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Tips on Healing Up Broken Femur...?

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A good friend of mine broke his femur!

What are good additional things to help in healing time, and making it a really strong mend?

He's on pain/inflammation meds + physical therapy, but there HAS GOT TO BE lots more additional stuff that can be helpful, too, right?

I'd really like some good advice/tips about this.
Thanx!

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Don't scotch tape a kleenex on the end of a metal coat hanger for protection to scratch an itich on a full cast, cut 5 holes in mine to find it after it fell off , new cast needed.

I was told too use it as much as poss, you body will fix it faster coz you need it, hurts like shit, no pain no gain.

Just keep the leg low as much as poss, if your sitting down, make sure your leg is not on the same level as your butt, put you heel on the floor.
it deosn't mttaer waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm.

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Get off the meds, suck it up. You shouldn't need them after the first week
Start putting as much weight as you can on it right away. Being on pain meds will let you push it too hard.

My teammate was back BASE jumping 6 weeks after breaking his femur
NEVER GIVE UP!

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Get off the meds, suck it up. You shouldn't need them after the first week
Start putting as much weight as you can on it right away. Being on pain meds will let you push it too hard.

My teammate was back BASE jumping 6 weeks after breaking his femur



Egads! (Ok, pick jaw up off floor, Steve..)

Rookie jumper here (all of 13 jumps), but I'm a bit of an expert with regards to healthcare (15 years ER/Trauma nurse).

I'm very glad that your teammate was back jumping after 6 weeks, but each person (and therefore their healing process) is an individual. Le the doc (who has actually seen the person and their leg, make the call on when to put weight on the leg, when to get off pain meds, etc. Being on pain meds will allow the person to function a little more comfortably, but nothing short of IV dilaudid will allow someone to push a broken femur to the point of causing damage. The body's pain tolerance is a great indicator of just how far to push it.

(Ok, getting off soapox/nurse mode here...) ;);););););););)

On the good side, I'm getting off work early tomorow to get in 4 or 5 jumps. (Yayyyyyy)

Steve
The definition of insanity is to keep doing things the same way, but then to expect different results. -Einstein

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>My teammate was back BASE jumping 6 weeks after breaking his femur

Yeah, Don Swayze was back jumping 3 weeks after breaking his foot. Then he hurt it again and they had to amputate it. But if the risk is worth it for you, go for it. And if worse comes to worst? They do wonders with prosthetics nowadays.

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After my broken femur, I really pushed myself, but knew when too much was too much. Follow physical therapy, and go beyond what they want you to do at home. It will hurt, but you have to push it a little bit. He has to know when he's pushing himself too much. It is a good idea to get off of pain meds, however with my situation I used pain when I really couldn't handle it anymore, and about 1/2 to 1 hour before physical therapy.

CReW SKies,
"Women fake orgasms - men fake whole relationships" – Sharon Stone
"The world is my dropzone" (wise crewdog quote)
"The light dims, until full darkness pierces into the world."-KDM

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As someone who has done 4800+ dives AFTER breaking my femur, my advice is get off the pain meds, push with physio, keep aerobically fit by swimming (femur breaks have no casts) and listen to the doc as to when to come back.

t
It's the year of the Pig.

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I broke my femur in February B|, got mobile quite quickly on crutches, and pushed myself within reason (I thought) - then after 5 weeks a 4mm thick steel plate next to the femur broke due to "metal fatigue" and I had to have the whole operation again!! B|>:(This time they put a pin down the centre of the bone - a much stronger solution.

Four months later the femur itself has healed well, but the muscle rehabilitation around the pelvis area is taking forever - the operation is not kind to the muscles they have to cut through to get to the bone.

So, my advice is to take it easy and allow a complete healing process - if you push too hard too soon, you may end up with twice the problem!

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The body's pain tolerance is a great indicator of just how far to push it.


My point exactly

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Let the doc (who has actually seen the person and their leg, make the call on when to put weight on the leg, when to get off pain meds,


I've had many injuries over the years, and it's been my experience that doctors are too conservative when it comes to when or how much to push yourself

After re-reading my first post I'll change it to:
Get off the meds, suck it up. As soon as you can, only you, not the doc, will know when you don't need them anymore

You're right Steve, dilaudid is a wonderful drug. I took myself off of it while still in the hospital, without the docs permission, but that's just me. I've always hated taking any kind of pain meds
NEVER GIVE UP!

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Pour Robitussen on it and let it soak in till the tussin gets to the bone...



You forgot to mention that once the tussin gets to the bone you have to push real hard (like taking a crap) to actually get it into the bone :)
__

My mighty steed

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I broke mine 5 weeks ago and healing well so far, down to only one crutch! The biggest thing that helped me was/is physiotherapy - EXERCISE, EXERCISE, EXERCISE! The muscles become very weak due to inactivity.

Do weight bearing as soon as the doc says it's ok.
-----------------------------------------------------------

-Chanti-

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As someone who has done 4800+ dives AFTER breaking my femur, my advice is get off the pain meds, push with physio, keep aerobically fit by swimming (femur breaks have no casts) and listen to the doc as to when to come back.

t



Ah, but there is a cast for hips and femurs. You don't want to go there though.

About half way down the page.:P

Hip Spica
My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

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Due to nature of my life seldom get to internet access...But am now checking up on ya'all.

Good posts. Thanx.

Yeah, this idea of how much to do while healing is tricky, huh? But sounds like easy, but consistent use, moderation in pushing it is key, huh? And not overdoing anything in particular to cause setbacks or reinjury?

What do you think expectations realistically should be regarding real strong healing of bone and muscle strength??

Guys can act so tough, so REALLY what do ya think?

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What do you think expectations realistically should be regarding real strong healing of bone and muscle strength??



Mine's already healed (the bone) at 5 1/2 weeks but it's not strong. Another 2 months for that. As for the muscles - LONG! I'll be off the crutch in a week or so but my quads are weak, I'm limping. Muscle strength depends on what you put in physically.

-Chanti-

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Yeah, this idea of how much to do while healing is tricky, huh? But sounds like easy, but consistent use, moderation in pushing it is key, huh? And not overdoing anything in particular to cause setbacks or reinjury?

What do you think expectations realistically should be regarding real strong healing of bone and muscle strength??



IMHO, talk with your doc and physical terrorist. Each person is an individual, and the varied factors make every situation unique. What works for one doesn't necessarily work for another. Cyber-advice regarding healthcare is a recipie for disaster.

Steve
The definition of insanity is to keep doing things the same way, but then to expect different results. -Einstein

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