10 months from injury can not straighten leg would like info please

[tonywarner]

hello i am new here i had an accident 10 months ago my right femur was shattered  into 14 pieces a rod was inserted through the marrow of the bones to my knee i have had intensive phiysio  and i walk with a stick and unaided for short spells my leg will give way with no warning and i can not get my leg straight  what has happened to this movement is it the knee  that is at fault and how to fix it please thankyou

[laforce18]

I am not familiar with what happened to you, but I had acl surgery a little over 3 months ago, and soon after I realized that I didn't have full extension (couldn't straighten my leg) and little flexion (bending).  I went to my doctor and he said  Iahd arthrofibrosis which is scar tissue build up.  This is what preventing all of this.  Maybe this is what you have?? I don't know but maybe you could ask your doctor about this.  I hope this help a little.. 
shannon

[tonywarner]

hi shannon thankyou for your reply  my knee looks normal   and most of swelling has gone down what is scar tissue does it relate to the operation and i would not say my knee gives me real bad  pain but it behaves as though it is not connected to my leg i  am interested in this word i have found arthrofibrosis and wether i have this  i will be seeing my surgeon on the 17 of this month last visit was 6 month ago so i shall this time ask some questions about my leg knee and walking  thankyou shannon

[Charliemouse]

Did they say anything about your knee after fixing your bones, I'm guessing it was a fairly big trauma to shatter your femur so you may have damaged or torn ligaments in your knee at the same time which may have been overlooked as they were too busy sorting out the bone jigsaw. The other thing is of course you probably haven't got the greatest muscles in that leg at the moment which doesn't help your stability.
I have a friend who had a major rta and did loads of damage to both legs and the first priority was to stabilise all the fractures. All the ligaments and muscles came much later once there was something stable to attach them to.
How did you do the damage?

[tonywarner]

hello charlie i had a motorbike accident with impact with car at speed  a lot of injury right side from knee to shoulder the femur was nailed from hip to knee and as you say my leg muscle is not good in that leg  the physio  have from the start stressed the importance of the knee exercises  and i think you are telling me to have a little more patience i see my doctor on the 17 of july on  previous visits i was still very foggy in my thinking  and  most of what is said went over my head  this time  i am better in mind and will ask about ligaments and problems with knee and walking thankyou for your  help charlie

[Charliemouse]

Hi Tony

Lots of people on here write a list of questions to take with them to appointments so they don't forget anything. Sorry about the accident, sounds rough (I shan't ask what speed  ). I would guess with a big impact like that you have probably done some damage to your knee joint at the same time but I'm sure your Doc will be able to give you a good idea of what's going on in there and what you can do to help it.
Good luck.

[tonywarner]

hi to all i saw my consultant  nearly two weeks ago and was ready to give some questions to him  thankyou for your help but i think i have not got  the main problem i have answered  and i have been told this is knee extension lag my femur was crushed and the nail used made the bone shorter not by much but has made the muscles longer  and they have to  become shorter through exercise  this gives me the extension lag i can move my leg from its fixed position about 5 inches 12 cm at the moment a year from surgery  i am 46 years old could someone tell me the time scale on healing i put full weight on leg i have physio once a week and i walk as i can with stick but the lag and giving away of knee have not improved i worry that it is a permanent thing i would be grateful for any ideas thankyou

[Kai]

The lag in the knee and the giving away, as well as your description that it feels like the leg is not yours are classic for a ruptured ACL - anterior cruciate ligament...    this is good news and bad news....   the bad news is that a ruptured acl does not heal..   the good news is that acl reconstruction is the most performed ligament replacement surgery in the world...    check out the acl stuff on this board...   I had ACLR 8 weeks ago and am well on my way to full functioning in life and my sport.. (tai kwan do)

good luck to you
Kai