Fractured femur
Posted , 25 users are following.
I slipped in the garden just under three weeks ago and fractured my left femur, it snapped into two pieces, half way between my hip and my knee. After dragging myself about 30 feet back into the house I was taken to hospital and the next day had a femoral nail put in it and told to start using it from the next day. After a week in hospital I was released and have been given an appointment to see the consultant towards the end of June. I was surprised that they've left me to my own devices with no real instructions on how much I should or shouldn't be doing but I am putting weight on it but not totally. I was on strong painkillers of 2x30mg codeine and 2x500mg paracetamol but stopped them yesterday as I was starting to have nightmares. There is still swelling at the top of my hip where the nail went in and I have pain there and in my knee where the screws went in but it's bearable and not half as painful as I thought it was going to be.
I just wondered if anyone else has had their fracture treated with the nail which, I have to say, is the best thing as I could have been immobile for weeks before I could even put weight on it but so far I am getting about and even managing a bit of washing up and even ironing. How long has it taken anyone to get back to normal or walk without a stick etc. Thanks for any information anyone can give.
4 likes, 65 replies
lyle.albert Spindles
Posted
Hey everyone!
Just read this whole feed, and wow is it comforting to find I'm not the only one with questions about my femur fracture.
I am a 22yr old male and completely fractured my left femur 11/16/17 in a skateboarding accident. I had an intramedullary rod inserted with proximal and distal nails to hold in place. First day out of the hospital I blacked out in the bathroom and ended up falling flat on my newly repaired leg.
Since then I feel like my leg has a toggle or small rotation where the fracture is. After following up with the surgeon he said I should be fine, to see him in 2-3 weeks.
It is now 1 whole week since surgery and my biggest concern is life after the recovery.
Any body have any stories on flexibility or weight training after this type of injury? Or did anyone experience what feels like a leg that toggles in and out if two locations depending on foot rotation?
I look forward to a healthy recovery and hope I can resume all my activities as I am a highly active guy. If anyone can relate, I'd love to hear other stories and advice. Also any advice on good diet to recover would be greatly appreciated and welcomed.
lyle.albert
Posted
Hello everyone!!
Today marks 6 weeks since my surgery (more above). I know that when I was bed ridden this forum allowed me to get an idea of what was to come so this is my follow-up in hopes it helps someone else some day.
After about 4 weeks I was walking around with one crutch, one week after that I decided to ditch the crutch and start using my old hiking stick from when I was a boy scout. (More stylish than a cane when you're 22yrs old ha!) The toggling/clicking/popping I would get on my leg slowly went away as I started putting more weight on my leg, and as of now I don't have that anymore. The sooner you can put weight on your leg, the quicker the healing will go. Lucky for me the nails holding the rod in place don't stick out much so I havent had any joint pain, except for in my hip from time to tbime but I think that will go away as well.
My advice to anyone who broke their femur and might be reading this, hang in there! There's light at the end of the tunnel and if you listen to your doctors and get with a physical therapist you should be okay. Stay positive, eat plenty of protein, and start using your leg when your soreness is at a manageable level.
I'll post another update later! Cheers
myrightfemur lyle.albert
Posted
Dang, 21, active (was powerlifting) dude here. I'm glad this comment exists 'cause I just fractured/rodded my right femur and couple screws in my right ankle from a car accident last month. It's been 5 weeks post op and I'm getting pretty comfortable feeling like I'm walking normally with crutches, but I don't think I can with just one crutch yet. How's flexibility been for you? At 5 weeks I feel like there's still a decent amount of resistance from my knee, and it can't go 90 degrees on its own while sitting yet. I hope to get full flexion back, but I was able to go to the gym for the first time yesterday and it felt good to have an excuse just to do upper body for a while, haha.
How's your recovery now? How back to normal is the leg's strength/flexibility and have you been able to go back to your regular activities?
lyle.albert myrightfemur
Posted
Hello Myrightfemur! Today is April 3rd, about four months since I had my surgery. As far as range of motion is concerned, I've been pretty fortunate to have almost exactly the same ROM since before the accident. I have been able to return to almost all activities. Few things I'm not doing: high adrenaline sports and running. Other than those I'm pretty much nomql again. Pain is mostly gone too.
My best advice would be to not rush yourself too much trying to get back into it. I was pushing myself to want to workout the same as before, and from trying to do plates on a bench press I bent the screws holding my rod in place (I only have two screws, therefore shortening my leg ) so I would suggest not to rush carrying heavy weight nor don't rush getting off the crutches. It'll happen on its own. All in all I'm dealing with having a slightly shorter leg than the other. No one else can tell but me, and it rattles my brain constantly. It's a difference less than a quarter inch, so it's clinically insignificant(.75 inches), but it still bothers me.
I hope you all the best with your recovery. You'll make it through!!
Spindles
Posted
I am the original poster and this is the latest update. It seems that the medication I had been taking to strengthen my bones were the cause of me breaking my leg in 2014. I had been on the medication for a total of ten years and had stopped the tablets for two years and that's when I broke my leg. I was put back on them for another three years but stopped them again in September last year. I saw a consultant recently about pains in my other leg and had a few x-rays done and I have a small partial fracture in that leg as well. This he says is definitely caused by the alendronic acid and I MUST NOT EVER take them again and the probable treatment for this "rare" condition called atypical femur fracture is to have a plate or nail inserted to stop my leg breaking. The medical profession have known since at least 2005 that people were breaking their femurs easily after stepping off kerbs or just standing up but yet they still go on dishing out tablets or injections to make your bones stronger. Anyone on osteoporosis medication who are getting aches or pains in their thighs, groins or hips after being on it for many years should consider stopping the medication and seeing their doctor. To say I was surprised when told that I had a tiny fracture in my femur was an understatement. I just hope that the fracture was starting to heal after stopping the medication and not getting worse. Apparently the results of the medication can last at least ten years after stopping it so I could still break my femur.
judyelaine Spindles
Posted
judyelaine Spindles
Posted
I was in an acute rehab. Best place I could have been. 6 weeks of OT and PT twice a day Monday through Friday. They put a nail in my my right femur and a pin down my leg. In the beginning I was in excruciating pain. but because I believe in the slogan ' no pain no gain' I was motivated to do whatever it took so that I could walk.
6 weeks in rehab six more weeks at home exercising on my own. Making myself walk without the aid of a walker. I did it!! Next came the cane, that I used for 2 more months, walking in a warm water pool, and daily exercise.
2 years later I still have some discomfort with the nail and the PIN but I can walk. I can go and do without any assistance. Can't complain! I have a friend with no legs.
Spindles judyelaine
Posted
If you are still having discomfort two years after breaking your femur and you think it might be the pin or screws then maybe you need the screws taken out. Seventeen months after I had the pin inserted I had just the screws taken out because I had been getting a grinding/crunching feeling at my hip and I could see a visible "flick" of a tendon moving back and forth across the screws on the side of my knee. I knew when I had the first operation that because I was on the thin side the screws were slightly too long but the surgeon though I might not have any problems. He was prepared to remove the pin and screws but they found that the bone had grown over the ends of the pin which would have made it a much more complicated operation. As soon as the screws were removed all the grinding went.
By the way, after spending exactly a week in hospital and making sure I could walk up and down the stairs they discharged me and the only time I went to the hospital was for follow-ups every couple of months. I was never offered any form of exercise or therapy, maybe they thought I was a tough old bird as I was 68 and had dragged myself 40 feet back up the garden, dragging my leg behind me!