Broken Tib/fib journal

[Honey Badger]

So this morning was my 6 week (well, technically, more like 5 1/2 week) post-op follow up.

Looking at a minimum of another 3 weeks of toe-touch only weight bearing.

That being said, my ortho is of the opinion that he wants to see it healed, then we just move on to weight bearing (with a boot then wean off that) rather than trying the partial weight bearing earlier on, because, if something goes wrong, it's way worse than the little bit of time you may or may not gain. He seems to be under the impression that there's a good chance I'll be weight bearing after my next follow up on March 1.

Other than the remainder of that stupid fracture blister that's yet to fully heal over, he thought I was doing great. Everything was where it needed to be, the ankle joint looked smooth, and ROM was good for where we're at.

I did get cleared to get on a stationary bike with no extra resistance, so will try to add that back into my routine a couple/few days a week here soon.

Otherwise, the next 3 weeks are looking like a continuation of where things have been the past few weeks, just keep on keeping on.

So, I'm no miracle child, but IF things are cleared after March 1, that is definitely on the better end of recovery times for a pilon fracture...most seem to go 3-6 months, occasionally 10 weeks, so that would definitely be on the better end of the spectrum.

He also seems to think I'll probably get most functionality back - he said I'll probably notice it, but it's unlikely that other people will.

 

[EastBayDave]

So this morning was my 6 week (well, technically, more like 5 1/2 week) post-op follow up.

Looking at a minimum of another 3 weeks of toe-touch only weight bearing.

That being said, my ortho is of the opinion that he wants to see it healed, then we just move on to weight bearing (with a boot then wean off that) rather than trying the partial weight bearing earlier on, because, if something goes wrong, it's way worse than the little bit of time you may or may not gain. He seems to be under the impression that there's a good chance I'll be weight bearing after my next follow up on March 1.

Other than the remainder of that stupid fracture blister that's yet to fully heal over, he thought I was doing great. Everything was where it needed to be, the ankle joint looked smooth, and ROM (huh? -ebd) was good for where we're at.

I did get cleared to get on a stationary bike with no extra resistance, so will try to add that back into my routine a couple/few days a week here soon.

Otherwise, the next 3 weeks are looking like a continuation of where things have been the past few weeks, just keep on keeping on.

So, I'm no miracle child, but IF things are cleared after March 1, that is definitely on the better end of recovery times for a pilon fracture...most seem to go 3-6 months, occasionally 10 weeks, so that would definitely be on the better end of the spectrum.

He also seems to think I'll probably get most functionality back - he said I'll probably notice it, but it's unlikely that other people will.

Glad to hear your getting better; sorry it's taking so long. Be happy it happened while you're still young. Its heals faster! :thumbup

All the best,

-ebd

 

[Sharxfan]

ROM - Range Of Motion

Just went through this with my ortho yesterday. Looks like shoulder surgery.

 

[1962siia]

AJ- Glad to hear things are progressing well! On our recent trip south a friend broke his tibia and his fib and ankle are fractured, so I was thinking about you and was hoping to see an update when we returned. Best wishes for continued success with your recovery.

 

[anytwowilldo]

All great news AJ! You may not be a "miracle child" -most of us are not- but you must be strong and healthy to be healing as quickly and well as you are. Please keep us updated with your progress.

 

[Honey Badger]

Glad to hear your getting better; sorry it's taking so long. Be happy it happened while you're still young. Its heals faster! :thumbup

All the best,

-ebd

Thanks, I'm old enough they tend to be less "positive" about outcomes, but I'm trying hard to be aggressive about the healing and hopefully having started to get fit again before hand will help out as well.

ROM - Range Of Motion

Just went through this with my ortho yesterday. Looks like shoulder surgery.

Bummer, my dad has gone through several of those, no fun.

AJ- Glad to hear things are progressing well! On our recent trip south a friend broke his tibia and his fib and ankle are fractured, so I was thinking about you and was hoping to see an update when we returned. Best wishes for continued success with your recovery.

Sorry for your friend - I wouldn't wish this on anyone, and if he added the ankle into the mix as well, that's really going to suck. He'll know about it the rest of his life I'm guessing, hopefully he finds a great doctor who can put him together again.

All great news AJ! You may not be a "miracle child" -most of us are not- but you must be strong and healthy to be healing as quickly and well as you are. Please keep us updated with your progress.

I was glad to see things trending towards the better end of things - I've been working my tail off to help ensure the best possible outcome, it would really suck to have it not make much difference! :laughing

 

[kxmike]

I've done the tib/fib break twice (dirt bikes!) ... by the 6 week check up they were asking me why my cast is full of dirt! (I was doing laps on my practice track :laughing)... Both legs healed up fine and I don't really have any issues with them. My doctor told me he was glad I was using it ...said it helped promote bone growth...just told me to be carefull!...he was a cool one:thumbup.

 

[Honey Badger]

Realized i had yet to post up my xrays....so here you all go. 2 plates and 18 screws put Humpty Dumpty back together again....

This are from my 2 week follow up, there was definitely some visible changes between these and the ones from earlier this week, even to my untrained eyes.

 

[MtnRider]

Dang impressive amount of hardware!!!!!

Mine comes out in 11 days and unfortunately I was told I can't keep my hardware :x

 

[EastBayDave]

Realized i had yet to post up my xrays....so here you all go. 2 plates and 18 screws put Humpty Dumpty back together again....

This are from my 2 week follow up, there was definitely some visible changes between these and the ones from earlier this week, even to my untrained eyes.

OMG! Horrible! I've broken a lot of stuff in my time, but never that bad! You one brave one you! :thumbup

 

[Owl]

nice, i count 18 screws. i think mine has 12 or 13... after they initially told me it would only take 6-8 :wtf??

 

[Sharxfan]

Those are some gnarly x-rays. When I broke my Fibula in a car wreck a few years ago I got lucky and it was in the middle of the bone so no screws. The funny thing is that the ortho that wound up seeing me when I was in the hospital had broken his a few days earlier in the same place. :rofl

Get better soon sounds like you are taking care of business.

 

[RT_Russ]

A.J.
I still have more screws than you arty and I'm guessing that a few of mine are loose.........based on what others have said about me :teeth

Watch the mood swings, I remember borderline depression after my surgeries. I was home alone too long with dark rainy weather outside, unable to work/contribute to the world etc. It was really eye opening. Reach out to your close friends often, don't let the isolation and inability to get outside play with your head.

If you need anything, I'm close by.

Russ

 

[Honey Badger]

A.J.
I still have more screws than you arty and I'm guessing that a few of mine are loose.........based on what others have said about me :teeth

Watch the mood swings, I remember borderline depression after my surgeries. I was home alone too long with dark rainy weather outside, unable to work/contribute to the world etc. It was really eye opening. Reach out to your close friends often, don't let the isolation and inability to get outside play with your head.

If you need anything, I'm close by.

Russ

Lol, well your "loose screws" make for an awesome dude!

You know, it's been rather interesting on the friends thing...the people who've actually, physically, helped out, gone shopping, invited me to parties/to go out....if you had asked me beforehand who i thought those people would be, the list would have had very few overlaps with those who actually did.

Thankfully I've been able to work the entire time, so at least that has kept me a little busy. Back at the office more now, plus back to my part time job a little bit too. Back to the gym as of today to get on the bicycle to no where....so keeping busy, as the pain improves and i get better at just saying "fuck it, my leg is going up on the desk i dont care how unprofessional it looks," I've been able to do a little more too.

Transit is still the biggest issue, local is easy, but otherwise is definitely the most intrusive and expensive thing to deal with. Hopefully that'll get easier once i can step on the leg and can navigate escalators and drive my own truck again (which is manual).

 

[Phanuel]

Quickshifter for the truck!

 

[anytwowilldo]

"You know, it's been rather interesting on the friends thing...the people who've actually, physically, helped out, gone shopping, invited me to parties/to go out....if you had asked me beforehand who i thought those people would be, the list would have had very few overlaps with those who actually did."

AJ,

When life gets real you quickly find out who will stand by you and who can not. There are people in this world that can not deal with injuries, pain and hospitals. It does not necessarily mean they love you any less, they just can't deal with these issues. We have family members that are like rocks -until it comes to health issues.

On the other hand, acquaintances will pull through and really help out. In many cases you will find a new friend.

I'm glad to hear you are moving in the right direction and getting out. You are probably thrilled to get back to work -or at least out of the house! Keep up the good work. You'll be back on the track soon!

 

[Honey Badger]

So, I've done a few sessions on the stationary bike, leg seems to be holding up to that just fine. Yesterday i also had an appointment with a massage therapist recommended by my chiropractor, followed up with a chiro appointment later that day. I was a little worried the leg may have found it all a bit too much, but apparently not as it seems to be pretty normal today.

Today was my first attempt at doing the bike on back to back days. Leg was feeling pretty good when I woke up, so figured it would be good. The more movement the better, I still have to elevate a lot of the time, so getting good blood flow in and out is important to continued healing. Guessing a lot of the "emergency responses" of the body are slowing down by this point.

The chiro appt was good, too, because my foot especially was WAY out of whack - I figured it had to be (the shape of it just wasn't normal) - man when those bones popped back into place - not comfortable but felt WAY better after. Seems to have helped with my overall pain levels a bit too.

Even the little bit of stationary bike and light resistance band work I've been doing has a tiny bit of muscle coming back - not that it took much, my poor calf got soooooo tiny, my arm was bigger! It's almost getting a little shape again.

 

[bikeama]

Good to hear you are getting better. Keep up with the PT and riding will not be far away.

 

[planegray]

Good to hear you are getting better. Keep up with the PT and riding will not be far away.

+1 !

I'd not worry too much about the muscle now, more about the tendons and ligaments ..... I've had my left leg in a cast twice, months for each ( shattered foot/ compound tib/fib break) and the lack of range of motion was the worst side effect

 

[Honey Badger]

+1 !

I'd not worry too much about the muscle now, more about the tendons and ligaments ..... I've had my left leg in a cast twice, months for each ( shattered foot/ compound tib/fib break) and the lack of range of motion was the worst side effect

Ya, that's a big part of why I'm forking out for the massage therapist - he's a "trigger point" therapist, so will help break that stuff loose. I can tell those leg tendons and such are wound tight. They're affecting my ROM more than the ankle at this point.