Broken Tibia & Fibula

Forum rules
The information / discussion in the Cycling Health Forum is not qualified medical advice. Please consult your doctor.
Scott No Mates
Posts: 453
Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 8:18 pm
Location: North Shore - Sydney

Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby Scott No Mates » Thu Oct 27, 2016 8:23 pm

I've been warned that participating in high risk sports may result in injury - looks like I succeeded.

3 weeks ago (long weekend), I broke both bones in my right leg, skiing (I have since had a titanium pin put inside the bone and tied together with screws).

Orthopedic surgeon has advised 4 months before being fully load bearing and a further 2 months before getting back on my roadie - there goes any summer rides. :cry:

What can I do (other than swimming) to get myself moving again?
I really should take up cycling!

NASHIE
Posts: 1193
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2013 9:16 pm
Location: Perth, WA

Re: Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby NASHIE » Thu Oct 27, 2016 9:00 pm

Speedy recovery. I would of thought light spinning on the roadie would be good recovery ?

Scott No Mates
Posts: 453
Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 8:18 pm
Location: North Shore - Sydney

Re: Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby Scott No Mates » Fri Oct 28, 2016 10:41 am

Osteo has ruled out any cycling - bones have to grow over the break and gain sufficient strength. Not sure if it only refers using cleats (twist motion) or load bearing - push/pull on pedals.
I really should take up cycling!

gavin_rider
Posts: 21
Joined: Sun Feb 02, 2014 2:30 pm

Re: Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby gavin_rider » Fri Oct 28, 2016 1:33 pm

Your doctor's caution is quite possibly related to the chance of falling off your bike whilst on the road and cracking your bones again before they are healed. Check with your specialist. But if that is the main issue, then you can get someone else to click on your shoes to your pedals, then put your bike on a wind trainer, step into your shoes and start pedaling. Once you are able to walk unaided, you should be ready to ride your trainer (subject to what your specialist says).

Certainly that was the case when I broke my collar bone - my specialist didn't want me on the roads too early in case I came off again. But I was fine on the trainer.

Patt0
Posts: 374
Joined: Thu Oct 08, 2015 6:31 am
Location: Brisbane

Re: Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby Patt0 » Fri Oct 28, 2016 9:22 pm

Nail 3/4 length of bone inside the bone, inserted just below the knee?
Image

Scott No Mates
Posts: 453
Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 8:18 pm
Location: North Shore - Sydney

Re: Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby Scott No Mates » Sat Oct 29, 2016 9:40 pm

Patt0 wrote:Nail 3/4 length of bone inside the bone, inserted just below the knee?
That's the one. As it's a shaft fracture it's gonna take time even though the nail and a few screws are holding it all together. Amazing how the pain disappeared when the bones were stabilised (screw holes hurt though).
I really should take up cycling!

SoloOwners
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2016 3:25 am

Re: Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby SoloOwners » Sun Oct 30, 2016 5:04 am

Love your sig line.
I absolutely shattered both clavicles and had to have a surgeon use mortar and pestle cadaver bone paste, long pieces of titanium and 9 screw in each side to construct new ones. That's in addition to 3 broken ribs, a broken jaw and a screwed up hip socket lining. Road bike accident. Took six months to heal enough to support my weight on the handlebars again. Patience. Listen to your Doctor. Do not try to outguess him or her. Sometimes your bones will grow stronger than they were before they were broken, Sometimes not. Exercise your upper body in the mean-time. There are inexpensive magnetic hand/foot cycle machines that you can use for hours of arm spinning. I've got an old classic 80's era Marcy EM-1 in the living room. One of the best heavy duty workout machines ever made. I tracked down the extra weights to take the stacks up to 300lb. Find some cerebral things to do in addition to getting your upper body in the best shape of it's life.

User avatar
mikesbytes
Super Mod
Super Mod
Posts: 22159
Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2005 11:42 pm
Location: Tempe, Sydney
Contact:

Re: Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby mikesbytes » Sun Oct 30, 2016 10:09 am

We exercise to make our bodies better, not to make them worse. 4 months is not a huge amount time, while your fitness will decrease you certainly won't look like those standing in the queue at your local fast food shop. Your fitness will come back soon after.

Whatever you do, make sure you have clearance from your Doctor and if the Doctor has given you full clearance then you could do some upper body weights, it will help with bone density and keep you occupied.

Also look at your diet, with the cycling missing you need less calories so you need to adjust accordingly
If the R-1 rule is broken, what happens to N+1?

Patt0
Posts: 374
Joined: Thu Oct 08, 2015 6:31 am
Location: Brisbane

Re: Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby Patt0 » Sun Oct 30, 2016 12:24 pm

Scott No Mates wrote:
Patt0 wrote:Nail 3/4 length of bone inside the bone, inserted just below the knee?
That's the one. As it's a shaft fracture it's gonna take time even though the nail and a few screws are holding it all together. Amazing how the pain disappeared when the bones were stabilised (screw holes hurt though).
Done the femur, tib and fib 27yrs ago and had the same gear plus a nail in femur put in. long story short the tib extraction took 3 attempts and left a big mean scar. Despite exercising as the surgeon advised I was left with slightly less mobility and chronic pain at about 1-2 level for the next 26 years.

Fast forward to last year. I got a bike as I wanted to commute. Started by doing 5km rides each arv. The old wound went ballistic, pain extended to knee. I thought I was going to have give up riding and sell my new bike. Being stubborn, I persisted a while because I love riding and it is such a beautiful bike. Woke up one morning leg was on fire, had a fever and couldnt walk.

Layed in bed all day, doped up, till the arv. I made the decision I would have to sell the bike and I would take it for one last ride. So off I went riding down to the park when there was some hellaluaya tearing in my scar area and knee. To say it freaked me out is a bit of an understatement. But the piercing pain had stopped. The tightness in my knee when I flexed it fully, was less.

I went home and as the pain and fever left me I came to these conclusions. The fascia and skin and possibly bone had been fused by scar tissue. Daily activities, beyond sedentary, over the years aggravated it causing pain. I had ridden bikes plenty of times and at about 12yrs on, I commuted by bike for a year. In hindsight that was when I experienced the worst chronic pain. Now at 45yrs the scar tissue etc had lost enough flexibility to shear when stressed as it was.

Now I can sit for infinite time with my leg bent and suffer zero pain. Yep, cycling cured the chronic knee pain I had experienced for the last 27 years.
Image

Scott No Mates
Posts: 453
Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 8:18 pm
Location: North Shore - Sydney

Re: Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby Scott No Mates » Sun Oct 30, 2016 2:39 pm

@patt0 - great news. Sounds like there's hope for me yet (but I don't think that I'll be waiting 20+ years to find out if it hurts).

I want to get back to commuting about 20km each way but there are some decent hills to attack - I don't see that happening until after Easter '17.
I really should take up cycling!

moosterbounce
Posts: 2613
Joined: Tue May 17, 2011 8:06 pm
Location: Rivervale WA

Re: Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby moosterbounce » Sun Oct 30, 2016 3:39 pm

I smashed my shoulder almost 2 years ago and had 3 months with my upper body immobilised pretty much. Even walking far wasn't possible due to arm swing and vibration hurting it. And riding the trainer wasn't great so I gave up on that after only 3 or 4 tries. When I was able to walk to the local gym (1km away), I went down and had a "no load" spin on the recumbent exercise bike. I had to take a book to read while I did it so I wouldn't push - instructions from the physio.

It's not a great time. I feel your pain. But before you start reducing your food intake etc, have a read of this article about fractures and what you can do to speed healing - http://www.betterbones.com/bonefracture ... ealing.pdf

I found it very good indeed - not sure if it was useful, but I was at about a 50% risk of a full joint replacement (they reckoned up to 2 years) and so far I've avoided it. Perhaps I was lucky, or perhaps this helped. Either way, there are some good tips in this.

Have I gained weight in the last 22 months? Sure have. Am I happy about it? Nope. But I can accept that even when I was told I could start using my arm normally, I couldn't, and I still cannot sustain my old exercise patterns but things are definitely moving in a positive direction. So yeah...you will lose fitness and gain some fatness. You may not see it on the scales initially as you will be losing muscle and gaining fat. It happens, but it isn't the end of the world. I'm not trying to sound negative, but healing and rehab can be painful and demoralising, so I think it's better to not beat yourself up over things that can't be avoided.

Hope you heal well :)

Patt0
Posts: 374
Joined: Thu Oct 08, 2015 6:31 am
Location: Brisbane

Re: Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby Patt0 » Mon Oct 31, 2016 7:22 am

Scott No Mates wrote:@patt0 - great news. Sounds like there's hope for me yet (but I don't think that I'll be waiting 20+ years to find out if it hurts).

I want to get back to commuting about 20km each way but there are some decent hills to attack - I don't see that happening until after Easter '17.
A bit different to what you normally hear, hence why i wrote about it. When the original incident happened, the doctors and physio encouraged me to get back to normal asap. I was back at work in about four weeks which included a commute of 12km which included up and down the blue mountains.

The reason for the nail splint is to regain movement as quick as possible. Unfortunately for me I had complications on extraction, two times.

May your recovery proceed quickly.
Image

Scott No Mates
Posts: 453
Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 8:18 pm
Location: North Shore - Sydney

Re: Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby Scott No Mates » Mon Oct 31, 2016 7:43 am

@patt0 - 1st day back commuting to office, been working from home for the last two weeks. Only 4 weeks post accident. So SNM's first attempt at returning to normality.
I really should take up cycling!

Scott No Mates
Posts: 453
Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 8:18 pm
Location: North Shore - Sydney

Re: Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby Scott No Mates » Wed Dec 21, 2016 8:41 am

10 weeks post-op update.

Walking around with one crutch now, at least 50% load bearing. I am allowed to carry a cup of coffee, do the dishes and rejoin civilised society.

I can fully load-bear on my leg and without either crutch I limp around in circles.

The Orthopedic Specialist threw the alphabet at me yesterday - he used the C-word, D-word & most importantly the E-B word which was most exciting (car, drive and Exercise Bike) - sounds like I will be at the gym and pool over Christmas.
I really should take up cycling!

User avatar
foo on patrol
Posts: 9008
Joined: Sat Dec 19, 2009 11:12 am
Location: Sanstone Point QLD

Re: Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby foo on patrol » Sat Dec 24, 2016 5:55 am

Good news, Scott! 8)

Foo
I don't suffer fools easily and so long as you have done your best,you should have no regrets.
Goal 6000km

User avatar
ValleyForge
Posts: 1831
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 5:37 pm
Location: Brisbane

Re: Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby ValleyForge » Sat Dec 24, 2016 3:06 pm

Scott No Mates wrote:10 weeks post-op update.

Walking around with one crutch now, at least 50% load bearing. I am allowed to carry a cup of coffee, do the dishes and rejoin civilised society.

I can fully load-bear on my leg and without either crutch I limp around in circles.

The Orthopedic Specialist threw the alphabet at me yesterday - he used the C-word, D-word & most importantly the E-B word which was most exciting (car, drive and Exercise Bike) - sounds like I will be at the gym and pool over Christmas.
That sounds more like a typical rehab after a closed locked tibial nail. The initial advise sounded rubbish.
Ha ha ha! Cookies on dowels.

Steve H
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2016 3:19 pm

Re: Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby Steve H » Mon Dec 26, 2016 7:31 pm

I also broke both bones in my right leg and was told a K nail is the way to go to get back on you feet again.
That was in Brisbane but when I came home to the Wide Bay saw a different doctor he got me load bearing
way to early. Broke two screws at the bottom of the K nail now they can't get the rod out my leg also leg :D compressed
25mm and it just gets worse. So definitely take it very easy and rest as long as you can.
My biggest scare now is if I was to get hit by a car or some kind of accident and break the leg
again and bend the steel rod my leg comes off. They can't straighten steel in your leg.
Its a scary thought.
Regards
Steve H

User avatar
foo on patrol
Posts: 9008
Joined: Sat Dec 19, 2009 11:12 am
Location: Sanstone Point QLD

Re: Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby foo on patrol » Tue Dec 27, 2016 4:39 pm

^^^^ :shock: :shock: ^^^^

Foo
I don't suffer fools easily and so long as you have done your best,you should have no regrets.
Goal 6000km

User avatar
ValleyForge
Posts: 1831
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 5:37 pm
Location: Brisbane

Re: Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby ValleyForge » Tue Dec 27, 2016 8:18 pm

Steve H wrote:My biggest scare now is if I was to get hit by a car or some kind of accident and break the leg
again and bend the steel rod my leg comes off. They can't straighten steel in your leg.
Its a scary thought.
Regards
Steve H
I've done that operation. It wasn't fun. For anyone.
Ha ha ha! Cookies on dowels.

Scott No Mates
Posts: 453
Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 8:18 pm
Location: North Shore - Sydney

Re: Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby Scott No Mates » Wed Dec 28, 2016 6:27 pm

That doesn't sound good @steve h - I'm sticking to the rules for the time being, just got back into the pool this week.

I was warned about loading it too early - break the bone where the screws are etc.
I really should take up cycling!

User avatar
mikesbytes
Super Mod
Super Mod
Posts: 22159
Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2005 11:42 pm
Location: Tempe, Sydney
Contact:

Re: Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby mikesbytes » Thu Dec 29, 2016 10:35 pm

Don't rush it mate, the best exercises are the ones that make your body better, not the ones that make your body worse
If the R-1 rule is broken, what happens to N+1?

Scott No Mates
Posts: 453
Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 8:18 pm
Location: North Shore - Sydney

Re: Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby Scott No Mates » Fri Dec 30, 2016 12:36 pm

I've now done 3 sessions in the pool and yesterday did 5km on a recumbent exercise bike at the gym with minimal load. 3min/km - woo hoo!!

Ankle and knee feeling (from lack of movement) it but no pain at the break or at the fixings.
I really should take up cycling!

Scott No Mates
Posts: 453
Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 8:18 pm
Location: North Shore - Sydney

Re: Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby Scott No Mates » Sun Jan 29, 2017 9:28 pm

Still in the pool and exercise bike, gradually increasing loading and duration.

Walking around without my crutch more often than not but with definite limp. I'm back to the orthopaedic surgeon in another week but still 2 months off being given the OK to ride (tyre pressure checked, road grime removed, cogs oiled - hanging out for it).
I really should take up cycling!

Scott No Mates
Posts: 453
Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 8:18 pm
Location: North Shore - Sydney

Re: Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby Scott No Mates » Sun Feb 26, 2017 9:02 pm

Look ma! No crutch!!!

As of today I hit the road (on a really heavy MTB). Geez it was hard work. A few long gradual inclines. Great to be on the road.

Note to self: Change the cleats to pedals on the roadie.
I really should take up cycling!

a-frame81
Posts: 89
Joined: Sat Nov 08, 2014 6:47 pm

Re: Broken Tibia & Fibula

Postby a-frame81 » Tue Apr 25, 2017 1:31 pm

Having had this injury too (and from skiing), it's going to take a while to get back to normal.

It took me approx a year to get back to jogging without discomfort but longer for hard efforts. Cycling was OK, but I didn't really get back into it until a few years later. I was able to go skiing with my surgeon's blessing the next season though.

Hope it keeps healing well.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users