Tibial Plateau Fracture Recovery

[kmrrdb]

Depressed TPF. almost 10 weeks post op. 120 deg ROM today at PT. 25lbs PWB now, 10 week post op appointment with ortho this week, hoping for FWB approval. Feeling better but not so confident about walking.

[itsdeenah]

Date of Injury 4/20/12
Surgery 4/27/12
Type IV TPF with 1+" communited depression of the plateau surface
1 - Fx's Tibial Shaft
Shattered medial meniscus

Havn't been on here for a while...7 months since the injury. FWB for 2 months now and heard from the OS yest. I need to get scoped. Only getting 110 ROM and it doesn't really extend by itself unless I lay on the floor and press down. So after alot of hard PT work going back under for removal of meniscus, removal of scar tissue and manual flexing to gain more ROM. ouch!! Much Love to everyone here who understands it's one of the only places I find comfort who feel the same pain and emotional tolls of all this. Ughh so frustrating Wondering how any of you guys made out after scoping (arthroscopic surgery) and the manual bending? I know it's going to hurt but I hope it helps!! Best Wishes to everyone Hang in there!!

[BionicLegs]

It's a bit quackish - however works. I was having issues with drop foot which has improved dramatically cause of this (my PT said it should have taken about 5 months to fix last night).

I rest a mirror between my legs - mirror facing my good foot, hiding my bad foot. So what I'm seeing is two awesome looking feet that work properly. From there I do exercises (making sure that I'm copying the exercises on my bad foot) like wiggling the toes, dropping the calf inwards, raising onto my calfs then toes. I do this every night for approx 15 mins.

These new exercises I have been given to correct the nerves. Again rest the mirror between my legs. Hands behind my back, slumbing my shoulders (with my chin in my chest) raise my good foot up, look up, look down, return the leg to the floor. Repeat a few times. Take the mirror away, and repeat with the bad leg. We had done this without the mirror first and my foot was killing me, it's the nerve that runs down the side of the knee. By doing that, it's flushing all the fluid from the nerve.

The main reason we are doing this is I had disassociated my leg from my body - it's a common side effect from people who have experienced traumatic experiences (and severe burns etc) i.e. I had been thinking that this is not my leg, this is not normal. To test if it would work with you is to get a magazine - time yourself on how long it takes to circle the left feet - working back circle the right feet. Words included. You'll find that it's slower to find the bad feet over the good feet.

Interesting to know. My doc assumes that my fracture displaced so far to the right that I strecthed the peroneal nerve, which has caused me the drop foot that I have. I'm going to mention this mirror exercise to my PT and give it a shot. Sounds like we are on the same page, as the drop foot has been more debilitating then the TBF. I am scheduled for a EMG today. I have no dorsiflexion in my foot, but I do have plantarflexion and can move my toes, but cannot lift big toe or other toes. I am walking with the help of a Ritchie style brace and have a custom carbon fiber brace coming in through a prosthetics company.

[kmrrdb]

10 weeks from TPFx surgery. Cleared today for PWB to 50lbs for next two weeks, then ok to FWB at my own pace . Ortho prefers I use crutches as needed and slowly work my way to walking. Flex is 120 and extension is 6. Will continue PT 3x per week for strengthning and also swimming 2x per week.

[BionicLegs]

Had an EMG test done yesterday. Nothing postive came out of that. Appears peroneal nerve in right leg is either completely severed or damaged beyond regeneration according to the nuerologist. The report hasnt made it over to my ortho doc yet, so dont have his opinion as of now. All readings on the EMG test came back as flatlined from knee all the way down to the ankle. Looks like a nerve transplant surgery or some type of surgery may be in my future. Trying to keep my head up and pray for good news with hopes that the ortho doc or specialist says it could regenerate, or at least their is some type of surgery to fix the damage peroneal nerve.

[skiplct]

Had an EMG test done yesterday. Nothing postive came out of that. Appears peroneal nerve in right leg is either completely severed or damaged beyond regeneration according to the nuerologist. The report hasnt made it over to my ortho doc yet, so dont have his opinion as of now. All readings on the EMG test came back as flatlined from knee all the way down to the ankle. Looks like a nerve transplant surgery or some type of surgery may be in my future. Trying to keep my head up and pray for good news with hopes that the ortho doc or specialist says it could regenerate, or at least their is some type of surgery to fix the damage peroneal nerve.

I'm 13 weeks post-op and experiencing many symptoms of nerve damage: generalized pain, specific local pain, burning/tingling/numbness, and especially an intense sensation of "weight" in the leg: feels as if the leg is filled with lead and weighs 200 lbs. I feel like I'm dragging around a LOG, not a LEG. Saw ortho today for routine f/u; he referred me to a pain management specialist and/or a neurologist-- he shrugged and said "whichever you want". He has said all along that I probably have significant nerve damage because the injury was so serious-- but I think these guys mostly regard their job as screwing the broken bones back together the best the can-- the rest is up to physical therapy, neuorologists, pain management, or other disciplines.

Have gotten relief from professional massage therapist who also uses therapeutic essential oils in her massage therapy.

I have chronic sore bruises in specific areas --doc says are the heads of screws brusing the surrounding tissue but hedoesn't recommend hardware removal until 1 year post op. Others on this message board have said 6-8 months for hardware removal. Comments??

Anybody who is TWB using an eliptical? comments??

I am so tired of pain and disability and dependence on other people and feeling useless.

I have 134 flexion and 5 extension.

[skiplct]

My PT hasn't ever done manual ROM pressing-- maybe because I also had double shaft fx (longitude and latitudianl shaft Fx's) so probably
manual not even an option for me. I had arthroscopic surgey 7 years ago (long before current injury) and di not find it very helpful. Maybe I will in the future since all the docs say this injury instantly adds 20 years to your arthritis timetable. I agree this site is a sanity-saver: NOBODY really understands this injury, its physical and psychic pain except you guys.

Date of Injury 4/20/12
Surgery 4/27/12
Type IV TPF with 1+" communited depression of the plateau surface
1 - Fx's Tibial Shaft
Shattered medial meniscus

Havn't been on here for a while...7 months since the injury. FWB for 2 months now and heard from the OS yest. I need to get scoped. Only getting 110 ROM and it doesn't really extend by itself unless I lay on the floor and press down. So after alot of hard PT work going back under for removal of meniscus, removal of scar tissue and manual flexing to gain more ROM. ouch!! Much Love to everyone here who understands it's one of the only places I find comfort who feel the same pain and emotional tolls of all this. Ughh so frustrating Wondering how any of you guys made out after scoping (arthroscopic surgery) and the manual bending? I know it's going to hurt but I hope it helps!! Best Wishes to everyone Hang in there!!

[smilybeck]

Seeing the OS on Wednesday - should get sign off for full weight bearing (positive thinking). Been walking on one crutch for a week now (or until about mid afternoon - for an admin assistant I'm constantly on the run). Other than soreness in calf (which my PT rubs the bejesus out of in our sessions) and ankle, everything seems fine. My flex is 116 before manipulation - my PT says cause of the kwire I should only get to 120. Also, set up my road bike on a wind trainer, managed to make a full rotation. YAH!!!

I may not be progressing as fast as I would like / want. I so want to get on with my life!! I do appreciate the small victories / milestones.

[skiplct]

At 13+ weeks post op, I spent today being driven into NYC for consult w/a nationally reknowned specialist. Took new set of x-rays;- doc said
breaks not healing at the desired or expected pace. Sent me for blood and bone density work up, told me to take 2k units of Vit D/day and referred me to a specialist for consultation for a drug that promotes bone healing. Fibula is showing "no signs" of healing. Said the impaired sensation/nerve damage is "difficult or impossible to predict."

[smilybeck]

At 13+ weeks post op, I spent today being driven into NYC for consult w/a nationally reknowned specialist. Took new set of x-rays;- doc said
breaks not healing at the desired or expected pace. Sent me for blood and bone density work up, told me to take 2k units of Vit D/day and referred me to a specialist for consultation for a drug that promotes bone healing. Fibula is showing "no signs" of healing. Said the impaired sensation/nerve damage is "difficult or impossible to predict."

Another thing that's helped with my nerve sensation / damage is dry needling or acupuncture. The mirror therapy helped control the pain, however the dry needling is helping me gain sensation. I have noticed in the last week that I'm starting to gain feeling back in my second big toe. Also in the last week I've noticed I've felt more pain/ache around the break site than my foot. This is huge for me as the foot pain has been worse than the leg.

[Casper2012]

Hi all. Saw my Ortho today, 7 weeks since hardware removal. He said tibia is healing and the holes are filling in. Told me to plan on having the knee replacement done in January and gave me a cortisone injection to try to make my knee more comfortable while I continue to work on muscle strength and increase weight bearing which is at about 60lbs right now. So I still have a very long way to go but the next milestone is not to far of compared to where I've been.. Hang in there everyone and keep pushing forward.

[soonerstacy]

It's been a while since I've posted on here. 6 months since surgery, just had my last checkup today with the OS. Hardware appears fine, alignment and everything looks great. The only thing I'm worried about is the xray report said the bone looked osteopenic. The doc didn't mention anything about it. I have snuck a look at my other xray reports and none of them ever mentioned any osteopenia. So not sure what to make of this.
I haven't really been doing my exercises like I should, or going to the gym. I know weight bearing exercises can help bone density. Guess I will have to step it up.
Other than the muscles in my leg still being somewhat atropied, I'm not having any limp or problems walking anymore. No pain or problems with arthritis yet. There is a light at the end of the tunnel guys!

Anyone else been told they were osteopenic, 6 months after surgery?? Oh and I'm 28 years old.

[kmrrdb]

10 1/2 weeks post op. Still using two crutches. During PT today, did my first leg presses with 50lbs (just cleared from 25lbs). Wow that was tough! Kept asking PT, are you sure that is 50lbs, feels like 200lbs. Then I tried it with my good leg and it felt like a feather. This muscle building might be tougher than I thought. Going to keep pushing it!

[msilks64]

I got hit by a car on Oct 8, 2011. Had surgery on 10/20/11, so it's been a little over a year for me. My knee is mostly functional, although I won't even consider trying to run. Not that I was much of a runner to begin with. I do find myself walking funny in the morning when I first wake up. I can tell the weather forecast without turning on the news. My best physical therapy has been bike riding. Once I was able to get back on a bike, I felt normal again. (that's a moving bike, not the stationary one at PT. LOL)
Here's my question for anyone who had surgery over a year ago. Does the area around the scar ever feel normal again? My scar frequently feels like a fresh wound, even though I put lotion on it every day. And the skin on the lower side of the scar, where I'm assuming the metal plate is, is SO sensitive! I can't stand shaving my leg.

[msilks64]

Oh, and I can't stand my leg being touched or bumped...and I'm terrified of falling.

[microape]

Anyone experienced sharp pain in the lower quad muscles / above the knee when walking up stairs?

I am now 12 wks post op and fwb. Wonder if I strained a muscle. The pain is also there when doing light leg presses. Pretty painful

[msilks64]

Anyone experienced sharp pain in the lower quad muscles / above the knee when walking up stairs?

I am now 12 wks post op and fwb. Wonder if I strained a muscle. The pain is also there when doing light leg presses. Pretty painful

I'm a year out of surgery, and I avoid stairs. They still hurt, but only going up.

[smilybeck]

11 weeks post op and I've been cleared to get rid of the crutches in 2 weeks - YAH!! Just in time for the Christmas season .

Had a look at the xrays for the first time, everything has healed except for a small chunk at the back. The OS said it was too small to repair and won't affect me in the long run.

[hobblerguy]

16 weeks injury
14 weeks post surgery

Well I went for my 14 week checkup today. I was one crutching into the office. I can walk but the crutch gives me a bit of comfort in the outside world. The OS told me to get rid of the crutch. OK. Crutch is now gone.

Microape, re: the quad pain, one of the reasons for the crutch is that since I started the PT weight bearing stuff (i.e. step exercises, leg presses and when I lock out my knee in full extension), I have had nothing but fantastic pain that occurs whenever I fire my quad on the medial side and more specifically when the quad is released (putting weight on it then relaxing). I basically took the last 5 days off from exercising because the pain was so severe that I could barely walk. The pain is about 1/4 inch above my medial scar about mid knee. The PT was a bit baffled by it and thought it could be my knee cap was not tracking right. My massage therapist said his best guess would be a hardware issue not allowing the quad to release correctly. The OS said it could be the hardware as the screws coming in from the lateral side actually poke out (apparently they are supposed to) into the medial side ever so slightly. He also said it could be a meniscus issue or a possible nerve issue. He said if it persists then they will perform an MRI to see if anything looks funky.

The just of what I got was to keep pressing through and keep on keepin on. The OS did some tests and he said the knee is solid and the bone is pretty much healed so whatever it is the knee is fine and I am not going to do any damage to the knee.

The hardware is not coming out anytime soon so I'll have to grin and bear it.

So, the good is that I can walk fairly adequately but just need to gain some more strength and confidence in the leg/knee.

Flexion is between 110-115 just depends on the day/weather. Extension is pretty much normal. I think my extension is normal due to the persistence of the OS and his staff that any support that I gave to the leg post surgery was only at my heal and not under my knee. This hurt for a week or so but I do have my extension.

So I will continue to bend, bike, swim and work this sucker out and see how it goes.

[dnabike]

I'm six months post surgery and I have lost a lot of calcium from my leg. I think it has more to do with how many non-weight bear months you had. I had four months total NWB and just got full weight bearing yesterday. Told me I had enough healing for WB put that my bones where like egg shells to be careful and take it slow.

61 year old male.

It's been a while since I've posted on here. 6 months since surgery, just had my last checkup today with the OS. Hardware appears fine, alignment and everything looks great. The only thing I'm worried about is the xray report said the bone looked osteopenic. The doc didn't mention anything about it. I have snuck a look at my other xray reports and none of them ever mentioned any osteopenia. So not sure what to make of this.
I haven't really been doing my exercises like I should, or going to the gym. I know weight bearing exercises can help bone density. Guess I will have to step it up.
Other than the muscles in my leg still being somewhat atropied, I'm not having any limp or problems walking anymore. No pain or problems with arthritis yet. There is a light at the end of the tunnel guys!

Anyone else been told they were osteopenic, 6 months after surgery?? Oh and I'm 28 years old.

[dnabike]

Just got full weight bearing on my TPF yesterday (6 months post surgery) and took my first steps today, just using my walker for balance. My bones are weak (egg shells according to doc) from 4 months NWB and 2 months PWB. Felt good to take those first steps. I'm looking to ditch the walker for a cane in about a week.

I also had shoulder surgery at the same time. Full A/C reconstruction. Due to complications (like not waking up) I didn't get therapy for the shoulder for a couple of weeks. Surgeon wants to rip it up. They put you under and force full range of motion. Doesn't seem very pleasant. Has anyone had this done?

Thanks

Jim

[dnabike]

Skiplct very sorry to hear this. I know how difficult this is for you. I do think that 13 weeks is still early in the game, took me 26 to get to FWB. I know you are younger than me but just hang in there. I would not panic at this point, 13 weeks is early and I know nerves take time to regenerate. Check out the therapy methods the military is using with vets for ideas, but don't hurt your leg by trying to do too much. A good friend of mine is a vascular surgeon and he talks about endpoints. They take time and you cannot skip them, a lot times you think you are at one when you are not quite there and you move on to the next one before you are ready. As you know, with TPFs you need tons of patience.

You have sucked it up for 13 weeks, give it another 13 and I think you will see some progress. I notice that a lot people on this list that have healing problems have tried to speed through the healing process. I don't blame them but they seem to have a lot of problems. I do think a proper diet with lots of calcium and vitamin D is good along with anything else your doctor thinks will help.

Take heart the hurricane season is over.

Wishing you and your family the best,

Jim

At 13+ weeks post op, I spent today being driven into NYC for consult w/a nationally reknowned specialist. Took new set of x-rays;- doc said
breaks not healing at the desired or expected pace. Sent me for blood and bone density work up, told me to take 2k units of Vit D/day and referred me to a specialist for consultation for a drug that promotes bone healing. Fibula is showing "no signs" of healing. Said the impaired sensation/nerve damage is "difficult or impossible to predict."

[msilks64]

I thought I'd share a couple pictures. My post-op x-rays and a meme I made of my scar. I freaked out when I first saw this x-ray. I had NO idea that this was what my surgeon was going to do to my leg. He didn't explain anything to me very well. So many of you know so much more about your injury, what type it was, how many centimeters or whatever... I just know that I have to deal with this hunk of metal stuck in my leg for the rest of my life. And it's very uncomfortable to this day. I walk with only a very slight limp, but the area is SO DAMNED sensitive. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about my leg/knee. My boyfriend broke his ankle about 9 months before I had my accident. It doesn't bother him at all, he can't understand why I keep making such a big deal about my knee. Well, he doesn't have a big hunk of metal in his leg, now does he? Anyways...from the point of view of someone who has survived this...you will never forget it!
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...71182341_n.jpg

And my meme:

[msilks64]

Ok, here's a silly question to everyone who is FWB walking without crutches anymore: Does anyone feel like they are still limping, not because it hurts, but because the injured leg seems to be longer than the non-injured one? I swear my left leg feels like it's longer, and my foot is bigger. I have proof of my foot being bigger. I live in Florida, so I wear flip-flops almost exclusively. But, it does get cold enough for me to want to wear actual shoes every now and then. I went shopping for new sneakers last Friday, and NOTHING I tried on fit. I am going to have to try again, and look in the men's section for that matter...
BTW I am a year out of my injury. I was hit by a car on 10/7/2011. Surgery on 10/20/11. I've got a plate and 9 or 10 screws, which the Dr told me are mine for life unless they give me problems. I was walking at 12 weeks with a cane, got rid of the cane some time in spring. I bike and swim. I am 47 years old.

[ulty_guy]

Jesus, heal up guys, great that you can share some experiences here. I'm particularly interested by smilybeck's mirror trick. I think there's so much to be done in regards to 'mind over matter' when it comes to rehab.

I was really lucky to have a small fracture which didn't require surgery and was only associated w/ a 2nd degree MCL tear and a bit of menicus tear. It's 98% the same, but my front shin muscle on said leg still has to do more than it should and tends to cramp sometimes due to lack of strength in the knee, but all in all it's not bad.