Tibial Plateau Fracture Recovery

[TheAshmani]

Hi all, one more q. Those who had their hardware removed, how long was the recovery. I assume crutches and physio again. The reason I am asking is because, its almost been 6 months post operation and while training most days, I am still limping and have days where it's very stiff. However I just may be being too impatient :-)

[scjohnson07]

Feeling very discouraged as I have not had any improvement since last week with my PT. Every appt I go in at 72 degrees give or take and come out at 81 or 82. My PT thinks my ortho is being a bit conservative in not looking into why or wanting to do the manipulation. 4 months post injury and no surgery. :-(

[SHarper]

Hmmm, I'm know the doctors don't like to do the manipulation as it is kind of a last resort. Did he talk like he might do it in another month? I'm only 2 months post injury, and I got the feeling that if I'm not 90 degrees in another month my doc would do it. My PT is really painful and I try to push myself as much as I can at home with my exercises. I would just keep at it and don't give up. Maybe you just got to a hard place in the scar tissue and that area might take a little more work. Are you weight bearing?

Feeling very discouraged as I have not had any improvement since last week with my PT. Every appt I go in at 72 degrees give or take and come out at 81 or 82. My PT thinks my ortho is being a bit conservative in not looking into why or wanting to do the manipulation. 4 months post injury and no surgery. :-(

[1912berg]

New user here. I hope, through some valuable discourse, I can achieve a maximum recovery. But first my diagnosis: Tibial Plateau Fracture (closed). TPF correct? Long and short of it. I fractured mine from a fall of about five feet. OS says no surgery required, this was today after receiving MRI results. Scan also revealed sprain/tear in collateral ligament. No lateral tear in meniscus but some degenerative damage in horn and body...whatever that is. Grade 1 sprain of MCL: Chrondomalacia in medial and patellofemoral joint medial cartiledge (geez). Sounds like a little bit of fluid build up and impact/stress in jury on medial femoral condyle (again, geez).

Now, this happened about five weeks ago. Still have oodles of pain all around knee, inside, behind the knee, calf feels tight, pain radiates down leg along shin into foot, ankle and toes (doesn't sound unlike alot of stories here). In addition, some cracking inside knee (popping?). Doc wants to see me in three weeks.

Here's my concern: this happened at work so it is a WC injury. Upon entering the exam room today the doc immediately shook my hand and said i had TPF, then he proceeded to tell me that's why I was feeling better. I hadn't even opened my mouht yet to tell him how I was feeling, and in fact everything I reported above is either moderate or above in pain scale. I was kind of dumfounded and decided to keep quiet. He told me he wants to see me again in three weeks.

I realize this may be a bit dis-jointed (if you will). But my questions are 1) This is gonna hurt for a while isn't it? 2) Am I right to be concerned about his seemingly indifferent attitude? 3) I am concerned that this is worse than what he represented to me and therefore I need to do some serious research. The MRI states so many different things and I am concerned about arthritic conditions down the road. I have never had any knee issues and I am now 43. I will add later, but if anyone has some quick words of wisdom, I would appreciate it.

Thanks, Robert

[scjohnson07]

SHarper- he now wants to wait even longer before making any decisions for the manipulation. I think 4 months and only being at 81 degrees is a bit conservative. I am an active person with a horse business and I need to get back to work especially if my bone is healed. I wonder why they don't like doing it? Yes I am partial weight bearing. Today's PT appt my therapist said something new that he discovered which was that my patella is going "off track" when I try to bend which might also be causing issues. The patellar tendonis also contracted which is kind of odd since I didn't have a patellar injury. But I guess Immobilization does that. Only weird thing is that this is new and I've been moving my leg for a month now so it's kind of weird for it to just now cause issues. The other thing with my ortho that kinda makes me mad is that he hasn't done a CT or MRI since my injury 4 months ago and originally advised me that along with my TPF I had a torn acl, meniscus and mcl. How is he to tell how stable these are without a new scan of some sort? Sounds like I'm answering my own questions in that I need to start demanding answers. Sounds like you are on track for your ROM though.

[scjohnson07]

1912berg- I had the same fracture. My above post shows what I'm gong through after 4 months. Are you immobilized? TPF are the most sensitive injuries since it is a weight bearing joint. Don't mean to be the bearer of bad news but depending on how bad the fx is your in for the long haul with the rest of us. As for the pain yes it's bad. Foot and ankle too.

[runningwolf]

i had my motorcycle wreck on march 18th, 2012. the doctor said that i shattered my tibia into 20 different pieces. and fractured my shin. he did bone reconstuction and put a steel plate and 12 screws in my leg.

i am was released by the doctor 4 months later. i started having pain so i called him back. i went in and found out that i will have to have another surgery because they found out that i also tore my cartilage in my knee. so fun fun.

i also have a spot on my shin that is a nickle size lump. it hurts to touch it. any one else have this?

[gbeam42]

Im so glad I found this place a few months ago. It has really helped me reading about every ones injuries and recovery times.
I had a TPF on June 17 due to a dirt bike accident. I had 2 plates and 20 screws put in my leg. I finally got released for FWB last week, started PT this week.
My question to these people that have recovered from this, I really thought I was just going to walk away from this once released. Boy I have never been so wrong in my life. Well I could probably walk but the pain in my foot is almost unbearable. Also Im having a little pain where the plates are. Does this eventually go away? I hope so, because my OS said the hardware is in for good. Anyways Thanks to everyone who has shared their story with us. Very encouraging that alot of people go back to normal lives.

[SHarper]

I don't know why he wouldn't do the manipulation then. I do know that you have to kind of be your own advocate when it comes to doctors. I would make another appointment and ask him all these things. I don't know anything about the patella either. I understand being an active person and needing to get back to your normal life though. Me too! Sometimes when people see my brace and I tell them I broke my leg they say "at least it wasn't bad enough to need a cast." All I can do is laugh, because this is one of the worst injuries possible!

SHarper- he now wants to wait even longer before making any decisions for the manipulation. I think 4 months and only being at 81 degrees is a bit conservative. I am an active person with a horse business and I need to get back to work especially if my bone is healed. I wonder why they don't like doing it? Yes I am partial weight bearing. Today's PT appt my therapist said something new that he discovered which was that my patella is going "off track" when I try to bend which might also be causing issues. The patellar tendonis also contracted which is kind of odd since I didn't have a patellar injury. But I guess Immobilization does that. Only weird thing is that this is new and I've been moving my leg for a month now so it's kind of weird for it to just now cause issues. The other thing with my ortho that kinda makes me mad is that he hasn't done a CT or MRI since my injury 4 months ago and originally advised me that along with my TPF I had a torn acl, meniscus and mcl. How is he to tell how stable these are without a new scan of some sort? Sounds like I'm answering my own questions in that I need to start demanding answers. Sounds like you are on track for your ROM though.

[Casper2012]

I just had my hardware removed today, 2 plates, bunch of screws, 6 months post op. I can tell you thati already feel a major difference in my leg below the knee. Most of my foot numbness is gone and my calf feels so much better. I even feel a difference in my Achilles tendon. Main pain is where the incision is but it's only equal to the pain I was having before the surgery so I'm very pleasantly surprised and I highly recommend it for those having major issues with their hardware. I'll post progress updates on the board as it heals but this is the first positive progress I've had in the past two months. Woo hoo!

[scjohnson07]

Yes your right about the worst! I had a friend shatter her lower tibia in an ATV accident and had surgery. She injured herself after me and has surpassed me in recovery by leaps and bounds. Kind of discouraging. I will definitely make the appt to demand some answers.

[peaton]

Hi everyone, glad to see that some of you are making good progress and in good spirits!

I am now completing my 3rd week of PT. I am still walking with a limp, I have lots of pain still in the midline of the joint and I am also having a great deal of pain just below my joint on the shin area. Feels like I have bumped it on a hitch on the back of a truck. I don't have any bruising with it, just a bump and pain. Anyone experience this?

PT has not been all that bad and I am noticing a great deal of improvement in my leg strength, up to 25# for leg press with that leg only, Woot Woot!!! I guess it took 14 wks to get to this point it is going to take at least that getting back to normal. There are only 2 exercises at this point that I hate and only because the pain is great. But not as bad as the injury itself, so I plug through. Oh...on a side note I had another lady in the area doing a lot of complaining, crying, etc. about her PT. I refuse to do this, my motto is GETTER DONE, certain things will be painful.

I am really frustrated with the pain issue in the joint and shin area. I feel like I have leveled off here. I return to see the OS on Oct. 9th, so we will see. The therapist is concerned about meniscus and other crap in the joint area causing all the pain.

Still am very limited to the amount of time I can spend on my feet doing things with my animals, walking, etc (because of the joint paint). Although, I can say my ankle pain is gone and I only am experiencing pain in my toe area on my foot. So this sensation is getting better.

Good luck to the rest of you and stay positive!

[1912berg]

1912berg- I had the same fracture. My above post shows what I'm gong through after 4 months. Are you immobilized? TPF are the most sensitive injuries since it is a weight bearing joint. Don't mean to be the bearer of bad news but depending on how bad the fx is your in for the long haul with the rest of us. As for the pain yes it's bad. Foot and ankle too.

SC: He finally put me on a crutch today. This is what I feared about a WC injury. Always told that treatment is conservative to slow. Now, to be clear, I am not upset that surgery was not indicated, but I am a bit perturbed that it took five weeks to realize that I had a fracture. I also don't know how the fracture looks as I did not see the image on MRI. To be honest, I will trust the doc on surgery insofar as the fracture is concerned. By far my biggest fear now is what the MRI elluded to as far as the other issues e.g., partial tears, arthritic conditions setting in. This appears to be the long lasting effect from what I gather. I am by no means going to suffer the rest of my life because I have now compromised the internal structure of my knee. That, again, is my big fear.

[scjohnson07]

1912berg- WC drs are a bit scary sometimes I know. I too had a fx that wasn't picked up on my first X-ray. Went to the ER after my horse accident and they told me I was fine didn't have a break and sent me home. After I saw the X-ray from my dr office I even saw the break with an untrained eye. Did you have an MRI or CT? If you did ask for the report that way you can be assured about the ligament damage if any. Good luck! In my experience and from what my ortho said its the type of fx that does have lasting effects and does need to be immobilized with no weight bearing until the fx is healed. I was immobilized for 3 months and no weight bearing for the entire time. It's a sensitive area not to be messed with. I wish you all the luck! Keep us updated.

Peaton- sorry to hear your in pain too still! I just had to comment only a horse person would use the analogy of banging your leg on a truck hitch! Love it!

[hobblerguy]

6 Week Post Surgery Update
8 Weeks from Injury

I visited my OS yesterday for my 6 week appointment. He said the bone looks great and is healing fantastically. They told me that my leg brace was no longer needed unless I needed it for some psychological comfort. The brace has been placed in the closet. Still have the crutches.

The knee is still quite swollen. The foot and ankle swell everytime I am vertical which seems to be normal. Still a bit of pain in the knee but getting better. I have, unfortunately, had a couple of gout attacks in my ankle and toe during my recovery. The gout is a hell of a lot more painful than the knee.

I have been going to PT for the last 4 weeks. I can bend about 75 degrees on my own and with help from the PT can bend it up to 85. The PT is concerned that it is not bending enough and we might need to take some more drastic measures (i.e. surgery to remove scar tissue, some sort of leg bending device). When I told my OS about this, he laughed. He said that a lot of PT's have no idea of the serious nature of this injury. He said they think it is a normal knee injury (i.e. ACL, MCL) and the TPF is very major knee surgery and it takes time and in some cases a long time to recover. He told me basically not to worry and continue to bend/crank my knee 4 times a day at 20 minutes a pop and do the PT exercises as well.

I did buy a recumbent bike to work out at home. This has been a great purchase. I paid $160 for the bike on Amazon and it works great. This allows me to get a different (as opposed to the wall or edge of the bed) good stretch on the knee throughout the day whenever I want it.

The OS did give me the ok to walk in a pool as long as I am chest deep. I am excited to try this out.

Still 4 weeks out on any weight bearing on the knee.

I have to laugh because the OS asked if I have "access" to a pool. Whenever I talk to any of these people (PT's and OS's) they seem to think that we have unlimited time to perform any and all recovery exercises ("oh just get to the pool or gym for an hour or two a day"). They don't seem to understand that I can't drive and have to rely on other people to get around. These other people have jobs and other things to do as well and they can't dedicate 2 to 3 hours a day to get me to the gym, pool, etc.. I have a job too but fortunately I am self employed so it is more flexible. Fortunately my wife, who works full time, and extended family have been absolute superstars in the support of my recovery. I don't know what I would do without them.

So, all in all, the recovery seems to be going along ok. No better or worse than expected.

Looking forward, kind of, to weight bearing in 4 weeks.

[1912berg]

1912berg- WC drs are a bit scary sometimes I know. I too had a fx that wasn't picked up on my first X-ray. Went to the ER after my horse accident and they told me I was fine didn't have a break and sent me home. After I saw the X-ray from my dr office I even saw the break with an untrained eye. Did you have an MRI or CT? If you did ask for the report that way you can be assured about the ligament damage if any. Good luck! In my experience and from what my ortho said its the type of fx that does have lasting effects and does need to be immobilized with no weight bearing until the fx is healed. I was immobilized for 3 months and no weight bearing for the entire time. It's a sensitive area not to be messed with. I wish you all the luck! Keep us updated.

Peaton- sorry to hear your in pain too still! I just had to comment only a horse person would use the analogy of banging your leg on a truck hitch! Love it!

SC: Yes, I do have the report and it is scanned into my computer in a file. I have a friend who is a neurosurgeon and I am trying to get in touch with him to interpret to me exactly what I am looking at going forward. It's a bit overwhleming to read all the impression bullet points and try to interpret and understand them. I have done some cursory research and some of the issues reported in the MRI do concern me.

[TheAshmani]

Casper2012..... Congrats mate, so,are you on crutches? Have they told you how long recovery will be, any additional physio? I have my 6 month post op X-ray on Monday and am keen to get rid of the hardware

[Casper2012]

TheAshmani- I'm using a walker. Doc said 25 lbs WB then 50. I'm in what I call a mummy bandage from my shin to my thigh which is supposed to stay on till my follow up on 10/1 when they'll take the staples out. I have a lot of pain today from the incision and my knee feels loose and is making a lot of strange crunching so I'm not moving much today. Bandages are impending my ability to bend my knee and when I do it feels like knives are digging into it. Just tightening my thigh muscles and flexing my foot a lot and icing it. I'm sure it will take a couple of days for the pain to settle down.

[Dgw3369]

Today was my 6 month check up. I'm officially done going to see my surgeon and I was given a clean bill of health! Honestly I feel great so does my leg and knee thanks to joining the gym a month ago. Been working my legs 3 times a week with weights and running on the eliptical. I'm comfortably pushing 150lbs on the seated leg press. Like I've said before its the lack of muscle in your thigh that's the most debilitating. Now that I've got it very close to the other leg in size and muscle stairs and down hill feels really good. I can walk all day on he leg with no pain what so ever. There was a time i didn't think this would be possible but I've sense put everything into getting better and exceeding where I was in strength and muscle before the accident. On the eliptical I've been doing a mle in 8:30. I always try to improve on that. I so recommend those who can to get to the gym and train that leg of yours. It's become the most important step in my recovery. It's been good reading everyone's updates and at the beginning this website is what got me threw a lot of my days, by reading people who were ahead of me in recovery and doing well. I just hope I can help those who are just experiencing this awful get threw the beginning of their recovery...

[JPCindy]

June 28 farm accident, surgery July 4th- can I just say WHAT A ROLLER COASTER!?!?!

No one will answer the question "what am I looking at here in terms if recovery time?" Because I found this blog I now know why I couldn't get answers. There isn't one that fit everyone. Because I found this blog I now know it will be work, it will take time, it will be whatever it will be and *I* have some say in it if I'm willing to work.

Anyone interested in Alpaca steaks? The one that knocked me down when I was carrying the baby is the first to go. Kidding.....most days.

[imajypsee]

I spent five days sort of knocked out with pain killers before I went to a rehab facility and had my grandson bring me my iPad and started googling "tibial plateau fracture" and that's when I found the information that this injury can take up to 6 months to heal properly enough to bear weight. This forum didn't come up in that search, sadly, and I didn't find it until I was over three months post op and walking with a cane. Today I'm 4 1/2 months post op, walking without cane, still wearing uncomfortable knee brace if I'm going to be cleaning the house or walking to the mailbox, and my knee feels achy and clumsy and heavy, but I'm not flat on my back and I can shower...I'm glad for that.
Do you use the alpacas to produce yarn? I'm a knitter, so that's my only knowledge of alpacas.
Mary in FL

June 28 farm accident, surgery July 4th- can I just say WHAT A ROLLER COASTER!?!?!

No one will answer the question "what am I looking at here in terms if recovery time?" Because I found this blog I now know why I couldn't get answers. There isn't one that fit everyone. Because I found this blog I now know it will be work, it will take time, it will be whatever it will be and *I* have some say in it if I'm willing to work.

Anyone interested in Alpaca steaks? The one that knocked me down when I was carrying the baby is the first to go. Kidding.....most days.

[TheAshmani]

Casper - that sounds similar to when I first woke up from surgery when they had installed the hardware. Good luck with it mate, I've got my 6th month post operation X-ray on Monday so will see what they say. I hope the leg is feeling better mate"

[imajypsee]

I had terrible pain in my foot when i walked and at the back of my foot and ankle when I was lying in bed. The foot pain can be helped by putting a washcloth on the floor and trying to pick it up with your toes. Sounds weird but it works. Also stretching the foot by bringing your toes toward your leg helps. I put a towel under my toes and pull up. Check with your PT or doctor about this. At 4 1/2 months post op I have no more foot pain, or ankle pain. My knee/plate area feels strange when I walk. And my knee will buckle if I'm not careful when I turn, so I'm still wearing a Genutrain (sp?) brace on it when I'll be on my feet a lot.

Hope this helps..

My question to these people that have recovered from this, I really thought I was just going to walk away from this once released. Boy I have never been so wrong in my life. Well I could probably walk but the pain in my foot is almost unbearable. Also Im having a little pain where the plates are. Does this eventually go away? I hope so, because my OS said the hardware is in for good. Anyways Thanks to everyone who has shared their story with us. Very encouraging that alot of people go back to normal lives.

[leejem]

8 weeks post break and I've spent most of the afternoon walking without crutches Yes it hurts both my foot and knee, but I figure the more I do it, the easier it will get.

[1912berg]

I have another question that I hope someone might be able to answer. Absent another MRI, how does one know if the fracture heals. This was (is thankfully at the moment) a fracture that did not require surgery. However, I have read where some have had their fractures decompress more, or not heal altogether. How did your doc determine this?