Patella Fracturers; success with stairs ? walking ?

[chandu]

Hi,

I broke my patella into 2 pieces 2 months and a week ago, and am in rehab now ( I have 2 big screws). I can walk around at home but have a extremely weird feeling in the knee of like patella going the wrong way instead of just up and down. I don't know if its just a feeling due to weak muscles or something else is wrong. When walking with the brace I don't seem to experience the weird feeling. Did any one else have similar experiences with walking ?

Also, I was wondering if anyone of you had some success with getting up and down the stairs ? If so, then roughly how many sessions of physiotherapy did it take you to do so ? I tried climbing the stairs up and down but at present I feel, there is no way I can ever do that. With the bad leg bent, putting the body weight on it to get down seems impossible. Getting up can still be managed with a little pain. Any experiences ? Please Share.

- chandu

[lizl]

Chandu,

Welcome to the board. You are doing fine for 9 weeks post injury. Yes, things will be weird for several months more. Discuss the weird feeling with your physical therapist. Have him/her assess whether the patella is tracking correctly.

You probably don't want to hear it, but stairs take a long time. January, 2008, will be my 5 year anniversary, and I still feel challenged by going DOWN stairs. Only in the last few months have I been secure enough to go down without one-stepping it. And I even go down sometimes without holding onto the railing (still not a good idea, as my "bad" knee is not as reliable as the other one). I tell kyou this, not to depress you about the long road ahead, but to reassure you that you will be able to tackle the stairs! Don't despair, but do be patient with yourself.

[kimmyxs]

I am a year and a half post fracture. I had two large screws as well no wires. It was 12 weeks before I got out of the brace - a really long time, but worth it! I do remember being very aware of what the knee was feeling like, but I think that you notice things because your are more focused on it. As Liz said, check with your PT. It took me until last April to feel comfortable walking without much of a limp. Going down stairs is still problematic. I can go down one foot over the other, but only if they are swallow. If the stairs are deep or steep forget it! I cannot run, but I can do almost everything else, sometimes with a bit of pain due to arthritis, but the swelling is almost completely gone!

[DarkAlleyE]

After a year I'm still a one-stepper - like a toddler!

Emily

[chandu]

Hey thanks Emily, Kim and Liz for your responses. Ok I see. I will ask my PT about the walking part but getting to stairs is probably far away. Yeah a little sad to know.

- chandu

[cuz]

I never posted much but have been reading this forum since I broke patella in July 2005..of course didn't find the forum until October...but I still like to check in and read how everyone is doing. But I thought I would post on this message because so many times I have read that people who have problems with stairs can usually go up okay but not down. I am the opposite, I can go down but I am not good at going up and it is faster for me to one step it up. I wonder why others can go up better. My repair work was also different then most. I have only read one other person who's pattella was tied and wrapped with suture thread, rather than wire and screws. Dr. said pattella was in too many pieces and nothing to screw too????? Anyway I did not have the suture thread removed so that could be part of problem, I don't know. I can feel the knots of the thread and can't kneel on it very well but I CAN WALK and that I am thankful for.. Good Luck to you it will all happen for you soon. Water on the floor still freaks me out after all this time...

[Shine]

I can go down normal but it hurts. It has been 1 year exactly. Going up is not problem.

[splaw]

Hi,

I agree that 2 months is still very early in the recovery process. I didn't walk on my leg until months after fracture. The first few weeks of walking would be unnatural when going down stairs. For me at 5 months I still go down stairs using handrails or using my good leg to assist like going tip toe so that I don't have to bend the bad knee that much. Shallow steps are much easier on the knee. Goodluck on your recovery. You are already recovering and progressing very well.

Law

[uufan]

i found out that it is faster to go downstairs backwards, than to one step them.

[chandu]

yeah thats true. Going down backwards or just walking backwards is much easier.

Met my OS on 28th. I still have pain on lower part of the knee cap when the leg goes from straight to bent. Even without any load on the leg, at a certain angle, it starts hurting so much. I asked the OS. He kind of ignored me and said yeah these things take time. Well...atleast I can walk. Thanks to everyone here! Appreciate the replies. Summer, it seems running is the only thing thats still to come for you? My PT said that running and going downstairs are the 2 last things.

[na06003]

Hey there.
I am about five years post-op from my right patella fracture. I had three dissolvable pins put in. I was immobilized for about 3 weeks before I could even start PT. I was on crutches for 2 months and in PT for about 5 months.
As far as tracking, I don't remember having quite that feeling, so I would def ask your PT about it.
And stairs did take me a long time to conquer. I do remember I could go up before I could go down. I think it was about three months before I could go up and a bit longer before going down. Now I feel plenty strong enough to go up and down but it bothers me because my patella grinds and clicks everytime I bend it for the next stair. My OS says this isn't a problem as long as it doesn't cause pain.

Hope hearing others' stories helps ya out! It'll be a long haul, but as long as you put effort into rehab, you'll be fine in the end
Good luck