HW removal- does it make a difference to your walking?

[Rosiebudd]

Hi,

I have a plate and 12 screws.  Whilst I am a long way from them being removed (at least another 6mths) I was just wondering what difference is made when the HW comes out.

This week has been very damp and 'dank' and I have 'paid' for it with discomfort and general ache!  So I am assuming that once I am metal free I was won't feel quite so susceptible to those manky weather days.  Thoughts?

BUT.....does it make a different to mobility at all? 

Thanks 

[jasmin1989]

Hi!
For me it does. When I walked I could always feels the hardware along my tibia and after a while it would ache. Now that it's out (while I'm still having problems) walking feels a little more free. My leg also feels generally nicer - like to feel. It used to gross my friend out to touch my leg and you could feel the hardware down my leg.
I had my hardware put in, in May 2011 and taken out just over 6 months later. I originally got told it would stay in forever, but from what I've read on here once all the bones are healed, hardware seems to cause issues. 
Jasmin

[floridanightingale]

Hi Rosie,

I did not have TPF hardware, I had a screws and wire in my knee for a comminuted patellar fx, but when I had my HW removed it made a huge difference.  My walking was smoother and I can walk down stairs normally now, whereas before I clunked. I can walk in heels (not too high, but 2 t0 3 inches) now without an issue. 

[Rosiebudd]

Thanks Ladies!

My legs were never going to in a 'tights advert'  but on the outer side the shape is SO not my leg and feels so odd! 
I have met people  who have never had their HW removed but I can't wait!!

xx

[BigD77]

I had my hardware removed 4 days ago (plus had my knee scoped for "clean up) and I already feel a difference in a good way. I can't quite describe it yet as I am still on crutches and so on but will report once I am fully healed etc.

[pattyb]

I am avid walker and I can tell you that, for me, removing the hardware sure makes my walking easier.  That is not to say that I couldn't walk with the hardware, I could, and without pain.  But with the hardware, the leg was always tight and after 3 miles it would ache.  After the hardware removal, my leg really feels great.  Very "free" and it really feels like my old leg before my break.  I really notice improvement in going up and down stairs. Everyone's break is different, but for me, I'm so glad I went ahead with the removal.  My leg has never felt better.

Best wishes!

Patty

[debjoe74]

Hi I am 5 mos. post op and this week am hoping to schedule hw removal. I cannot walk up or down stairs w/out holding on for dear life. My hw is prominent and when I hit my knee, the hw sinks into the tissue and hurts for a while. I can walk heel to toe for a short while and then my knee is stiff as a board and I have to sit down, Then the clicking begins. It is hindering me from progressing in streghthening now and in the evening my knee gives out a lot. It's amazing how everyone is different in the fact some kneegeeks can keep hw in and not bothered by it, and others cannot. Deb   

[pattyb]

Hi Deb,

I remember being 5 months post op and I couldn't do a lot back then.  I could maybe walk 1/4 of a mile...but it was tough. I also hung on to the railings of stairs for deal life.  I really never thought I could walk up and down a stair without a railing, but I can now. I used to get so frustrated that progress was so slow!  Plenty of times I would just sit and cry because I couldn't do what I used to be able to do.

I think that around month 5 to 6 I sort of had a breakthrough where things definitively got better.  Also, I remember around 9 months I started getting to the point where I knew the recovery was going well.  I know everyone says it, but try not to be discouraged!  My hubby used to give me pep talks when I was down in the dumps and I felt like throwing a book at him!!  It does get easier for almost all of us.  Hang in there!

Best wishes, always,

Patty

[liamy]

A little off topic, but I had to chuckle at the previous poster, Patty's comment. Last night my husband gave me the well-intended "everything will be ok" pep talk. I freaked out! I told him (with tears streaming down my face) that sometimes I don't want him to tell me that it's going to be ok. I want him to be mad and sad with me and tell me how much this sucks!!!! I don't think he understood me. I can't wait to read him your post! Thanks a million!
:)amy

[morgana]

 

loved your posts Deb & Amy  I've been married long enough that we seem to know when we're supposed to be cheerleaders & when we're commiserating buddies.    But I can remember when my husband dislocated his shoulder the first year we were married & i gave him the Rah Rah pep talk - I'm sure had things been in reach they would have been thrown -

btw - would love to hear from anyone on hw removal that was removed after 3 years.

[Rosiebudd]

Thank you for all your comments   

Another question....do they 'cut' down the same line?  My scar is 20cm+ long from above my knee to well down my shin.  Are they able to get the HW out by making a few cuts, or do they just go the whole hogg? 
 


My husband has changed his tack on my pep talks- a couple of nights ago during one of my 'feeling exceptionally sorry for myself' events, he told me he wished he had bee strong and banned me from cycling with the dog on the lead!

[pattyb]

Morgana,  I asked my OS the question that you asked--about is there a time limit in getting the hardware out, and she told me "no".  I was at 1 1/2 years when mine was removed and I was getting worried that the clock was ticking.  She said that the only problem is with young people whose bones are still growing, and I am well past that stage.  Well past.

My "pep" talks usually consisted of:  "Be glad you don't have terminal cancer," "It could be worse", or my favorite,  "At least you'll get better, eventually".  Now, I can laugh it off.  Wasn't so funny then!

Patty

[jasmin1989]

Ah pep talks. I always got "It'll all be ok eventually" to which I would respond "when is eventually?! and do you have a broken bone- no.shut up!" (I was very frustrated and angry, hence why I decided to see a counsellor).

Rosiebudd, my surgeon pretty much 'unzipped' my cut but thankfully he was exceptionally neat when sewing it up.