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i broke my left femur bone just above knees femur shaft and was operated 3 and a half months ago .plating was done.now i am walking but with the help of stick.how much time will i take to walk properly without stick and without limping?and how much time will i take to start running and join my police training which includes physical exercise and parade.
H namritasri
There are a large number of factors to consider before you can start running. it is impossible to give you a timeline over the internet. In fact this could be a dangerous thing to do if there is some complication that you or I don’t know about. running before the leg is ready could damage your leg.
To outline some of the considerations:
1, Healing rates vary a lot from fracture to fracture Factors affecting healing rates include:
* the site of the fracture,
* the blood supply to the fracture ( the better the blood supply the quicker the healing)
* the type of fracture (eg a clean break horizontal to the bone vs a spiral shaped fracture) – spiral fractures have more surface area and can heal quicker)
* the alignment of the bone ends post surgery
* Complications such as delayed healing or non healing (the surgeon can see this from a current xray)
2. The type of post op rehab you have received. If you didn’t get an active rehab programme from a physio this may slow rehab time down. Active rehab can help improve the condition of the leg tissues and stimulate bone healing. As you are planning a career with high physical demands you should be getting rehab for your fracture. Are you able to get physiotherapy now?
3. The current state of your leg muscles. – particularly the large quadriceps muscle in front of your thigh, but also other muscles involving the hip, knee and ankle. Your muscles should be strong as before your injury before considering running.
4. Two indicators that you may be ready to start running are if you are no longer getting pain, particularly on weight bearing. And if your walking follows a normal walking pattern (no limp and even walking pattern between the legs).Also the knee joint could be stiff or if the knee joint was involved in the fracture this complicates matters. You should be able to walk normally without the walking stick, before considering running.
The general guidelines are that it takes between 8-16 weeks before you can run on a fractured femur – that is if all is going well with the healing. From what you described you may have some way to go before starting running.
In summary get advice for your surgeon and start running under the guidance of rehab physiotherapist who knows about your fracture. All the best with your rehab and Police training.
A lot of effort is required to break a femur and it will take time to heal. You rehab should be guided by the healing of the bone and your surgeon should be informing you of this.
Your ability to run depends on your weight bearing. A typical time to wait before allowing full weight bearing and running post femur fracture is around 10-12 weeks post injury. This depends on what your surgeon says however.
Returning to sport is generally 12-24 weeks.