Tibial Plateau Fracture Recovery

[Margosh]

So I finally started PT. 5 weeks and 1 day after surgery. Flexion was at 78 and extension was 20 at end of PT. I am concerned that I can not extend unassisted. I seem to have no quadriceps left therefore there is no way I can make my leg extend without putting my other foot under it and using that leg extend. Is this normal?

It's only your 6week now. I think more pt you'll do, more rom you'll have. Do not rush, just do it regularly

[lorik]

Hey all, glad to find you. I shattered my tibial plateau 2.5 months ago and it has been a slow and frustrating process. I also developed compartment syndrome and ended up with 5 surgeries in total. Have plates and about 20 pins (best I can count). Able to start baring weight in 2 weeks. Leg still feels really weird, almost like I am wearing a fur sock a lot of the time because of all the nerve damage. Please tell me this is going to get better...and I will be walking sometime soon???

[jrd3red]

I got my tibial plateau fracture while mountain biking in 2003, I was by myself(no cell phone) and at least a mile from a dirt road. I heard it break when I hit the ground and while laying there I knew I had to get back... so I put my seat all the way down, got up on one leg and threw my broken leg over, then pushed with with my good leg. Well I had to get off multiple times and drag myself over obstacles and finally cruise down a steep rocky trail until reaching a dirt road. The road was mostly down hill except for a 3/4 mile gradual incline which I managed to pedal until I reached my house where I collapsed in the front yard, I called to a person walking by who helped me to my house and got me to the hospital. I had a 2 breaks in my tibia with a spiral fracture, spent 2 weeks in a wheel chair, 6 weeks in a full leg cast . I did not opt for surgery and skipped pt and went back to work after a month, I toughed it out which is not what you should do, I did resume skiing 6 months after the accident, but I can not run anymore. I pushed myself way too hard during recovery and that was a big mistake, to fix the damage now would take re-breaking my leg, surgery and another 6 months of recovery. The message is be patient and let your body heal, it sucks but you will get better and you will walk, but soon might be more time...do not push the limits of recovery!

[powdork]

on the other hand, in some situations pushing the limits helps to recover
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...d-pearl-harbor

[groycan]

Has anyone had to have an osteotomy after their TPF? Mine was 25 months ago and I have had three surgeries since. The doctor is now talking about doing an osteotomy on my tibia…Thanks for any feedback.

[Skiobsessed]

on the other hand, in some situations pushing the limits helps to recover
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...d-pearl-harbor

Awesome!!!!! Thanks for posting this! How is the quad strength comin??

[powdork]

it gets better every day but still a long way to go. half way down the first line it was burning, something that would never happen after 20 runs in those conditions.

[Skiobsessed]

it gets better every day but still a long way to go. half way down the first line it was burning, something that would never happen after 20 runs in those conditions.

Yeah I am still shocked at how much muscle can just disappear! Its crazy! So awesome that you got to ski though!!
Does your knee ever get stiff or pop when bending in certain directions? Are there any ways you move it that still hurt?

Congrats again on skiing and thanks for showing me its ok to push the limits . It always scares me when the doc and PT tell me "no" to things..its cool to see someone did it and it payed off! Makes me less scared!

[Maker]

Has anyone had to have an osteotomy after their TPF? Mine was 25 months ago and I have had three surgeries since. The doctor is now talking about doing an osteotomy on my tibia…Thanks for any feedback.

I had an HTO after a Type VI TPF.....HTO was 2.5 years after my fracture. Had the HTO because my leg was out of mechanical joint alignment (ie I was knock kneed). Had the surgery, NWB for 6 weeks then back to walking. Surgery was not as traumatic as the original TPF surgeries. This is just to buy time before a knee replacement. Next step may be a tibial allograft , cartilage allograft, and meniscus allograft.

[powdork]

Yeah I am still shocked at how much muscle can just disappear! Its crazy! So awesome that you got to ski though!!
Does your knee ever get stiff or pop when bending in certain directions? Are there any ways you move it that still hurt?

Congrats again on skiing and thanks for showing me its ok to push the limits . It always scares me when the doc and PT tell me "no" to things..its cool to see someone did it and it payed off! Makes me less scared!

yes the knee gets stiff all the time after i overdo it. i've been back at work for 3 weeks now which is 7 hour shifts waiting tables, including the night after skiing. ibuprofen helps a lot. yes there is occasional popping. i can walk without a limp but i have to concentrate on it since limping has become the new normal.
there are definitely things that still hurt. for some, i take it as a sign that it is something i should try to do to get better. for others, i take it as a sign to not do it. i can't really explain how i tell which is which. i do believe that using an injured bone as soon as possible promotes healing. but i also believe in physics, knowing that an impact on bone that is still soft can cause a depression, or worse. i guess the easiest way to express how i feel is that impact is bad, vibration is good.
at this point i still need to work on range of motion. i am at about 0 or slightly negative to about 138. i pretty much stopped doing pt at home when i became active again so i need to get back to that in order to regain full ROM.

if they tell you 'no', ask what the downside is. if they say 'you could fall and rebreak it' then make your own decision. if they say 'doing that will slow the healing process' then i would bow to their knowledge. other than that, let pain and swelling be your guide.

[Skiobsessed]

if they tell you 'no', ask what the downside is. if they say 'you could fall and rebreak it' then make your own decision. if they say 'doing that will slow the healing process' then i would bow to their knowledge. other than that, let pain and swelling be your guide.[/QUOTE]

Great advise!!! Thanks again and keep up the good work!

[SkiTurtle]

Dammit, I kinda wanted to beat PowDork back onto skis.

Broke mine on January 17. 9mm depression. Post op x-rays looks just like PowDorks.
Surgery on Jan 28.

Today the Doctor told me "no restrictions." He's a pretty aggressive doctor in regards to rehab and returning to action since he handles a lot of pro athletes. And, except for my left leg, I'm still in pretty good shape.

I plan to be up and skiing this Saturday at A-Basin for the first time since the injury. Probably just a quick cruiser. I still need to build back a lot of muscle to feel comfortable doing much more than that. I would hate to heal from this and then tear an ACL just because I don't have the muscle mass to protect it.

Everybody is different, so don't follow my lead, but I agree that activity (in moderation) is always good rehab. Sitting around and waiting is the slowest.

[semsem]

hi there .. i had TPF with minimal depresion .. no displacement.
no surg.
5.5 weeks now with non WB
my orth. told me to go on with 30% PWB.
the consultant said no pwb until 7weeks
am pain free except feeling of leg and foot discomfort.. this makes me cannot sleep well .
i donnot know what shoud i do .. start wb or wait ????
any advice when start pwb will be great .
thanks

[BTinSF]

Dropping back in to thank everyone for their replies.

My crash was 3 weeks ago, and I've been NWB since. I got a very reassuring second opinion recommending no surgery. The OS was kinda cocky... "I'm a very good surgeon and I don't think I can improve your knee". I have no clue what kind of ROM I should have at this point, or what kind of PT I should be doing. I have a check-in next week with my first doctor, and I'll grill him on all of this, I guess.

For now, I have my brace off for a couple hours a day to flex a little. I've been to work (desk job) once, and outside the house a few times (top floor of a 3 story walk-up ffs). Spending any length of time without my leg elevated is not comfortable at all. These experiences have been really, really exhausting physically and mentally. Dunno how this is going to work for another few weeks, but I'm catching up on some TV so there's that

Just before getting hurt Mrs. BT and I bought plane tickets for the Greek Islands in early September. Will that be an OK trip, or am I high?

[SkiTurtle]

I got back out on skis on Saturday. Three runs at A-Basin. Nothing spectacular - there was a lot of slush - but it felt good to actually do it.

I was really sore the next day, but not in the knee. I have not done a good enough job keeping the rest of my body in shape. My plan now is to take it pretty easy this summer; lots of walking, bike, etc., and then push hard in September and October to get my body back in serious ski shape. Hopefully by September, my knee won't swell up as much and I can try plyo.

Good luck all. I got really depressed when I had this surgery, but I now know that this is just another of life's somethings that can be overcome.

[Skiobsessed]

Anyone ever used a "skiers edge machine" for rehab?

[Adoc86]

Hi all,

I fractured my tibial plateau on December 10th in a car accident. I did not have surgery and simply kept it in a brace for 16 weeks - no weight or bending whatsoever.

The fracture healed nicely and in April I began physical therapy. Now I've developed tendinitis just from simple, very low impact physical therapy exercises. Anyone else have this happen after this sort of injury? Its so discouraging because I sat around for 16 weeks and now that I can begin working on this its terribly painful and I feel like its just prolonging the entire process. Just sitting on a chair and doing 10 leg extensions (bent to straight) is terrible. Of course I rest and ice my knee, but it just keeps happening and I feel like I'm getting no where. UGH!!!

[Skiobsessed]

Hey Did anyone get a CT scan to confirm when you were allowed to start normal activity?
My dr took regular xrays and then did an exam like moving my knee all around and pushing on stuff and then he said I can ditch the cruthes for good and I can start doing eliptical machine and lunges etc... I was like "omg really?!" And he said "we can do a CT scan to make sure" but he said I didnt have to.. Im not sure I really want another CT if its just for peace of mind because I have heard many bad things about the radiation.. So Im wondering do most people get a CT scan before resuming more activity?? Or should I avoid the radiation and just start workin the leg?

[Margosh]

Hey Did anyone get a CT scan to confirm when you were allowed to start normal activity?
My dr took regular xrays and then did an exam like moving my knee all around and pushing on stuff and then he said I can ditch the cruthes for good and I can start doing eliptical machine and lunges etc... I was like "omg really?!" And he said "we can do a CT scan to make sure" but he said I didnt have to.. Im not sure I really want another CT if its just for peace of mind because I have heard many bad things about the radiation.. So Im wondering do most people get a CT scan before resuming more activity?? Or should I avoid the radiation and just start workin the leg?

Only xrays, no ct. I was very afraid and was on crutches 1,5 weeks more, after that I was using a cane. And now I'm walking without any help, but i still have a limb and after 1.5 hours walk, it's starting to heart

[SkiTurtle]

Anyone ever used a "skiers edge machine" for rehab?

My physical therapist just started including a skier's edge in my PT. I am at 2 months of weight bearing.
I used to use a skier's edge in the fall and would spend up to a half hour on it. Yesterday, I could barely finish 3 minutes on one.

[Skiobsessed]

My physical therapist just started including a skier's edge in my PT. I am at 2 months of weight bearing.
I used to use a skier's edge in the fall and would spend up to a half hour on it. Yesterday, I could barely finish 3 minutes on one.

Do you like it? I am thinking about getting one but wanna know if its worth investing in?
I am only on my 2nd week of full weight baring now. I tried the eliptical for the first time today and only lasted 5min!

[SkiTurtle]

Do you like it? I am thinking about getting one but wanna know if its worth investing in?
I am only on my 2nd week of full weight baring now. I tried the eliptical for the first time today and only lasted 5min!

Quite frankly, I bought it years ago, used it regularly for one season, and it has collected dust ever since. Once healthy, there are a lot better and more interesting ways to get in ski shape.

[Skiobsessed]

Quite frankly, I bought it years ago, used it regularly for one season, and it has collected dust ever since. Once healthy, there are a lot better and more interesting ways to get in ski shape.

Cool thanks for info! Yeah right now anything that says "feels like skiing" can suck me in and make me wanna buy..lol but I can see how it would probably get boring. It looks fun on the videos but then again everything looks fun after sitting for so long!

[Skiobsessed]

Hey at what week do most people get the "no restrictions" ok from DR? Like the all clear for running/jumping etc

[regct]

UPDATE!

Learned how to walk again at 12 weeks post op. About a month of limping and learning to stand up straight again. 6 weeks ago started slaying on the downhill bike. Not doing much pedaling. But holy shit man. I'm stoked to be able to do ANYTHING this summer. Still can't run and I have a lot of rehab to do before ski season.

KEEP POSITIVE AND STAY ACTIVE! What a shitty injury but there is hope.