Bone breaks around the knee :

Tibial fracture - 7 mths post plating - - Posted by Randy (Randy), 29 July 2003

Well. this is my first club to join , the 1% club. So glad I found this sight , should be a great help,now to my ordeal...

My nightmare started about 8 weeks ago 6/01/2003, as I fell off a lader changing a light bulb. It was sudden and painfull,  anyway I went to the hospital via ambulance. The OS informed me I would need surgery to repair my upper tibial fracture ,well they put a plate and five screws in my leg ...fastforward...

today 7/28/2003-- Im now at 120% ROM but cant straighten my leg all the way(dont know what this is coused from) witch in turn couses me to walk with a limp.I started to walk five weeks post opt. My pain is mangable now , thank god for vicoden ,but at night Im woken by pain several times. Ive had a lot of waste in my upper thigh, Im thinking of jouning a gym and working my leg out like a mad man(is this advisable?)Will I ever be able to jog again.Will I be able to build musle back in my quads. PLease advise
Thanks
 





Posted by Jennie (Jennie), 29 July 2003

Hi Randy

First of all welcome to the board

Sorry to hear of your accident, that must have been terrible falling off a ladder, cause you sure done some damage there!!

As for your injury/recovery with your leg, my first question is are you seeing a physical therapist?? If not you should definitly consult with your os about getting you in with one as if you try to do all of this yourself and work out like a mad man then you could potentionally do more harm than good.

Physical therapy is a priority for recovery and the healing process, they have special things they do with you to build up your quad(and yes as long as you work hard at it you will regain that muscle) they have you do things such as quad sets(tightening the quad muscle) staright leg raise, which are very important, and many other things, so I would definitly talk with your doctor about this, and don't do anything yourself without consulting your dr first! Even if you cannot go to therapy your os can give you some home exercises, but don't do anything that he doesn't prescribe b/c as I said you could definitly do harm and you don't want a set back

Good luck,and post and let me know what you end up doing

Love,Jennie
Posted by Maz (Maz), 19 August 2003

Hi,

Sorry to hear of your injury.

Yes straightening is sometimes not easy. I'm still only at -2 or 3 degrees a year on, and once it gets that little it doesn't appear to matter. Mostly it can be down to quad wasting and also the tendons tightening accross the back.. so lots of stretching is also a good idea.

I went to PT for 6 months, but the thing which helped me build quads most and balancing with the other muscles was swimming with zoomers (after I stopped formal PT). You may not be ready for that yet, but water therapy is a poss. You need to be careful and not go aggressively about strenthening without advise... since you could have patella tracking issues due to previous muscle wasting which if aggravated by particular muscle building axercises will cause inflammation, pain, and possibly set you back a little. You need the right excersizes to grow muscle without aggravating anything else. So talk to  PT, your OS, and I strongly recommend swimming as soon as you can go if that suits you.

Just my thoughts.

Maz

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