Broken Leg

Broke my tib fib,plate and screws on one side screws on the other. Heads of the screws protruded into the ankle joint and always hurt when I flexxed my ankle. 10 years later while I was having my 5th shoulder surgery my doc told me he could whip those screws out while I was under. Bone had grown over the heads of the screws,ground away bone to get to allen heads,allen heads stripped out. Ground away more bone to get vice grips and every other tool he had on the head of the screw ended up snapping the screws off in the middle of the shank on the screw,never seen that befor he tells me. Wake up, ankle pain 10 times worse than shoulder pain,couldnt use crutches because of shoulder, IT SUCKED. Sorry to rant, moral if you need to remove any hardware dont wait. Hope everyone heals up fast.
 
wow joe didnt know you had the infection thing going on... that sucks.. i can say been there done that. my pins came loose in my femur... they pulled em, got infected, did surgery agani, no healing still...did a picc line for 12 weeks antibiotics twice a day at home, health care at home, etc ...got better. pulled picc line out. infection came back. surgery again to pull the rod out (3rd surgery that year on the leg).. another picc line (those hurt like a MOFO when they put them in might I add.. for whatever reason they didnt numb me at all). finally after another 8 weeks of antibiotics i cleared up. definitly be careful with that thing. my infection got into my femur and stuff it was getting pretty bad.
 
GeeSH!! Reading through the posts didn't realize so many ppl have as much problems with this sort of stuff, Are you all seeing the same Doc? JK.
I had similar with Tib & Fib. Nasty infection. Removed hardware early. Re broke Twice. On crutches and cane for almost two years. Problems for years after.
Don't try to rush things too much. Move as much as possible and therapy to reduce loss of muscle. Calcium supplements or Tums. Good Luck! Be patient.
 
Bill480 said:
man another collar bone? with mine included i know of 4 broken collarbones in the past 6 months. crazy. i have 5 screws and a plate in mine now :(

and i have nothing to add to the broken leg dilemma. ask your doc about an ultrasound bone healer. i used one on my collarbone when i was trying to speed up recovery. i have no way of telling if it helped or not but it sure was a fancy little gadget.
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Make that 5 collarbones you know of in 6 months. I just drank a ton of milk, took too many calcium pills and 4 weeks later the doctor signed a release for me to resume normal. Last time I broke it I didn't do the milk and calcium and it took the doc 7 weeks to release me from restrictions. I know a collarbone compared to a leg break of that magnitude is like comparing a thunderstorm to a hurricane but the milk thing did cut my recovery time. My buddy broke tib and fib in both legs, they put him on some sort of electro therapy. Be patient and heal all the way before you saddle up. Good luck.
 
ddmx488 said:
Do you think you're breaking it because of a leatt, or do you not wear a leatt? Just curious.
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I am pretty certain both of my collarbone breaks were because of the leatt, but at the same time the way I landed both times I would rather have the leatt and deal with the collarbone.
 
i could think over the leatt/no leatt debate in my head alllllllll day and still never come to a satisfying decision on whether or not i should wear one.
 
I saw another surgeon today for a second opinion. He was very concerned about my leg. He scheduled a cat scan tomorrow so he can see exactly what is going on. He also said he never would have let me out of the OR with a leg left in my condition, it has some issues. I'll let you know what he says when I see him next.
 
Hey guys, I saw the doc today and looked at the cat scan. He was hoping it would tell that it was healed or not healed. But said it looks like I have some bone growth in the gap and hopefully that will turn to solid bone. I am to give it some more time and just monitor it. I am happy it's healing but bummed it is taking so long. But talking on here I see several said it took sometimes 6 months or longer. So I will be patient and let it heal. He said I could try a bone stimulator but doesn't have a lot of faith in them. Thanks for all the comments. See you at the races, Mark.
 
bummer you got a longer wait but at least its progress. still early in the year too.

i see the doc the 7th for my collarbone. it feels good but every now and then i have a little pain still (when i try to do something i probably shouldnt be doing) its not bad at all, but i know its not right.. hopfully thats not too terrible of a sign and the slight pain is just from not really doing much with it..idk.
 
try the bone stimulator if the doc can get you one. i have one and it seems to help some. even if he doesnt have too much faith in it, i'd say its worth a try.
 
saw the doctor yesterday, got a cat scan and it isnt healing. its been 10 weeks since my last surgery and its only 40% healed at the most. it seems that the infection is back, and they arent sure how or why, but it is. my dad has talked with 3 different doctors and i have appointments with all of them next week to get their opinion on it. from what i have heard, they think that its because there isnt proper blood flow to the spot that is getting infected. so after next week, i will know more about whats going on, but from what my current doctor said, if the infection is completely back, the outcome isnt good. its definitely tough to keep going through all of this stuff over and over again, but im trying to keep a positive attitude and keep my head up. i cant come all this way, and go through everything that ive been through to just give up now.

Windtunnel, hows your whole situation going?
 
bummer to hear that joe. infection is a real b*#$@

they thought mine got better they stopped the meds and pulled the picc line, then had to do another one after it came back.

good luck man.
 
Bornhorst, man I'm sorry to hear your infection may have come back. Not sure what to suggest especially if you have 3 doctors working on you. When I had my infection in my wrist, my brother had just started making and drinking colloidal silver. It was used for infections before they had penicillin. I started taking it and my infection went away but I also had a pic line and anti-biotics. I wish you the best and hope the doc's can find something that works and get's you healing well. My leg is coming along. I see the doctor again in May so will see if mine has healed. Maybe do a search and see if anyone knows of some natural things you can take that would help. Eat a balanced diet. Let us know how you are doing. Just talking about it and talking to others that have been through it or finding something that helps is worth writing on here. Good luck.
 
had a test done yesterday to see how the bloodflow in my leg is, and turns out that one of the arteries is dead. they said its alright, just not the best thing to have haha. but i go in for surgery on monday i think up at cleveland metro. i guess its going to be some pretty crazy procedure where they cut out the infected bone down where its broken and then they have to extend the bone however far it is that they cut out but they said that they're confident that they can fix it. said its gonna be another 9-12 months till its good so i still have a long road ahead of me.
 
Dude when was your injury date? Have you been banged up for over a year now it seems? Man dude, it's just so good to see you staying so positive. Is your brother still racing?
 
its been almost exactly 7 months now. happened on September 19th, next to last OIR race. My brother's been riding a little here and there but no racing yet this year. hes just letting everything settle down with my situation for right now. and yea, im trying to stay positive, its definitely hard sometimes but there's nothing i can do about it. and it wouldnt help anything to sit around and feel sorry for myself so all i can do is stay positive. been racing RC cars quite a bit to keep my mind off of it and have something to look forward to. so thats been helping out a lot.
 
Brother, sorry to hear you have to have another surgery. I hope this helps get rid of the infection. When I was down with my leg, my brother bought me a bass guitar and amp. I played the thing all the time just to have something to do. It was great fun and I'm still playing and making progress. I'm not on a bike yet but did go back to work this week at Cedar Point. My leg is sore and swelled the first couple days but felt better by the end of the week. I will see my dodctor in two weeks and will know more about the healing. I bought an air dyne and ride it daily for exercise. I wish you the best Monday on your surgery.
 
Hey, I saw my second opinon doctor today. The Xrays came back very positive that the Tibia is healing. It's almost been 7 months so I was a little bummed but after hearing about all the what ifs I am glad to be walking again. He felt very confident it will heal all the way. I am wondering about Bornhorst and how he is doing. I hope better. See you at the track, watching for now.
 
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