Tibial Plateau Fracture Questions

[nejiwhopper]

Just a little over 10 days ago I fractured my Tibial Plateau. I went to the ER and had x-rays. They braced my knee and referred me to a an Orthopedic Surgeon whom I saw 5 days later. The doctor came and spent a total of 5 minutes with me. Explained that he anticipates it to heal well but that I will develop arthritis in my knee eventually. He did a quick examination of it and that was it. He sent in one of his nurses to put me in a hinged brace and said to come back in 4 weeks.

I feel he did a very poor job at explaining the injury and what I should expect such as pain and discomfort other than to mention the eventual development of arthritis. Also, there was no mention or additional testing for muscle damage.

The break is in the outside of my right knee however all the pain I am experiencing is in the inner part of my knee. I feel like someone is taking a red hot knife and driving it sidewides through my knee.

My question is, will he address any muscle damage after the bone heals or should that have been evaluated immediately as well? Also, he only instructed me to bare no weight on it but did not indicate that I should avoid any other activities. I have been lifting my leg on it's own to help keep at least my quads strong, I'm not feeling any pain from doing this. I only do it for instance to place a pillow under it.

Also, the brace they gave me seems to be getting too big for my leg as I have been loosing weight. When I stand, it slips down my leg to my ankle. I've tightened it as much as possible but it is still doing this. Should I contact his office and inform them of this to see if there is a smaller size that I should use?

Lastly, I have also been experiencing some terrible lower back pain since this injury. I am not able to lie in bed, I have been having to sit and sleep in a chair with an Ottoman. This worries me as the only time I am getting up and about is when I go to use the bathroom. My home is very small and my steps to leave the house make it impossible to go outside without help and only to go for appointments.

Any advice, tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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[nmarman]

Inform the surgeon about the brace and wasting of thigh -yes

The fracture often comes with meniscus damage which maybe what you are feeling as the sharp pain. You will probably need a orthoscopy wash out post healing.

The back pain is probably on one side more than other (good leg side , most of time) and around the that little dimple area and in flank. If it is sharp pain in the back it will be coming from the SI joint most likely. It is due to limping and unbalancing the pelvis.

Manipulation would work best and although you could choose a osteopath, chiropractor or physio that has trained in manipulation a chiropractor is the best option for this condition. This is only because of the benches they use, ask for something called drop technique, it will spare the knee movement. Also they are trained in musculoskeletal radiology so they can even talk you though you x-ray.
Happy healing

www.chiropractorwimbledon.co.uk

[nejiwhopper]

My lower back pain has subsided considerably. I'm concerned because I have a non-displaced fracture without surgery. I have been reading others stories online and have read that they have often gotten x-rayed again in a week or two after injury to ensure proper healing and then starting physical therapy right away. I received my brace and then I won't be going back to the doc again for 4 weeks. I'm afraid that this long length between visits is going to delay my recovery and cause significant muscle loss. Is this is a normal way of going about this? When I called my doc to find out why such a long delay between doc visits, the only eplanation I was given was because the doc would be on vacation for 2 weeks. Is this really a good reason to put me off or shouldn't he have had me follow up with his colleague? I'm seriously considering changing docs.

[Hannahski]

Hi,

I also have a question about a tibial fracture. I have a microtrabecular fracture of the latter tibial plateau without depression of the articular surface. This was diagnosed through an MRI after the hospital initially sent me away with "soft tissue damage" and I hopped around on the leg for a whole week. The doctor said I wouldn't need surgery but I would need to go to the Physio. Physio has given me crutches and a brace and said not to weight bare. I am a skier and I was back in Australia having a break until I move back to Austria later this year.
My knees are so important to me and I have alot of pain in my shin which was never really addressed. Its causing more pain than the real injury site. I haven't been prescribed any pain killers and i'm in pain most of the time. I have been self medicating some nights with some old prodine forte which I had from a mouth injury.

The injury was caused by an impact to the front (outer side) of my right leg and caused a massive hyperextension.

I don't really know how long my recovery time is or what to do from here. I am a very fit person and I do physical activity or sport everyday. Movement is my life and I'm struggling not knowing how to understand or handle this injury.

If you have any suggestions I would be very happy to hear them.