I sit here and type this exactly a week to the day that my right leg has been pinned and plated in Surgery. After an unexpected tibial plateau fracture playing football with some work colleagues. Not the way i expected to spend the next couple of months, As a keen runner and cyclist, i am not sure there is much worse!, but such is life!
It feels odd to notice so many other threads about broken bones. Seems like knee caps are exploding here and there and collar bones are public enemy number 1!
Each thread shares many experiences and great advice, but i thought it might be an idea for those who have broken bones, recently or many moons ago, to share any tips, treats, nuggets, medical advice or voodoo magic that they may have employed that felt like it gave a positive result to recovery.
Personally, i am in such an early stage, any tips are welcome. I dont smoke, so thats not an issue, i wont touch booze until recovered and am avoiding ibuprofen as i know that slows bone healing. I am one of those weird veggies, so eating plenty of greens, but wonder if i need additional supplements to aid recovery? Do i need to take calcium? did i read creatine helps? all the vitamins?!
so what have you got for me and my fellow bone breaking sufferers?
I took a calcium supplement. No idea if it helped but it can't hurt?
Otherwise get moving as soon as you can, slowly. Reduce muscle loss etc
calciyummy! cane the cheese/milk etc (or take suppliments)
i`m also broken - wrist/elbow
I did hear cottage cheese is meant to be good. Annoyingly i seem to not agree with too much cheese, makes my stomach churn!
Do we know what dose of calcium we want? or something like this:
https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/vitabiotics-osteocare-original-tablets-6100143627
sharing your pain on the Tibial plateau fracture (Ju Jitsu) - that wasnt at all pleasant, I didnt have surgery so was non-weight bearing for a total of 9 weeks. if you want good news, i regained full mobility/strength.
currently sat here exactly 5 weeks into a Proximal Humerus fracture - time, and further x-rays will tell if its healed straight.
1. maximise oxygen in the blood (no drinking or smoking)
2. (consider) increase calorie intake, particular focus on protein and calcium & vitamins
3. move, (as much as you can without making things worse) you will want to retain as much flexibility as you can
4. exercise, both to get the blood pumping and to retain strength
5. do the physio - there is no magic tablet that makes you right again, just do it. use it or lose it.
Rest. When a bone breaks the patient loses quite a bit of blood. It’ll take six weeks, then do as much physiotherapy as is allowed.
Check on the NHS website for your particular break and injury to see if there is any small exercises that you can gently do after a week or so.
Try and enjoy the time and catch up with films, telly programmes, seeing friend and maybe a bit of gardening.
i managed to paint several fence panels with a broken hip. Hubby lined them up and put the paint somewhere easily accessible 😀
Good thoughts for feedback and interested to see what people post - don’t forget the mental health side of things staying in touch with friends and family if you are cooped up indoors for days on end. I’m interested whether any of the massage guns can help with keeping muscles flexible during healing ? How to use indoor bike and possibly e bikes as part of rehab process ?
good healing vibes to all
Right folks, I'll start. It's not a bloody competition you know ! (Broke pelvis in Jan, MrsF broke foot in April)
Avoid Ibuprofen - it slows bone healing. I found this from my spinal specialist, whilst in hospital, recovering from a broken spine. I wish I'd known I'd broken my pelvis in January as I was living off ibuprofen as I was told it wasn't broken and just muscular - only six weeks later did I discover I was extensively broke.
Calcium supplements - OK if you drink meat and cheese. Vitamin D - I paid for a test and found I was very deficient. I take a 400iu tablet once a day. Also Magnesium.
Exercise/move about and use it as and when you are allowed to.
If you get any problems - shout and get seen. My NHS treatment has been shocking. GP is now bending over and doing stuff as I've put a complaint in. Managed to get a Dexa scan and a n ultrasound booked recently having reminded them they were ignoring hospital referrals !
PS I've had no time off with my hip/pelvis, one as I didn't know I'd broke it, and two, it was too blimmin late when I found out. Fortunately, some WFH and having just bought an automatic enabled me to carry on.
Creatine helps reduce muscle atrophy.
84 breaks here. Seaweed has all of the mineral constituents of bone in a highly bio available form. Additional silica is also recommended by several studies. The highest natural source that I know of is horsetail/equisetum which can be made into a tea or can munch on the node ends which are soft and juicy. With any natural product, you need to consume a lot for a strong effect.
Probably nothing that hasn't already been posted, but I swear by:
As much as possible (whole mornings/afternoons/evenings) use an ice pack for 20 minutes as directly as comfortable. When swelling still exists just do the next 20 minutes with nothing on it. Then back to the ice and repeat as long as possible.
When swelling has gone, do the same but use a heat pack for the 'other' 20 mins. This is my go-to for any kind of physical injury (within reason). A couple of years ago I managed to heal a hamstring tear (non biking injury) in under two weeks - enough to not get a bollocking from the missus for limping around on our family summer holiday.
Oh and just clean up the food and drink intake (if you're not already a healthy eating fanatic).
On the witchraft/snakeoil side, I've had good experience with this stuff
https://www.midsuffolkphysiotherapy.co.uk/treatments/fracture-healing/
Initially with Brian Simpson at Ipswich Physiotherapy (now retired); when I bust my collarbone 2 years back went to Mid Suffolk.
There's no "evidence" that its any more than a placebo, but in each case, for me anyway, I've had fast healing (NHS docs impressed with how quickly the Callous is forming) and no issues afterwards. (first time I used it when I broke my wrist, I drove to France immediately after the cast was cut off - 5 weeks after the initial break - and did 2 weeks hard technical alpine riding with zero pain).
The basic physio advice I had from Midsuffolk was worth the entry cost when I did my collarbone and was left in limbo by the NHS.
Its a couple of hundred quid, so not cheap, but not silly expensive. Would use again if/when I bugger myself up next time.
Other than that - clean living during recovery and as much movement as you can stand. I've ended up walking lots with upper limb injuries.
Keep your leg elevated as much as you can. I had a nasty spiral fracture of lower shaft tibia which required being in traction for 6 weeks before moving slowly to weight bearing over another 6 weeks or so. The resulting DVT went from ankle to groin. You probably want to avoid that.
28 years later I still wear a surgical compression stocking. It hasn't stopped me doing anything but it's a bit of a nuisance.
Just read my post which was written in haste, at the local hospital waiting for my physiotherapy session for my healing broken shoulder.
By rest, I mean this next week. Yes calcium is your friend.
Get some physio asap. I couldn't get anything for weeks and weeks on the nhs, so ended up paying, which brought on my recovery in leaps and bounds.
I found the NHS website invaluable and started off with the very easy exercises that were shown. Only do what is suggested and on the correct timeline.
Don't beat yourself up, you've just had surgery and it takes time to recover. It's the usual, eat properly and well, keep yourself hydrated, get plenty of sleep and get out and about in the fresh air.
Hopefully you have good friends who will visit and keep your spirits up.
Bit of a fracture veteran, and Mrs Scape always insisted I took Vitamin D which helps with the healing process, so take that with calcium rich diet. Or sunbathe.
DIY hyperbaric chamber.
In addition to the suggestions above, consider a 3 mg/day boron supplement to help with the calcium uptake (see Pivotal role of boron supplementation on bone health: A narrative review - PubMed).