Author Topic: Broken femur  (Read 2103 times)

Analog Kid

  • aka noquitelance
Broken femur
« on: 05 February, 2012, 12:04:05 pm »
Anyone got any experience of recovery from a broken femur?

Following a skiing accident I've got a whacking great big pin through my right femur. Looks like at least 3 months before I can put any significant weight on it.

Getting back on the bike seems a life time away. Anyone on the forum been through this?
Books are for tourists...

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: Broken femur
« Reply #1 on: 05 February, 2012, 12:12:15 pm »
I've got steel replacing the marrow in both femurs (still), from separate crashes (1995 and 2000).

The first one had me in hospital for 6 weeks and in plaster for 6 months. It took a while for a tibia (also with a nail in it) to heal. The femur was no dramas.

The second one also had the knob held on with a big SS wood screw (bone broke in 3 places) that was thankfully removed after a few months. The bolt was a little too long so the muscles got caught on the protruding Allen head every time I moved the hip.

Recovery went fairly well, did 3 x 1200 km brevets last year. Do every bit of physio/ stretching they recommend and push them to give you more. A lot of them are too used to sedentary types.
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Broken femur
« Reply #2 on: 05 February, 2012, 01:24:58 pm »
Clean break of my right femur courtesy of a drunk driver when I was 7 years old (plus the lovely scar on my chin from where a bit of car cut it to the bone, which was a triumph of plastic surgery given how much of a mess it was at the time).  Spent the swelteringly hot summer of '87 in traction (it didn't need to be pinned), mostly in an isolation room[1] with just a Commodore 64 for company, and many months learning to walk again afterwards - it was ages before they'd allow me to bear weight.  I did an awful lot of swimming, which the physios were extremely enthusiastic about, and got to skive copious amounts of school for the purpose.

Obviously this sort of thing heals much better in children, and I could barely ride a bike at that age, so no experience there.  Swimming is a good way to maintain fitness and exercise a leg that isn't rated for weight-bearing, though.  I recommend it.

The only long-term effect has been the difference in leg length, which became more of a problem in my early teens as I grew.  Watch out for that (though presumably it's less of an issue if it's pinned), it can cause all sorts of knee and lower back fun, depending on how you walk/stand, and makes optimal bike setup a bit interesting.



[1] I was about the only person on the children's ward who *didn't* come down with the mumps, so they put me in isolation.  This was tedious, but on balance worth it for the less draconian bedtime rules.

Re: Broken femur
« Reply #3 on: 05 February, 2012, 01:50:28 pm »
OUCH get well soon

marcusjb

  • Full of bon courage.
Re: Broken femur
« Reply #4 on: 05 February, 2012, 02:04:17 pm »
Ouch!  No advice on broken bones I am afraid (my medical dramas have been restricted to knackered lungs) - but recover quickly and listen to the professionals (reasonably closely).

It could be worse, you could have ended up with your

knob held on with a big SS wood screw

(sorry LWaB for selectively quoting - not wishing to make light of your situation, just never one to turn down the opportunity for a cheap genitalia-related gag!  ;))
Right! What's next?

Ooooh. That sounds like a daft idea.  I am in!

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: Broken femur
« Reply #5 on: 05 February, 2012, 02:21:58 pm »
I'm just glad I needed a big screw for it.  Only needing a little one would have added insult to injury.
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

Re: Broken femur
« Reply #6 on: 05 February, 2012, 02:28:13 pm »
Big screws available on NHS, or did you have to go private(s)?

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: Broken femur
« Reply #7 on: 05 February, 2012, 02:31:22 pm »
Done in a different country, so no idea about NHS or private possibilities regarding screws. Perhaps Matron or Nurse Gladys Emmanuel may be able to assist.
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

Analog Kid

  • aka noquitelance
Re: Broken femur
« Reply #8 on: 08 February, 2012, 08:01:25 pm »
Had first outpatient physio appointment this morning.
Really impressed.
I was expecting little more than an assessment today but ended getting time on a low resistance exercise bike which has absolutely made my day.
:)
Books are for tourists...

simonp

Re: Broken femur
« Reply #9 on: 11 February, 2012, 12:23:56 am »
Had first outpatient physio appointment this morning.
Really impressed.
I was expecting little more than an assessment today but ended getting time on a low resistance exercise bike which has absolutely made my day.
:)

Like.

Analog Kid

  • aka noquitelance
Re: Broken femur
« Reply #10 on: 10 July, 2012, 09:53:56 pm »
Just realised it's now 5 months since my last post, my how time flies.......

So time for a quick update then.

My femur is still a collection of bits of bone slowly but surely knitting together around some stainless steel (a Gamma Nail apparently)

I'm not back on the bike yet - I don't quite have the muscle strength to get moving from a standing start, let alone trying to set off uphill at the moment !

I'm walking with a stick or 'lurching' without one in short bursts and still going to Physio and throwing in 3 or 4 gym sessions a week as well.

It's been 'an experience' which I will be happy to see the end of.
 :)
Books are for tourists...