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Broken legs and ankles heal better if you walk on them within weeks

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Re: Broken legs and ankles heal better if you walk on them within weeks

#261

Post by Panzer04 »

Aromasin wrote: post #228
Panzer04 wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What surgical treatment do you expect to improve your outcome?

An ankle arthroscopy leading to debridement of the joint. I have some bone or scar tissue that is causing impingement, meaning my tibia doesn't glide along the top of the talus like it should do. There's little I can do to fix the arthritis in it now, but I can at the very least free to some movement such that the rest of my body isn't limited by my lack of mobility.

Brutal. Hope you can make the best of it and the arthritis doesn't advance further.

Re: Broken legs and ankles heal better if you walk on them within weeks

#262

Post by interludead »

m463 wrote: post #170

I broke an arm and the emergency room couldn't see it on the x-ray and gave me a sling to wear. A couple days later I got to see an actual bone doctor and he got the x-ray and immediately pointed to the fracture. What surprised me was that he said not to use the sling, because it would lose my range of motion. "Keep moving your arm, use the entire range of motion, and let pain be your guide."

Imagine how many people end up with stiff joints just because they were told to keep still

Re: Broken legs and ankles heal better if you walk on them within weeks

#263

Post by interludead »

sexy_seedbox wrote: post #192
m463 wrote: post #170

I broke an arm and the emergency room couldn't see it on the x-ray and gave me a sling to wear. A couple days later I got to see an actual bone doctor and he got the x-ray and immediately pointed to the fracture. What surprised me was that he said not to use the sling, because it would lose my range of motion. "Keep moving your arm, use the entire range of motion, and let pain be your guide."

Remember, "Pain is weakness leaving your body".

That phrase always felt more like a gym bro mantra

Re: Broken legs and ankles heal better if you walk on them within weeks

#264

Post by lloeki »

steve_adams_86 wrote: post #224
spacemark wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I definitely believe you. I know from a few injuries that with tendons you want to be moving and applying resistance as soon as you are able to prevent the formation of scar tissue and encourage blood flow. It's not a huge leap of logic that bones, too, benefit from movement and resistance when healing. Honest question, how did you know to disregard the doctor 's instructions and start home exercises on the bone at 4…

> with tendons I think this is commonly accepted now (maybe?), but tendons, ligaments, and cartilage don't heal well without movement to increase fluid exchange. When I was a kid it was a big deal to avoid any pressure on these tissues after an injury, but it seems imperative for recovery. When my kids hurt themselves in sports, it's straight to easy yoga, light calisthenics, and lecturing them for not cross training…

> I think this is commonly accepted now (maybe?), but tendons, ligaments, and cartilage don't heal well without movement to increase fluid exchange.

It's getting better. RICE protocol after a sprain is still too unknown to/overlooked by many physicians, although I'd rate it to 50-80% these days.

Many would recommend a 4-6 week rest after an ankle sprain, with a prescription of 10 sessions at a physiotherapist 2 weeks in, and crutches til then.

Luckily physiotherapists are better trained and usually tell you to come yesterday, start with massaging to reduce the swelling and promote lymphatic and blood flow, and movements to break down scar tissue as it forms, and walk as much as you can, with crutches not as walking aids but as "seatbelts" so that you have something to immediately lean on instead of the injured foot should you trip over.

Once tissue has healed enough the next step is relearning and recovering strength and movement (general motion, hence why in french physiotherapist is "kinésithérapeute" from greek kinesis a.k.a motion) towards normal levels. Problem is halfway through the allotted 10 sessions are up :/ so you're either down for a trip back to the physician and convince them you need more or you're on your own.

Re: Broken legs and ankles heal better if you walk on them within weeks

#265

Post by obl1que »

rodary wrote: post #212

Anecdotal but... Broke my femur neck on a mountain bike. Surgery, plates and screws. Surgeon said no weight on the broken bone for 8 weeks and no walking on it for 12. And then we'll see he said. In 4 weeks I was on a trainer (fork fixed to the trainer). Started easy with 30min sessions and then increased time and force applied to the pedals. After 2 weeks of "riding", started putting weight on the bone with short wa…

That is awesome! Thanks for sharing. Reminds me of a similar story from a friend. He, too, broke his leg and healed it quickly enough to surprise his orthopedist by riding a stationary bike. He said that initially the broken one was kinda just all by for the ride, but he thinks the circulation helped.

He too was an elite athlete (baseball).

Another friend was a bodybuilder. He said that bodybuilders do so many experiments that they sometimes know better than their own physicians. They are biohackers.

"Power users" of a product sometimes end up schooling the customer support team.

Re: Broken legs and ankles heal better if you walk on them within weeks

#266

Post by jamiedumont »

gnarcoregrizz wrote: post #143
jamiedumont wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mine felt immediately worse after the ORIF. After two weeks getting comfortable in their new positions, all the ligaments really resented getting wrenched back into place. Good illustration was that my run of the mill, 45 minute surgery ended up taking 4.5 hours. It’s good to hear that everything felt good after your plate was removed. At 18 months post-surgery, I’m in a really good place where I can do most anything…

I should restate - mine definitely did not feel better post-surgery, the ORIF pain was worse than the break, but it felt good to have my bones secure with my shoulder in its anatomically correct place, and not have any more crepitus. My plate was extremely uncomfortable, it was a "hook plate" which held my collar bone to my scapula. I couldn't raise my arm above shoulder height with it installed, it had to be removed…

Ah, thanks for the clarification. That post-ORIF pain being worse than the break was my experience too. Even with the plate I became quite paranoid about shifting the screws because it provided so much immediate stability I was worried I was able to do things that may loosen the screws.

A hook plate sounds horrible! Mine is a simple straight plate, bent into a helix shape to follow the natural rotation of the bone. I've got almost full mobility, although that shoulder does seize up quite readily. Not sure whether that's the plate or just remnants of the reduced mobility post-crash and post-surgery.

I've been told to expect two weeks of surgical healing and a further 4 weeks of babying it and avoiding impacts. I'm hoping your removal being tougher was due to the different plates. Would quite like it gone and to get on with my life now.

Re: Broken legs and ankles heal better if you walk on them within weeks

#267

Post by jamiedumont »

foobarbecue wrote: post #221
jamiedumont wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I shattered my collarbone - and I do mean shattered, ~8 pieces - in a mountain bike crash September 2023. I went over the bars after the back wheel of my hardtail caught a berm. Landed on my head and shoulder and compressed it laterally inwards by about 2 inches. Even with this mess, it was hotly debated for around two weeks whether I needed surgery. A good chunk of my collarbone was trying to push through my skin an…

Welcome to the waves! Best sport in the world, especially if you can avoid the crowds.

Thanks! I've always been a surfer, but split my time with other activities. Post-accident everyone thinks I'm scared of getting back on the bike — maybe a bit? — but genuinely my first thought post-crash was how long I'd be out of the water. It was a clarification of what I truly enjoyed, and an excuse to double down on being in the water.

I'm now doing anything and everything to get in the sea and improve my surfing. Lengths at the pool for strength and endurance, free diving (and spearfishing) to reduce the anxiety of those big hold-downs. It's been liberating choosing just one sport to be good at.

Re: Broken legs and ankles heal better if you walk on them within weeks

#268

Post by jq-r »

raverbashing wrote: post #254
rodary wrote: post #212

Anecdotal but... Broke my femur neck on a mountain bike. Surgery, plates and screws. Surgeon said no weight on the broken bone for 8 weeks and no walking on it for 12. And then we'll see he said. In 4 weeks I was on a trainer (fork fixed to the trainer). Started easy with 30min sessions and then increased time and force applied to the pedals. After 2 weeks of "riding", started putting weight on the bone with short wa…

Doctors are good at doing the "fixing" work, but the recovery work is something else Good physios will insist on working as soon as possible, even if it's very light work.

Anecdata but I agree. Had two spine surgeries at two highly regarded places and those surgeons had no clue whatsoever on the recovery. They've fixed their part and the rehab part is someone else's problem.

Luckily I have a good therapist. But still I'm disappointed as they should know that part better.

Re: Broken legs and ankles heal better if you walk on them within weeks

#269

Post by ses1984 »

notShabu wrote: post #231
rodary wrote: post #212

Anecdotal but... Broke my femur neck on a mountain bike. Surgery, plates and screws. Surgeon said no weight on the broken bone for 8 weeks and no walking on it for 12. And then we'll see he said. In 4 weeks I was on a trainer (fork fixed to the trainer). Started easy with 30min sessions and then increased time and force applied to the pedals. After 2 weeks of "riding", started putting weight on the bone with short wa…

The cost of this increased healing rate would be the tail risk of compounding injury though. It's not something a doctor could recommend even if it were true for everyone consistently.

Surgery has very well documented known risks and doctors recommend surgery.

Also surgery has outcomes that are barely better than non surgical interventions, sometimes, and they still recommend surgery.

Re: Broken legs and ankles heal better if you walk on them within weeks

#270

Post by Fnoord »

lnsru wrote: post #244
rodary wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> how did you know to disregard the doctor 's instructions My background (Russian). Don't trust western approach to solve problems with pills etc. End up talking to (usually) Soviet-trained doctors who can't practice here in the west. The advice makes sense so I follow it believing they know what they're talking about. It's always about the cause, not the symptom. This sort of thing. > How did you limit yourself duri…

Best Soviet doctors! Poor guys working without any equipment to get perfect results. Sure good way for easy cases, bud hard cases are cripples afterwards. Or badly healed bones are separated with chisel and then comes next try… been there, saw that. Thanks but no, I’ll take a western medicine with all the screws and plates. Despite screws and plates being much easier to work with, every sane doctor will try without t…

Is this survivorship bias?
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