Femur Recovery

[bmoore21184 0]

Seeing from the incident reports I am not the only lucky person to break a femur in this sport. I broke mine about 4 weeks ago and now have a rod and a couple pins in there.

My question is to those that have broken their femur. How long did it take you to walk? run? jump? full recovery? The doc is telling me another 3 months to fully recover. He is saying it will take me 2 months after the bone heals to get all my muscles back. Now I have had broken bones before (though nothing this big/bad and they were casted). I was just wondering if that is on target with what other people have experienced? Assuming that i keep doing the physical therapy as prescribed. I know situations vary and such.

The big concern for me now is getting back in shape for the gymnastics season and the doc doesn't predict I will be ready before March.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

B Moore

'Turbulence is a bitch'

[lewmonst 0]

Mine was femur and pelvis, so I was non-weight bearing for 6 weeks... but this was my ordeal...

walk? eh, 6 weeks, but it was shaky and stairs were difficult
run? 3 months, but it was a slow run and kinda painful
jump? 4 months. could have jumped after 3, but waited for the perfect conditions and confidence to return.
1 year? I'm adding that benchmark, I'd say about 95% recovered.
full recovery? ha, full recovery? I'm not quite there yet, being ~16 months past. Now, I'd say 98% recovered. I can do everything I could before, still just slightly weeker in the muscles and every once in a while i feel pain, especially after 7 tandems...
I did have one of the screws removed after 9 months. That put me out for a few weeks, but eventually i was much better off because it was irritating. I doubt I'll ever fell 100% recovered, but I'm quite happy with 98%.

I wasn't ready to play volleyball again after 6 months, so i doubt you'll be up for gymnastics in march. work hard in therapy. Do lots of muscle building on that side, in your hip flexors, quads, hamstrings and everything involving the knee...

good luck

http://www.exitshot.com

[douwanto 22]

Sorry to hear of your missfortune.

I walked out of the hospital with in 48 hours.
You will have to walk through the pain.
Runing happened about 3 weeks and jump well
I was doing Tandems in 9 weeks.
No not as a passenger as the Tandem instructor
Full recovery took well over a year.
The leg is fine now you arent going to bend the Spike, the problem is the hip flexor.(spelling) takes a while to heal.

I had 3 subsequent surgeries one to remove the screw in the top it was sticking out 3/8 of an inch and causing a great amount of pain. then I got Staff from the previous surgery so they had to go in again.
Them after 14 months I had the rod removed.
I healed in 3 weeks from the last surgery.


Being used to hard workouts you should have no trouble overcoming this .

Good luck.

Uncle/GrandPapa Whit
Unico Rodriguez # 245
Muff Brother # 2421

[douwanto 22]

Lew I am glad to see you made it to the other side of your injurie.
It sure looks like a long road until you get to the end. It goes quickly doesnt it???

Also Bmoore if you intend on Skydiving in the future you may want to consider having the rod removed.
It can make quite a mess if you femur with the rod in.

Just my 2 cents

Uncle/GrandPapa Whit
Unico Rodriguez # 245
Muff Brother # 2421

[bmoore21184 0]

Thanks for the replies. I am allowed 50% weight for the next 11 days, then hopefully with a good x ray will be up to 100%. I am walking in the pool, getting stim, doing misc. exercises, and taking calcium supplements.

I hadn't heard about getting the rod removed before. The only thing the doc mention was getting the pins removed down the road if they were causing me pain in my knee. I will mention it to him when I go in to see him again. Anyone else had experience with getting the rod and then having it removed?

B Moore

'Turbulence is a bitch'

[lewmonst 0]

Quote

Lew I am glad to see you made it to the other side of your injurie.
It sure looks like a long road until you get to the end. It goes quickly doesnt it???

yes, thanks.

Quote

Also Bmoore if you intend on Skydiving in the future you may want to consider having the rod removed.
It can make quite a mess if you femur with the rod in.

My rod is still in. I had thought for those first 8 months I was going to have it all removed. My mind was set on it and I went to the doc specifically to plan the removal. After a good 15 minute argument, he convinced me to leave it in. He said, "Why do you want it out?". I said, "Incase I brake it again." He said, "You aren't going to brake it again." I said, "What if I do?". He said. "You won't." I said, "But I'm still skydiving and doing all the things I did before, so the risk for the same injury is there." He said, "Even if you have the exact same accident, you won't brake that femur. You will brake every other bone in your body before that one. Besides the fact that it is now the strongest bone in your body with almost 50% more bone mass at the fracture site, there's a titanium rod to add strength as well. It would take an accident so much worse now to brake that leg, that if that happened, the rest of your body probably be destroyed anyway. And the rod they put in was a little short, and deeply embedded in the femur, so to get it out would take as complicated of a surgery as it was put it in. And that risk isn't worth it unless it's causing you problems" So, it took me a while to let that sink in, but I accepted that. I also asked another orthopedic surgeon about it, and he agreed it was safe to leave the rod in and continue skydiving. They did both say that if it ever did start causing me problems I should get it out. My insurance right now wouldn't pay for that "elective" surgery anyway, so that's where I'm at. Rod is in, I've done ~800 jumps since, gotten a tandem rating and am back running 3+ miles comfortably. And I don't set off the airport detectors.

peace
lew

http://www.exitshot.com

[IMGR2 0]

Just FYI, I used this calcium both times I broke my femur. Doctor said I healed like a 12 year old.

http://www.gnld.com/store/Product.aspx?STORE_ID=1&CATEGORY_ID=1032&NAV_CATEGORY_ID=1014&product_id=10041

And a note, they are chewable but don't chew them, they taste horrible. Just swallow them.

[Tonto 1]

The variables in this are massive.

I destroyed the centre section of my femur. I had a plate running down the side, and 14 screws keeping all the bits together. It looked like a garden rake in my leg on X-Ray.

I was..

(Stupidly) Jumping in 6 weeks
Walking in 4 months
Running (slowly and painfully) in 5 months

I had the plate and screws out after a year and needed to wait 6 weeks after that op for the new bone density to increase.

Full recovery? That was 17 years ago - and I have some very minor left knee issues that surface only under fairly arduous conditions. (Like 5 days hiking to summit Kilimanjaro)

My advice is take your time now - and heal properly. The risk I placed myself at back then was completely unnesesary.

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[selbbub78 0]

Hey there, welcome to the titanium club (that's what i was told anyway). I broke mine in late february due to my own stupidity of course. I was walking 1 month after the rod and pins were put in. I still have trouble running, though. I was jumping 3 months after it happened. I still have the rod in my leg, as my doctor said it'd probably be a good idea to keep it in, although i do have issues with one of the pins in my knee, and it may be coming out, haven't decided yet. I was told i will be able to heal completly which i'm hoping for, but the only thing i can't do right now is run.

blue 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

[Zenister 0]

hmm

i was walking about 2 weeks after, but that was stubborn and stupid i was walking on the rod and the screws, not good..... i've been jogging 2-3 miles 3-4 times a week in the last month (some 4 months after breaking it) i'm nowhere near getting all the lost muscle mass back, but as i was 'lopsided' from fencing for years, the accident actually evened me out alot.. (about the only good thing to come of it)

it still hurts a bit when i attempt to stretch into a full sprint and i have to work through some issues with my running mechanics now but i can at least dance again

i was pretty aggressive about stretching while i was off my feet mostly and had a massage therapist work with me to get my range of motion back...

the pins arent bothering me at all, so baring complications i'm leaving it all in... i had much the same discussion as Lew with my OS except he emphasized IF i did impact hard enough to break that leg again there was the chance of the rod actually shattering the bone at ends and a (small) possibility of actually bending it and breaking the bone its in.. which would be extremely bad as it would have to be cut into pieces to be removed, a VERY invasive surgery.... however its likely that i would die of severe trauma first. unless the impact was very localized from say something like a car bumper (as happens in many car vs motorcycle t-bones) however unless it started bothering me it was generally better to leave it in and do everything i can to avoid a repeat... geee thanks doc i needed you to tell me not to do THIS again..

all in all i got very very lucky.. i had a great surgeon (the doctor who took over for him on vacation literally stared at my xrays and said "damn that guy is good"... several times..) good friends to help care and push me when i needed it to recover and am generally in good shape so healed rather quickly...

i expect to be jumping in the next two weeks to get current again in time for Eloy... but i'm also planning on taking it easy during the boogie and enjoying the party and the company as much as the jumps...

____________________________________
Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[Linas120 0]

Well, for me personally it is interesting to see that a lot of you guys have started physical activities after a broken femurs so quickly. 3 weeks after surgery is nothing talking about a time that is necessary to at least partial femur recovery. The only thing that holds the pieces of the broken femur at this time is the metal plate, rod, or this weird looking apparatus, which is sticking out to the surface of the leg (in cases of very complicated bone injuries). When I had broken femur 4 years ago, I had to spend 3 months walking with 2 crutches and no load for the injured leg at all. In total, it took me 5 months to fully recover and be back in sport again. The metal plate and 12 screws were removed from my bone something like one year later. Now I don't feel any consequences (such as pain, any kind of discomfort, etc.) of the injury at all and the only things that remind me of it are x-ray photos and zipper-like scar on my leg. Therefore, I could advice from the personal experience that there is nowhere to hurry with recovering fom such injuries, because otherwise the consequences might be felf throughout the rest of the life.

[selbbub78 0]

well, when i say i was walking, i should probably mention with crutches. I was in a wheelchair for a month (but that's because of an aorta tear as well). I was off crutches though 4 weeks later.

And you're right there's no rush to healing quickly... i jump, but i only do it occassionally right now. My leg can't take much more than that.

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

[bigphatfro 0]

Hey man, good luck on the speedy recovery. At least you don't have to march in formations for quite some time. Take advantage of being a Form-18r. Peace.

FroMan
Dirty Dozen

[bmoore21184 0]

Well 6 weeks and 2 days after the accident and I am off crutchs. I got cleared for full wieght Monday. Looking at the x ray it still looked pretty bad but the doc knows more than me. Still have to wait 2 to 2.5 months to do any impact or running. We will see how that goes.

P.S. Does anyone know how to get aluminum crutches to burn??

B Moore

'Turbulence is a bitch'

[tdog 0]

Quote

P.S. Does anyone know how to get aluminum crutches to burn??

I lived in Malibu California when the fires came thru in 93... A chain link fence across the street turned into puddles of metal - like something you would see in the movies... I would suggest lots of wood, and perhaps jet fuel just to be sure.

[Cacophony 0]

I shattered my femur into a bunch of tiny sharp pieces and cracked my pelvis in 2 places. That was in August of 2003. I still can't run without limping. Not something I do often so I'm sure I could work it out. I would have jumped 3 months after but had to wait 7 because of the winter. My first few jumps still hurt. To regain flexability and muscle tone it took about 3 to 4 months.

[xavenger 0]

I'm no physician - but my advice would be to TAKE IT EASY until you are as close to 100% as you and your doctors realistically think you can be. If it's possible (and in many cases it isn't) try and get stronger and fitter than you were before.

Many sports people keen to return to their passion start again way too early - the consequences later in life can be disasterous. Whilst your bones, muscles, ligaments and tendons are weak you have a substantially greater risk of injuring yourself again. Sure you might not break your femur again, but bones are sometimes the least of your worries if you have damaged softer tissue. A torn or damaged ligament can cause a lifetime of trouble even if the broken bone has long since fixed itself.

One fast landing and a stumble is all it takes to hurt a healthy person, imagine if your leg gives way on a landing - after a serious injury like that you have already sustained. Don't jeapordise your mobility for the rest of your life by placing your leg at risk for a skydiving fix and a bit of hedonism.

Just take it easy, get in the gym, get the thing strong - if necessary take a year or more off the sport before returning to it.

Hmmmm, I sound like a right kill joy don't I? Well sorry! I know skydiving is addictive, but going back to it too early could jeopordise your ability to do it and other sports in the medium/long term.

James

[bmoore21184 0]

I am with you on taking it easy. I am following all of the doc's recommendations. Through my therapy my leg didn't atrophy at all when comparing the measurements at the 6 week mark. Though I know my right leg still isn't as strong as the left. I am trying to work with my doc, I know a lot of people work against their doc. The main reason I am really adhering to the doc's recommendations is so I don't take any steps backward. I don't have time for that as gymnastics season is around the corner.

I am not planning on jumping til April. I am trying to get to the point where I can do some gymnastics for our team this year. If all things go well, the doc is guessing mid February to go back to some events (like pommel horse for those that know gymnastics). I will worry about jumping after the gymnastics season is over (though I haven't gone a day without thinking about it yet) and with the doc's approval of course . Thanks for all the advice.

B Moore

'Turbulence is a bitch'