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Glad to hear of your good report. I went to my OS last Tuesday and got a good report as well. There is still no sign of bone growth at six weeks but was told at the time of my operation not to expect any sign of growth on the Ex-Ray for eight week. Anyway they are having me walk now with both crutches and wants me to move over to just one crutch during the next couple of weeks. My next appointment is five weeks out and they think I should be walking with my protective boot at that point.
Vyzie, You had asked how the MicroStimula machine had been working. I have nothing to compare it to, I was hoping to prove the Doc wrong about the eight week thing but he was right. I have not had a lot of pain sense the second week and even today walking on it I don't experience a lot of pain. I think it has helped but I am healthy, don't smoke, eat good food mostly organic and I have only just recently had a couple of beers and started drinking coffee again, during the first five weeks no caffeine or alcohol.
I was told before my operation that I really could not just get it casted as I had a piece busted out of the middle. He told me that the bone is healing as I don't have much pain when putting weight on the foot. With the rod and screws holding things together I beleive that I am able to put wieght on it much sooner.
Take care and I am glad you are comming along and being able to put some weight on your foot. I think you will start healing faster now that you are putting weight on it.
Tim
P.S. Just for kicks and grins. Here is a picture of my Ex-Ray at one week, you can still see the staples in my skin.
Hi Dirtrider, Thanks for posting your x-rays. It was really exciting for me to see some that look just like the break I have. Mine is a little messier at the front as it is malaligned and taking much longer than expected to heal. I don't mean that I am excited that something like this has happened to anyone else - it just helps me to feel not so alone. Hope everything is going well for you on the recovery front and will stay tuned for updates. Cheers Donna Jane
yeah i agree with you the crutch is irritating. i didn't use it beyond the first few days but i am currently using it during wet weather when there are some slippery surfaces -somehow not so confident walking without it. i'll check out a walking stick.
thanks for answering my question. that's reassuring. yes, it does make sense. i definitely want to make it stronger. strange that some people break a different part of the body!
Hi Vyzie,
That's great news that you have some improvement. I haven't logged on for a while. I briefly touched on my story with you in the past as I too was due for the OS to SAW through my bone, bone graft, etc. I just went to see him a couple of weeks ago to book in for the surgery as I delayed it by 4 months because my private health cover hadn't kicked in and I wouldn't be able to work for some time and I wouldn't have any income - you know the story. Well, he was shocked to discover that after 18 months there is sign of bone growth in the problem part of my fracture. I floated out of that surgery and haven't been able to stop smiling since. I didn't realise how much of a burden I had been carrying around with me even though I had been quite positive. I may require the surgery in 1-2 years time but for now I am off the hook. I must say i have done alot of swimming in the last 4 months and it has really helped. So, my message to you is hold out for as long as you can. You are off the crutches in half the time I was and that weight bearing is the best thing you can do for yourself. Swimming too, even if you are just kicking your legs but it is frightening to go into wet areas with or without the crutches. I slipped so many times on my crutches that I still have a fear of going out in the wet - but I never once hurt myself.
My news should give you fresh hopes. You are going to get there!!!
Cheers Donna Jane
I broke my lelft Tibia and Fibula just before Christmas 07. It was a comminuted fracture, I have a rod and 3 screws. No fwb for 5 months. It has been 7 months now. I am FWB. When I first get up and weigh the leg, even if I've been sitting for 5 minutes, I get a sharp pain just below my knee, which radiates down to the ankle. The pain is so severe that I have to use crutches. After a few minutes, the pain lessens and disappears - untill I sit down again. I have searched the net but found no clue whatsoever as to what this could be. Any thoughts welcome!
Hi there,
I don't know if anyone has given any feedback for you or not. I didn't experience that sort of pain from my knee when first standing but have you checked on your xrays whether the rod is sticking out of the top of your tibia? Mine does and there is not a chance that I can kneel on that knee. It is a very unsettling feeling if I attempt it. I often get a terrible pain running up my leg over the fracture sight and it really feels like it is in the bone however, my surgeon tells me it is just the muscle in my leg catching on the open fracture. Hope you have had some resolution to this problem. Cheers Donna Jane
Thanks for your comments. I'm really glad that you've started walking again.
Yes, it is really a long, long time for full recovery and remodelling of the bone... It's absolutely incredible. Well, just think how long it takes to any human being to have a full, functional leg since he or she is born...
Once a broken bone heals 100% is it stronger or not??? Once again, according to what I have read on literature, every single case is very individual and specific. As they say in medical jargon: it is very idiosyncratic... I mean: every single individual person has a different reaction toward a bone fracture, both physically and psycologically. YOur reaction is not going to be the same as mine.
In regard to bone remodelling, the success of it will depend of a miriad of factors: your age, first of all: it is not absolutely the same to get a broken tibia at 19 y.old, that to get it at 45 or a 70 or even at 85 years old... Second: the type of fractures is also definitive in determining how it is going to heal... Your lifestyle is of the utmost importance: it is not the same being a rugby player or a bike messenger (used to every kind of physical hardship) that being a English school teacher (well, he or she has to face another kind of hardships... but not of a physical nature). If you drink too much alcohol or coffe or are a smoker it also jeopardizes your bone recovery...
I am learning in this process that your mind plays an absolute key role in the recovery process. Certainly, there are no "scientific" proof for this. BUt just let me tell that in some very seldom and strange cases, some victims of a broken tibia end up confined in a psychiatric ward!!!! That this happens so seldom (but it happens, very unfortunately) is a good way to show how different can be this issue for every single person... And it is also very inspiring to see that most patients, like those participating in this forum, in almost 100% of the cases can recover well and very well.
So, the only rule in this broken tibias cases (as well in any other bone) is that there are no general rules. You and your physician have to find your own rules for your own case for your own coping capabilities...
My very best wishes for everyone, hoping a full and speedy recovery.
Manuel
Broken ankle bike messenger
Hi Manuel
Thanks for your reply! That's incredible. I didn't know that some people end up in a psychiatric ward but I can understand why. The ups and downs and the uncertainty can certainly drive you crazy.
I am getting by fine. When I have to walk very long distances, I have to use a crutch, get swelling around the ankle and some pain. But I'm fine with it because it is nothing compared to what pain I had to go thru earlier. I'm sure everyone here feels the same .
Thanks for the tip you gave below - Walt Whitman's poetry. I'll be sure to read them. Wishing you a good recovery!
Hi Vyzie,
That's great news that you have some improvement. I haven't logged on for a while. I briefly touched on my story with you in the past as I too was due for the OS to SAW through my bone, bone graft, etc. I just went to see him a couple of weeks ago to book in for the surgery as I delayed it by 4 months because my private health cover hadn't kicked in and I wouldn't be able to work for some time and I wouldn't have any income - you know the story. Well, he was shocked to discover that after 18 months there is sign of bone growth in the problem part of my fracture. I floated out of that surgery and haven't been able to stop smiling since. I didn't realise how much of a burden I had been carrying around with me even though I had been quite positive. I may require the surgery in 1-2 years time but for now I am off the hook. I must say i have done alot of swimming in the last 4 months and it has really helped. So, my message to you is hold out for as long as you can. You are off the crutches in half the time I was and that weight bearing is the best thing you can do for yourself. Swimming too, even if you are just kicking your legs but it is frightening to go into wet areas with or without the crutches. I slipped so many times on my crutches that I still have a fear of going out in the wet - but I never once hurt myself.
My news should give you fresh hopes. You are going to get there!!!
Cheers Donna Jane
hey Donna Jane!
I can't stop smiling either! We both dodged that surgery! SOOO glad we waited...I got the ok to walk without crutches after 4 months 5 days. So I can imagine how you must feel after 18 months!!! It is depressing each time to go to the doctor and get bad news. So, finally to get some gd news is just unbelievable!!!!! Am so relieved.
It has been 2 weeks already. The leg tends to swell and walking is painful (but not excruciating!) only if I walk continuously for an hour or more. I am using one crutch if i have to walk a lot. Only realised that I'm supposed to use the opposite side of the injured leg after doing research on walking sticks (which I'm not using since I find a crutch is more stable).
Have not gone walking in a swimming pool yet but i have done a lot of walking last two weekends. There are many fine, red veins near the ankle bone so maybe i overdid it. The ankle bone (cap?) is still blue-black in colour. Time to get arnica cream, which i didn't know about earlier till someone recommended it (Dirt Rider/Tim I think).
Just a month before my doctor gave the go-ahead to walk, there still wasn't enough bone growth. Sought a second opinion and was told the bone was heading for a non-union, not to wait, go for surgery immediately (2 metal plates most likely as my fracture is spiral, vertical and slightly displaced and a bone graft from my iliac crest/hip bone). Had been warned by my own doctor that was the last resort and that since my fibula was intact, the tibia might not unite.
Instead, I went for negative ions treatment/electrotherapy (not doctor-recommended. My doctor says bone stimulators don't work),did more walking (50% weight bearing) with crutches to stimulate bone growth (doctor-recommended) and continued taking bitter Chinese herbs (prescribed by a TCM doctor who said I'd be lucky if I didn't have to go for surgery).
I have returned to work and driving (no choice - i was on no-pay leave already, public transport would take me 1.5-2 hrs to reach home and taxi just way too costly). Driving is surprisingly not hard even though I am driving with the same leg I injured! Except the foot/leg swells if I drive too long. I am afraid of falling around wet surfaces but the irony is - i knocked myself in the shin with my crutch twice, luckily not seriously!!
I have been walking around with orthopedic inserts in my flat Doc Martens Mary Jane shoes (I had both even before I injured the leg). I think the inserts really help to cushion/absorb the impact of walking and provides some stability as it follows the curve of my feet, which is great.
I accidentally saw myself in the mirror and realised i was walking with the leg i injured pointed outwards. So, I'm trying to consciously keep the foot straight and closer to the other foot. It's a bit stiff so takes some getting used to. My doctor didn't ask me to go for physiotherapy. Anyway, my neighbour is a physiotherapist so I can just ask her.
Keep me updated on your progress. Extremely happy for you!
I hope that our stories are able to help others recovering from difficult injuries! Wishing everyone in this forum a faster recovery! Keep positive!
On August 29, '08 I slipped on a slimy rock in Baxter State Park in Maine and ended up with a spiral(or rotational or whatever it's called from twisting?) compound fracture of my right tibia and also a fractured fibula of the right leg. I was taken to the local hospital for x-rays and then transferred to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor for surgery so there was about a 9-hour delay between my accident and cleaning the wound and having a rod surgically inserted. The doctor in Maine told me that after 2 weeks I could start putting weight on the leg and truthfully, I never had any severe pain, even when it first happened. I haven't been on anything stronger than ibuprofen, and that mostly for inflamation. Reading everybody's posts, I am a bit concerned about the rest of the process. Most of the first week, I probably didn't keep it elevated enough--I was discharged on 8/31 but spent the next few days up in Maine waiting for transportation back to New Jersey (My mother flew up and drove my car home). I've had it elevated almost constantly for the last week. Tomorrow I have an appointment with an orthopedic doctor in NJ. The doctor in Maine said not to put any weight on it for two weeks and then I an start putting weight on as I an tolerate it. He also said that I'd be driving after 6 weeks (although I'm hoping to find a way to drive sooner)
I really have had no pain, even when it first happened, it hurt much less than I'd expect considering the severity of the injury. I haven't used any pain killer stronger than ibuprofen and I only take that because my primary care doctor tought it was a good idea for inflamation.
I've been reading a lot of the posts and it looks like I've got a long road ahead but it also looks like most of the other people have had severe pain. I really feel like I could take the velcro boot off and put on a shoe and walk. Of course, that's what it feels like when I'm in bed with no pressure on it. I've accidentally put some weight on it a few times and it hasn't hurt but I hope I didn't do any damage.
Part of me hopes that most of the people who post are the ones who don't have quick recoveries and part of me is worried that I'm expecting too much too fast.
Any feedback, especially from people who had little or no pain would be appreciated. What can I expect as far as putting weight on it, physical therapy, when will I be able to hike again, etc?
Just wondaring if you have read my story?? a page or too back! My break wasnt a spiral just more a a clean break on the left leg with both the Tibia and Fibula breaking. After too weeks i was too told i could bear weight which i did and now .. coming into my 13th week i am nearly running, not quite but close. I have been walking without crutches since the 4th week.
My biggest advice is always put weight on the leg. not for long periods of time but throught the day ... Youl be on your feet in no time. Helps if your usually a very active person and itching to get back into it haha ...
Thanks Johnny--just read your story. So you were far from home when it happened also. I sure am happy to see that not everybody has a horror story to tell. I'm a bit older than you are (51) and not in such good shape--pretty overweight but have always been active and love to hike. I won't be doing that for a while. And I would frequently hike alone sometimes in places with no cell phone service. (like Baxter State Park in Maine) Luckily I wasn't alone this time but it will be a long time before I will hike alone in a place with no cell phone service. I can't imagine how I would have gotten out of there if I had been alone and too far from the road to be seen with no way to call for help.
Are they planning on leaving your rod in indefinitely or removing it in a year or so? My doctor said that if mine doesn't cause problems, it can stay in but if I were younger, like 18, he'd take it out after the bone heals because he wouldn't want to leave it in for 70 years.
I went to the local doctor yesterday. He doesn't want me to put weight on it for 2 more weeks (although he said that I can put my foot down) so I'm still hopping around. I find a walker easier than crutches. I need to practice more on crutches I guess. I use the crutches to get up and down stairs but use the walker in the house.
I never had a cast, just a boot like thing with velcro straps to hold it on. It gives minimal support and limits how much I can flex my ankle but I suspect is mostly for protection. When I have it off and I flex my ankle up it hurts a bit but not too bad. I have "accidentally" put a little weight on my foot and it didn't hurt.
My doctor actually said that I could remove the boot and put on a shoe to drive if I wanted to. (if I could borrow an Australian car, I wouildn't need to do that, you guys drive with your left foot with the driver's side on the right, correct?) I'm not sure which is the greater disability--not being able to walk or not being able to drive. Anyway, I hope to try driving short distance today and see how it goes.
Just like you, I got a broken open tibia-fibula fracture... Nevertheless, in my case they fixed a plate on the fibula, and put two screws on the tibia. This was so because the fracture happened very close to the ankle joint, in such fracture it is absolutely impossible to insert a rod (specially in the fibula). For making things more complicated, in order to get the bone properly healed, the whole joint has to be inmobilized during 5-6 weeks with a retention screw, if the joint moves, these bone cannot heal and can even re-fracture again... SUch inmobilization certainly causes a lot of pain and swelling. When the fracture occurs halway the shaft of the tibia, and it only breaks in two pieces, at most three, then a rod can be inserted, and this fracture does not affect neither the ankle nor the knee... So, the healing will be much more faster and less painful. In some cases, the rod causes some rod in the knee.
So, in this regard, despite your mishap you were lucky enough that the fracture didn't involve any of those joints...
In regard to physiotherapy: ONce again, since no joint is involved, your rehabilitation will be much more easier and faster. Certainly it is important to keep your leg elevated while you are not able to walk, this favors what they call venous return, thus avoiding swelling.
In my case, I have been sleeping for over 6 weeks now with my leg elevated...
Last Wednesday they withdraw the retention screw, luckily no surgery needed for that, but a short procedure at the doctor's office.
Now I can start walking using the injured foot, but only increasing gradually the weight supported by it... THe orthopedist told me that not physio was needed. But certainly I didn't agree with him, precisely because of the reasons I mention to you. So I looked by myself for an experienced physiotherapist, and I started just yesterday. The result was amazing: pain and swelling decreased at least 40%...
Only the hell knows why the orthopedist didn't reccomend me to start inmediately the physiotherapy: In my case, the ankle joint was swollen and painful... It is evident that it needs urgent help, after ¡¡¡6 weeks of inmobilization!!!
Anyway, I think I made the proper decision, and I hope to be walking 100% in three or four weeks.
I hope that this does not sound like a terror, creepy story, but I wanted to share this with you, only remarking that every single case is different. According to what you mention, within the mishap you - we had, your specific case seems to be easier to treat. Perhaps you will need some physio, it will depend on how your body and your leg reacts.
I am a cyclist, and just like you I want to resume ASAP my cycling... It won't be possible for a while. I don't know how long and in this moment my priority is to recover ankle funcionality... In your case, it seems that it will be easier, because of the reasons I mentioned.
So, the best luck to you and best and speedy recovery.
Thanks for sharing your story. You must have been going crazy during the time you had to keep it completely imobilized but it sounds like you're finally on the road to recovery. My ankle movess just fine although my foot hurts at the top of the anlle moderately when I extend it extremely in either the up or down position. Yesterday was the first day I didn't keep my leg elevated above my heart the whole day and although I felt OK, my foot was pretty swollen by the tie I went to sleep. It looks OK now but still feels a bit swollen. I haven't attempted driving yet because when I put on a shoe, it was very tight. I may try today or maybe wait a bit because I can get rides to work so it's not a requirement, just a milestone I want to achieve. I really can't wait to be able to put weight on it so I can climb stairs more easily. I tend to be a rather impatient patient in that I want to be all healed yesterday. I do know it will take time but really hate being dependent on others. I think I have a high tolerance for pain so as soon as the doctor lets me, I plan on doing as much as possible.
Josh
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We have progress
. 
Wishing you a good recovery!
The ankle bone (cap?) is still blue-black in colour. Time to get arnica cream, which i didn't know about earlier till someone recommended it (Dirt Rider/Tim I think). 
, luckily not seriously!!
HoptJosh
