be active. A broken bone in a weight-bearing limb is special torture.

You haven't been doing any strenuous exercise since the cast came off, have you? I had a broken fibula that was more-or-less weight bearing after about 6 weeks (the doctor wanted to put me in a cast, but I couldn't bear the idea and we settled on an immobilizing boot), but it was probably 18 months before it was 100% and I could really run on it. If you are having pain during an activity or afterwards, you probably shouldn't be doing that. Your body is generally pretty smart about what it should and shouldn't be doing and you have the pain response for a reason. If your leg doesn't like to jog or stand up all day, you may want to go along with that for a while.

You may have to nurse it for longer than you want to, but it will heal.

Also, if you think this sucks you really will not like having a plate in your leg.

[stinkydonkey]

haggard: I'm 25. I was 24 when i picked up the injury. I'm 5ft11 @ 12-13stone (*14 for lbs figure). I'm reasonably healthy/active. I was given co-codamol for the first few months of the injury along with some ibuprofen.

I haven't considered a Naturopath .... because i've never heard of one tbh lol.

Jimbob: Well, when i had the bone scan, whoever it is looks at them looked at it & came to the conclusion that it's indicitive of a stress fracture. You could see on the old X-rays a SLIIIIIIIIGHT colour change but only after you spotted where it was on the bone scan.
I'm no medical person though, i can't say whether it's a fracture or not.

Last week i began going to the gym if i'm honest. Nothing what i would call strenuous. I go on the bike, i WALK (not run) on the tradmill, i go on the stepping machine. I do arm weights. I was doing leg weights such as calf raises. I was finding pain with leg curls so i stopped that. I don't find a problem with the calf raises though. I don't have them set to anything majorly heavy.

I don't know what bothers me the most - the fact i can't do things i want to do (compete in races, play football etc) or the possibility (in my mind) that this might be as good as it ever gets. I know "be optimistic" but i prefer to be a realist, and the longer it goes on, the more i think this is as good as it'll ever be

You say it'll heal .... how do you know? I'm not saying you're wrong. I'd love to know you're right in fact.

I never believed a cast would work, but i was willing to try it. The specialist basically said, without saying, the plate is the end of the road. I'm willing to try this after my initial refusal (didn't refuse to the specialist, just in my head).
I don't know what to expect if i have a plate fitted. I don't know if it'll be different to others - as i suspect they have a plate close to injury, so they're getting over the injury as well as recovering from surgery, whereas i've dealt with the initial pain of the injury a long time ago. I don't know if a plat at this stage would be painful or not etc.

I'm just willing to try anything. It hasn't healed in a 6 week cast. It hadn't healed in 16months beforehand. I feel like a plate would be the last roll of the dice now.

Unbelivably depressing!!! I know plenty of members here will understand this.




EDIT: Just googled naturopath. I've been to see them before. They said they could cure me with some tea & some muscle rub which is basically like deep heat/ralgex. It wasn't cheap either!!
Let's just say i'd not be having that again. I feel conned by it, but i didn't HAVE to buy i suppose. I was just willing to try anything & desperate.

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by stinkydonkey

You say it'll heal .... how do you know? I'm not saying you're wrong. I'd love to know you're right in fact.

I don't know for certain that it will heal, but there is absolutely no reason that a 25 year old, active, athletic and otherwise healthy person would not heal a broken bone to 100% with the proper rest. It is much better to have a bone break than a ligament or tendon injury because bones were designed with breaks and mends in mind, tendons and ligaments not so much.

You're probably just pushing yourself too hard and expecting a little too much of your body. That bone needs to be still to heal. The kind of running that you do playing Euro-football is probably way too much right now and doing calf raises, leg curls or anything that puts a load on your legs is akin to insanity. Come on, you've got a broken leg! You need to lay-up for a while!

My doctor seemed to think I was some sort of nightmare patient because I wouldn't hold still, I suspect you are putting yourself in the same category. Just take it easy and you'll be fine.

[stinkydonkey]

First off, i'm glad i found this board. I've asked on about 4-5 others & over 3 months i've had ONE reply on all of them combined.

You're probably just pushing yourself too hard

Very likely!! I don't like to think of myself as injured & i like to get back to normal ASAP & often push myself more than i probably should.

The comment about the ligaments was interesting. When i was given the news about the bone scan results, the specialist seemed to think that it wasn't good news. He seemed to think it'd be better the ligaments/tendons (whichever it was, i can't remembr which they were focusing on).

Fair point, i should probably pack it in with the leg WEIGHTS. What would you say to the step machine/bike/treadmill/rowing machine though?

They did mention total rest (that's why it was in a cast for 6week) but now the cast is off, 'TOTAL' rest is impossible. I'm back to how it was - walking on it etc.

My job is manual & required heavy lifting at times. I work for a builders merchants. I climb & de-mount machines constantly.

I've been advised by my GP to lay off the football for a good while, which i will do. I should lay off the leg weights also i guess.

Arm weights i imagine to be fine. Not sure about the cardio machines i mentioned. I can't see why they would be a problem (other than the stepper or treadmill perhaps - but then that's not much difference from faily walking). Note: i've only been walking on an incline since i returned. I haven't even been jogging.

[stinkydonkey]

Here's one i should ask.

You don't by any chance know of where i can find some advice as to what exercises i should/shouldn't be doing this soon after the cast is off?

I imagine the specialist isn't the one to ask either. I've had my bout of physio 12 months ago though.

I don't want to lay off all the cardio machines if it isn't necessary, just like i don't want to hit the machines if it'll have a detrimental effect.

I could do with asking someone 'in the know' but don't know where to start

[stinkydonkey]

Saw the specialist today

He has spoken with plenty other people apparently & they all have the same answer ....... shoulder shrugging. In other words, nobody knows. I'm a rare case & nobody has any answer.

Now they're saying it might not be a stress fracture (long story, one which i don't fully understand). The bone might be thicker, causing the pain (or something like that). It might be this, it might be that ...... nobody knows.

I'm going for a 2nd bone scan, finally. From that, it's likely i will have a plate fitted. Apparently it's got to be a 'thicker' (than what, i don't know) plate.

Some times i mishead/misunderstood him. I don't know how likely it is i'll be able to return doing normal activities or if i'll be limited in what i can do with a plate fitted.

He thinks about 6weeks recovery time after the plate has been fitted.


For anyone with a plate fitted to this area, is there anything 'key' you'd say to someone in my position - waiting to have this surgery? anything i should expect/prepare myself for etc?

[chewsup]

hi stinky wat a terrible name.... um i broke me tib fib had screws and plates 6 months ago it never healed so in 5 days time i got to go back and get the orig screws and plates removed have the broken cracks opened, cleaned , have a bone graft and fresh screws and plates put in and il give this another go hopeful il be bak at work in 3 months that will bring total time off work 9months i went from a $1500 p/w job to nothing now im in debt it sucks but keep ya head up

[pinehurst1]

Did the problem ever get solved? I'm going through what seems like an almost identical scenario, In fact i've already had the surgery and had the plate put on, however the pain is still in the same spot...