Tibial Plateau Fracture Recovery

[Casper2012]

Greg33. That's a tough one because it's a personal decision you have to make based on your opinion of the quality of your life. What's your prognosis if you don't have the surgery? Will you be able to do what you want to do physically and can you live with that and the discomfort? After almost 6 months I too am back to square one and although my ortho wanted to prolong a knee replacement for a few years I have to have it replaced in about three months. I don't have a choice but it sounds like you do. Sorry I can't offer more help but each situation is so unique it's not easy. Have you thought about getting another opinion?

[Casper2012]

Hobbleyguy. Sounds like you had a rough ride to surgery. This forum definitely helps one recovering from this type of injury to hear others experiences, tips and turmoils. When I first found out I had a 'fracture' I was thinking okay I can handle six weeks of NWB to let it heal. Boy was I surprised, more like shocked when I found out I was in for months of recovery, now looking at over a year. Hang in there and keep posting your progress and remember that patience is your best friend for the next few months.

[scjohnson07]

I'm 3 1/2 months post injury. I posted a while back but just to give a brief story I fractured my tibial plateau, tore acl, mcl, meniscus. Dr opted out of surgery for the bone fx and put me in an immobilizer for 3 months to heal then do PT for a bit before surgery on ligaments. My brace has been off for 2 weeks and he wanted me to start at home PT for a couple of weeks since I had zero ROM. I am supposed to start PT next week with a therapist. My leg still has no ROM (except for maybe an inch or so). It hurts pretty bad when I try to move it and the swelling is horrible still. Dr said it should go down since my immobilizer is off (and the horrible tingling that was supposedly caused by my brace hitting a nerve in the back of my leg) but I still have swelling, discoloration when I'm standing (with crutches) and tingling in the bottom of my foot. Anyone else with this?? Hoping to build my leg up a bit since its so atrophied before surgery.

[peaton]

Hi everyone,

I am 12 wks post-surgery and 1 week 50% PWB. I saw my OS today, he is pleased with my progress, x-rays look good so he said FWB as I can and released me to PT to return in 6wks. I am not quite ready for FWB but can do a few steps at a time. I still have pain and swelling, especially later in the day. He said he is still cautious about the soft tissue pain I'm having but wants to give it more time for me to strengthen my muscles and such to make sure lack of use and atrophy isn't causing it.

I am so ready to get back to work and my normal life. He feels that by the end of Nov. I should be 95%. I'll write again after I see PT.

[Casper2012]

Scjohnson07-I too have foot tingling and discoloration of my leg when standing or sitting with my foot on the floor. My ortho told me it can take up to a year for the color to go back to normal. I haven't seen many others on this forum comment about it. I'm only light weight bearing with a walker so I still have swelling issues and expect that to continue. Many suggest compression socks but I find that they are most difficult to get on with the condition of my knee. Tried crutches the other day but it didn't work out very well. Good luck and I hope your recovery goes well.

[peaton]

Hi there...I too had tingling, numbness and discoloration. At 12 weeks, all have subsided except for the numbness in my heal, they say it too will subside but that it takes time.

I have my first PT appointment next Tuesday, I am really pretty excited to say the least. I know it isn't going to be fun, but it will help me to obtain my end result of normalcy again. I have also set a new goal for myself of losing about 30-40 pounds. I was very careful during my recovery of what I ate to not gain, which I was able to do. However, now it is time to really take control of my lifestyle, which ultimately will only help relieve the arthritis/pain that I am told I will havein my knee sooner or later. I'm sure my horses will appreciate it as well, LOL!!!!

This board has been a godsend for me during my recovery. It saved many phone calls to the doctors office, as well as mental relief and other times wonder, if that will be me. I am very grateful to have found it, it has helped keep me sane. Someone recently said on here that when you are depressed about your situation, the pain, the wait, the insanity, look behind you to see how far you have come since your injury, enjoy the small rewards. Don't set your goals to far ahead, remember that this injury takes time. As I was reminded yesterday by my doctor, it is not only your fractures and tibia that are healing but your muscles, tendons, ligaments (which includes body parts that haven't been necessarily injured but setback due to non-use) and also your mind. We must regain trust in our body as we go through the process of healing.

To those who lately have been posting about post-recovery many months/years out, a big THANK YOU! It really does help.

I also know that we have a few people on this board that have experienced either a terrible setback or their injury so severe that it will require several surgeries to heal. To you folks, I sympathize and will continue to pray for your speeding recovery. We on here can say to some degree, we know what you are going through, it will get better.

OK, that is enough for today. Have a great week everybody!

Scjohnson07-I too have foot tingling and discoloration of my leg when standing or sitting with my foot on the floor. My ortho told me it can take up to a year for the color to go back to normal. I haven't seen many others on this forum comment about it. I'm only light weight bearing with a walker so I still have swelling issues and expect that to continue. Many suggest compression socks but I find that they are most difficult to get on with the condition of my knee. Tried crutches the other day but it didn't work out very well. Good luck and I hope your recovery goes well.

[scjohnson07]

Thank you both for that. It's good to hear (not that I wish it on anyone!) that I'm not the only one and todays appt my ortho said the same thing that it's just going to take time. Looks like I will have my meniscus and acl repair (won't have to have it replaced at least woohoo!) after PT goes well. Starting PT tomorrow and I am sure it will be pretty painful but rewarding at the same time. I am not only a horse trainer but a horse show judge and it's starting show season. Gotta be walking with a cane by the end of October! Good luck to you all and yes this board has been a "godsend".

[pattmarish]

I'm 5 wks post surgery. I only had 3 screws inserted and no plates and had 2 mm of depression. I'm doing 5-6 exercises 1-2 times a day and as of last Tuesday my ROM was 115 degrees. I've read that many people on here start their weight bearing around 6-8 wks. I guess it depends on the institute where the rehab is done because I won't be able to start any weight bearing for another 4 weeks and then my target date to lose the crutches is October 10th.

[Moonstruck]

Be careful if you use one crutch. I did for about 6 weeks and found that I would lean on it and ended up cause shoulder issues. Now I am in therapy for my shoulder after have TPF on both knees (one grade 6, other non displaced) torn miniscus, ACL, hyperextension, chipped patella, 8 broken ribs, 2 broken vertebrae, collapsed lung and head injury!! What happened it I would stand on the one crutch and lock my shoulder in, which causes the injury. BE CAREFUL!!

[Moonstruck]

You sound lucky. My NWB was 16 weeks. I have 2 plates, 12 screws, cadeavor bone, and also had a screw through my patella tendon and tibia. I also had an extenal fixator for 2 weeks prior to my TPF surgery. 10 weeks TPF post op, they found out my other leg also had a non displaced TPF with a chipped patela, partial ACL tear, severe Miniscus tear, and hyperextension. I had to have a third surgery on the displaced TPF leg to remove the screw from my patella tendon, and then to repair the miniscus in late April. All of the progress that I had made regressed and I had to just about start over 4 weeks following this surgery. I am now walking about 2-3 miles a day with a cane. It is amazing how difficult going down hills and down stairs is for me. Keep up your PT and good luck!!

[Casper2012]

Peaton. Nice note and encouragement to everyone on this forum. I went to a second ortho today to get another opinion. He reviewed my medical records, took more xrays, examined my leg for ROM and extention and talked to me for quite some time. He told me that if he were the surgeon he would remove the hardware and be prepared to perform the knee replacement right then IF the bone appears healthy. If it appeared weaked or soft he said he would wait. He said that two more surgeries in a short amount of time increases my posibility of infection and its more time of minimal weight bearing which will continue to weaken the bone. So now I'm trying to decide what to do. I'm thinking of calling my current surgeon (if he'll talk to me...I only talk to his PA) tomorrow to see what he thinks about doing both together if the bone looks like it can handle it. Both orthos are Sport certified but the one I went to today treats several MLB and NHL players so maybe he's better! Of course if I can have both done at the same time that's definitely my preference but if I do and refracture I'll be up a creek. Anyone have any suggestions or thoughts?

[Casper2012]

Peaton. Nice note and encouragement to everyone on this forum. I went to a second ortho today to get another opinion. He reviewed my medical records, took more xrays, examined my leg for ROM and extention and talked to me for quite some time. He told me that if he were the surgeon he would remove the hardware and be prepared to perform the knee replacement right then IF the bone appears healthy. If it appeared weaked or soft he said he would wait. He said that two more surgeries in a short amount of time increases my posibility of infection and its more time of minimal weight bearing which will continue to weaken the bone. So now I'm trying to decide what to do. I'm thinking of calling my current surgeon (if he'll talk to me...I only talk to his PA) tomorrow to see what he thinks about doing both together if the bone looks like it can handle it. Both orthos are Sport certified but the one I went to today treats several MLB and NHL players so maybe he's better! Of course if I can have both done at the same time that's definitely my preference but if I do and refracture I'll be up a creek. Anyone have any suggestions or thoughts?

[Casper2012]

Wow Moonstruck, you've had a long road and I see you've been posting to this forum for many months. I thought I was having a bad time of it but it doesn't compare to you. Best of luck in your recovery.

[RiverZX]

Yes, what is up with the leg discoloration? People keep telling me my bad leg is darker than my good one. And it is.

[scjohnson07]

Riverdx- my ortho told me today mine is due to my lack of ROM and that I'm not FWB yet which decreases the blood flow in your leg if it's immobile. He said it'll go away the more it's used and the more I recover. Best bet is to prop it up when not in use. If you can't prop it up exercise the ankle and foot it seems to help a little.

[peaton]

It can be the cause of blood flow, swelling and bruising. Depending on the type of bruising you had, it can take many months for your skin color to return to normal. Example: my bruising was really bad below my knee joint and the back of my leg where the excess blood pooled from being immobilized. Now, just below my knee is darker than anything else.

Yes, what is up with the leg discoloration? People keep telling me my bad leg is darker than my good one. And it is.

[greg33]

So after talking with the orthopedic trauma surgeon about the bone allograft I decided to go talk to another doc about a possible partial knee replacement. I know I'm not the perfect candidate due to my relatively young age (37). But I figure a second opinion can't hurt...maybe there is something he can do to give me a better quality of life. So I had to get approval from the ins co/workers comp for the second opinion, which I did get the approval. Now I have to get my records to the new doc so he can review them and then he will decide if he's going to grace me with an appointment. I also got my new "don joy" knee brace yesterday. Knee is pretty sore today. I don't know if its the new brace or all the walking around I did yesterday. One day at a time! Good luck to everyone.

[leejem]

Hello, I've been reading this thread with a bit of trepidation. I fractured my tibial plateau skiing almost 5 weeks ago. A fairly innoculous slow moving collision with another skier. My shin apparently connected with his ski boot.

I was collected by ski patrol and transported by chopper to our nearesy hospital, 2 hours away. The operation was performed 2 days later and I now have a plate and around 8-10 screws in my leg.

I spent 2 weeks in a zimmer splint, which kept my leg almost straight. I'm now in a hinged brace with movement from 0-90 degrees. But so far I'm only getting around 15-65 degrees movement. Still non-weight bearing for another week and a half.

I've just started PT and have been doing knee bends/straightening and ankle moving 3-4 times a day. I suspect this is going to be a hard long recovery. My PT said I'' ski next year (we are in winter in Australia now) but I'm thinking I'll take the year off and let myself recover fully and maybe plan for a northern hemisphere ski the following summer. The ski slopes in Australia are very crowded, accidents are common and our snow is nothing compared to overseas.

I've been told I can cycle but I need to get to 115 degrees movement first. And that it will take at least 18 months before I'd be back to a 5km run...if ever.

I'm a pretty active and fit 50 year old woman, and this has really knocked me more than I ever thought it would.

Some happy snaps for your viewing pleasure:

[scjohnson07]

Went to my first PT appt today. My ROM at the start of the appt was 25 degrees and I ended with 30 (of course getting to 182 to match my other knee is a long way away I am happy with any improvement at this point. And happy to say my PT was a dressage coach before doing PT... We had plenty to talk about (me being a horse trainer myself) during my session to keep my mind off of my pain!

[Moonstruck]

I have dark areas where my extenal fixator was drilled into my leg on the tiba bone. My doctors have advised that the dark pigment in permanent. I have what is called soft tissue damage and discoloration. The affected area is about 4" x 2" halfway between my knee and ankle. It is also indented. There is not much that can be done so my wardrode includes long skirts!

[Moonstruck]

Some other tips when you begin your weight bearing.

Ice Packs - Go to the grocery Store/Costco and buy large bottle of Palmolive dish soap (the green stuff). Double bag it in Freezor bags,and flat in your frezzor. The freezing point does not make the soap stiff like ice, but allows you to wrap the bag around your knees after your workouts.

Go online and get some compression thigh highs. I am 11 months post op and still wear them if I know I will be someone where I have to stand for long periods of time. They are a life saver!

Get a nice walking cane. You will find that going down hills and stairs will be your greatest walking challenge. I have two very nice antique canes that I picked up in antique stores, which didnt cost anymore than a new cane.

Go to Pilates classes! I finally started back up this week and feel so much better. My issue with two TPF knees was that I could not get up and down off of the floor. I have finally gotten to the point where I can touch my toes and walk my arms out into plank, and then lower my body to get on the mat. I have to do the reverse to get back up!

Ride a stationary bike!

Wishing everyone a safe recovery!!

[Moonstruck]

Went to my first PT appt today. My ROM at the start of the appt was 25 degrees and I ended with 30 (of course getting to 182 to match my other knee is a long way away I am happy with any improvement at this point. And happy to say my PT was a dressage coach before doing PT... We had plenty to talk about (me being a horse trainer myself) during my session to keep my mind off of my pain!

Good to hear you are doing well. My injury occurred riding my horse, and being chased by a loose dog. I finally got back on my horse last weekend and just did some walk/trot, but was able to post. It was a huge milestone for me. Best of luck to you.

[scjohnson07]

Moonstruck- I use compression socks as well and they work very well!

[scjohnson07]

Moonstruck- I use compression socks as well and they work great!

[vaper]

will be 14 weeks post op next tuesday! i can't believe i'm finally done with this horrible break (sort of). I still have the scar running down my leg and the plate and 8 screws in my leg but I can walk! I'm back to being the super fast walker that I am without a limp and my foot pain is almost completely gone. I had tendinitis for a little bit but it's finally almost done!

I've moved into my apartment in manhattan and have started classes so I walk a good amount each day with ease. I'm going to Electric Zoo tomorrow which will be another endurance test because it's 12 hours of raving so I'm super excited. I hope you all have a successful recovery and in the grand scheme of things, these few months really aren't that long compared to the rest of your life so make sure you follow your doctor and physical therapist's instructions for a healthy leg again!