Remedies fo' broken bones?

I compacted my tibial plateau a few weeks ago. It's basically borderline between a really awful bruise and a fracture. The orthopedic surgeon is calling it a bruise, the radiologist thinks it's fractured.

I have a whistler trip coming up, and I want to be 100%, because we have two digicams for video, and a still shot digi for, um, stills. That's a total of three angles of image capturing. I want to be able to HUCK.

Is there anything I can do to make my knee get better, faster? Calcium supplements? Ice? Heat? Elevation? Crazy home remedies that might work?

I'm resting it as much as possible right now, although i should try and rest it even more. I'm just walking right now... nothing else. No skiing until January 24. The doc said two-three weeks until I can ski, but my dad, who is also a doctor who happens to know what he's talking about, says it will still be weak, and I should take it easy. I'm inclined to trust his advice, but still... I want to huck.

Right now, i'm resting, taking advil, and wearing a neoprene knee brace. I'm just trying to take it easy in general. That's probably all i can do, but it's worth asking.

So, any ideas?

Doesn't help your bones (its for cartiledge) but I take glucousamine for my knees. It takes ~8 weeks to kick in, but it really helped after I fucked up my knee on a bike... no pain/discomfort and full range of movement now :)

http://www.netrition.com/bone_support_page.html

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[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Samwich

So, any ideas?

SKI!

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Originally posted by Billow
http://www.netrition.com/bone_support_page.html

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Hmmm... cool. Do you think this might help though? I'm willing to drop the coin if it might help me in the next two weeks. If not, i'm just gonna let it heal, natural like.

I tried glucosamine for a while, but it didn't do shit for me... I'm already pretty flexible already.

Patience, young sammi. Why risk a whole season like this one or some perm. damage for a weekend of slutting? Its a long winter with alot of coverage ALL ova the place. Heal up and go big!

Old school remedies. Well, we used to tell the greenhorns (floating JONGS) on the crab boats to piss on their wrists when the tendonitis got so bad they couldn't pull their boots on in the morning. Don't know if it worked or not, but some of them tried it...might work well on the tibial plateau...lemme know the results. ;)

My mom was brought up a Christian Scientist. That particular sect of Christianity believes that all physical maladies are a figment of material, mortal imagination. Spiritual truth does not include sickness or injury. So, if you buy into that, you are just submitting to mortal error, Sammi my boy. Therefore, nothings wrong with you body and huck away as big as you want.

By the way, decide to go that route, launch a 100 footer and end up with the tibia sticking through the skin, blood everywhere...its still just a mortal illusion. Nothing to worry about, keep on huckin

Time is the only thing thats going to fix you sammy, take it and come back stronger. Global warming won't trash Whistler until sometime after you're back to 100%.:D

Calcium can't hurt, lots of milk since natural source is bound to be better. Glucosamine can't hurt either since cartlidge must have been pounded too. Getting on a bicycle should work it loose and smooth while promoting blood flow and maintaining strength without the impact. you might get good to ski BUT I'm guessing hucking would just be dumb. Weak or not I'm sure it will be sensitive to inflammation and impact. DON'T HUCK.

Get Vinman's opinion he seems to have this stuff dialed.

Sammy here is some treatment you can do.


1. Take 2 500mg caplets of Calcium, 2 500mg caplets of Chondroiten at Night. Every night for the next 21 days. After 21 days take it down to just 1 caplet of each a night for the 3 weeks afterwards.

2. Wrap your knee in Ice for 15minutes 3 times a day (when you wakeup, mid-day, before bed). Before exercising/walk/stretching take a towel and soak it in hot water and wrap it around the knee for 20 minutes reheating the towel as needed (when the towel just feels warm then heat it up again). Do not use a heating pad.

3. Look into Electrical Stim treatments. (this promotes healing)

4. Get a few tubes of a product called "BioFreeze" from a PT (costs about $20 a tube). Best stuff on the market, but only PT's have access to it. Use it before any exercise.


5. In about a week start doing 3 sets of 5 standing lunges with no weight every other day. Move up to 3 sets of 10 the last 3 days before you leave.

6. Don't huck. Sorry, but that pressure could set you back further and end your season turning your bruise/fracture into a more serious problem. You will still be able to ski, but don't huck.

I'm sure you dad has explained this to you.



:)

Thanks guys... I think you're right. Kind of confirming what i already know (except you TJ, I didnt know any of that. Good stuff, thanks a lot. I'll definitely try that routine). It's good to hear this stuff from more people though.

Being young and dumb, I'll probably huck anyway if conditions are right. If the snow is shitty though, I'll be taking it easy. Thanks again, everyone.

If anyone else cares to bring to light some magical remedy, that's cool too... I'm tempted to try Raichi (sp? and no, not Raichle) Healing... tao and zen and all that shit (ain't I cultured? ;) ).

Sammy, my opionion lies along the same lines as L7's. If I remember you are about 17 or 18 right? So Did the Doc's say anything about growth plate injury? at your age your grotwth plate still could be open. There is a growth plate (cartilage) in the tibial plateau which on x-ray could be seen as compressed? If so That is not something to mess with. Obviously it is kind of hard to tell without seeing the x-ray or knowing exactly what the docs have told you but from your description it sounded likely. If it is more of a compression fracture of the bone that will heal in about 4-6 weeks.

Either way if it has been a few weeks you body has begun to repair itself. Either injury will heal in about the same time frame and unfortunately there is not much you can do about that. The best things you can do to help it is rest. I know that sucks but especially if the growth plate is involved you don't want to mess that up.

Calcium might help, glucosamine maybe, heat treatment maybe, estim won't be much good except for pain control at this point and from the sounds of it you are not in too much pain. Thisng like biofreeze or flexall or ben gay for that matter won't do anything for this and you can get that stuff in just about any sports med. supply catalog for about $5.00 for a 4oz tube.

The only thing I would add to what others have already told you is to ask about a bone growth stimulator. ( [v] bevis and butt head voice "huh huh, he said bone growth stimulator" [v]) These are electric devices (no not the lesbo strap 9000) that create and eletrical field around the fracture site. The eletrical field somehow stimulates the bone to regenerate. Usually they only uses these on very stubborn cases or when a frature is in what is called a non-union state where it is not healing on its own naturally. but, you might be able to talk your doc into it. They are kind of annoying to wear, average 10hrs per day, and the verdict is still out as to if these things really work or not. Some docs swear by them others don't take much stock. but maybe it is an option.

Good luck and be smart.

Don't huck. Ski easy and have a good time. When you're back home you'll be happy that you didn't do damage that could cause you problems for the rest of your life.

You're young, you've got a lot of time to regret the pain and bodily damage hucking might cause.

dos pesos

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Originally posted by bagtagley
Don't huck. Ski easy and have a good time. When you're back home you'll be happy that you didn't do damage that could cause you problems for the rest of your life.

You're young, you've got a lot of time to regret the pain and bodily damage hucking might cause.

dos pesos

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Word. And hucking because you have three cameras or whatever is just stupid anyway.

[Bodi from Point Break]They only live to get radical. They never really have a true understanding of the mountian or what it's about.[/Bodi from Point Break]

Don't huck, don't huck, don't huck.

I'm recovering from the same injury right now. I think that your orthopedist and your radiologist are using different words to describe the same thing. It's called both a bone bruise and a non-displaced fracture. The internal structure of the bone is cracked or shattered.

One of the benefits (?) of living in Jackson Hole is that you can find lots of other people who have experience with whatever injury you may come up with. From talking to my doctor and a bunch of people who have had this injury, the word is that it will heal completely if you rest it properly. However, I got feedback from one person who had years of trouble because hers never got a chance to heal right.

I did ask my doctor about bone growth stimulators, bone growth drugs, herbal remedies, etc. He's of the opinion that this injury needs rest, period.

I hurt my back last year and managed to turn what was probably only a minor injury into a completely missed season. That taught me a lesson about patience. Sitting out last week's powder frenzy was torture of the first degree, but I know there will be more to come.

Don't bother with the supplements- some do work nicely, but they don't function as a "magic bullet". Further, some people never respond to supplements like condroitin sulfate and glucosamines (maybe up to 40% for the later).

Keep weight off of the injured leg for another couple of weeks and then start to add load to it.

Riding a bike (or stationary bike) is a good idea- it helps to maintain cardiovascular fitness, leg muscle strength, and stimulates circulation to the damaged tissue.

Whether or not to huck is going to be a judgement call. Can you get an x-ray the week prior to the W/B trip?

BTW, I'm in W/B over MLK day weekend, is that when you're scheduled to go?

Good luck!

Was your injury diagnosed from an X-Ray or an MRI? Mine only showed up on an MRI - not on an X-Ray. From what I've read, that is common with bone bruise fractures. In the past four weeks, my doctor has taken two more X-Rays to monitor it. As I understand it, if something does show up on X-Ray, it's cause for worry.

Samwich when are you going to Whistler? I just realized that I'll be there a couple of days (20-22 I think ) and it might be close to when you're there.

put some 'tussin on it.

i had the same injury 2 winters ago.
i hyperextended my knee playing ball, and my femur crashed into my tib plateau and depressed it 5mm.
I ignored it, cuz i had no soft tissue damage, and skiied every soft day (which were sparse 2 winters ago).
It still hurts, and i dont trust it on impacts.

heal it, drink milk, pop shark cartilage pills, and rest