Riding with titanium rod in leg?

[ove]

Saturday 5/6 I broke my left leg (tibia) just below the knee. I was in surgery for a couple of hours, and they installed a titanium rod and some screws in the bone.No cast, and they want me to weight the leg up to my pain threshold,from day two.... Does anyone who has had this kind of surgery know how long my recovery will be (approx?)and do you ride with the rod in your leg? Or will I have to have it removed ?

[BigDesto]

hahahahah!!! Sorry! I just had to laugh! I have a Ti rod in both of my tibias!! Broke my left leg twice and the second time they were ready to throw me in a cast and i said F that i want surgery!! First break was in a cast for almost 7 months!! After sugery was walking with a cane!!Put as much weight on as you can , you will know when enough is enough! I started out by putting my leg on a scale and pushing down until i'd hit say 100lbs i slowly kept putting more weight on it!! I broke my right leg last april( Ankle,tib and fib) Once again i had the Rod put in but i couldn't start walking for 6 weeks due to my broken(sheered)ankle (big screw) after the ankle healed up i started to put more weight on it!!

The quicker you can put weight on it the quicker it will heal! Took a few months before i was back to riding at speed! I ride MX every weekend with TI RODS in both my legs!

Oh, i was also looking to have it removed!! But was told by the doc that it's stronger with it in! So i opted to leave it in! Also they would have to dislocate your knee to get in there to remove it!! Having it dislocated hurts more then rod! Goodluck!! You'll be fine!! ?

[ove]

Thanx!?

That really put some spirit back in me!?

I am slowly putting weight on it,walking with crutches, but it hurts like he.... I will be riding with the rod in just like you do, and I will start training my leg with confidence now!

Thank you once again for putting the fighting spirit back in me ?

[BigDesto]

I have stopped racing!! Seems when i'm in racing situations i tend to not let off when i should!! But i'm back to where i was before breaking my right leg and hitting some big jumps again!

takes alittle longer to heal the older you are!! I'm 39.

[mudeater]

I had a bad endo three years ago,broken tib fib crushed ankle and shreded ligaments. Ended up with 13 fractures a foot long titanium plate,

and 9 screws going thru my tib into the fib.The surgeons didnt know if i would ever walk rite again. Well after a whole lot of phisical rehab torture for about 10 months i not only walk but still play hard on my bikes.Keep exercising and you will be back.

P.S. the docs tell me my hardware will never come out.

[ove]

Thank you for your reply! ?

I have stopped feeling sorry for myself,but It always sucks when hurting yourself

When reading about you guys beeing alot worse off than me, and still you fight your way back and ride as hard as before... ?

I am currently walking with a cane and doing "laps" around my house

Will be back riding in late August I hope?

Thank you ??

[gonzo]

If your surgeon for your leg is as good as the one that did my arm last year you'll be riding in a week. 2 days after my surgery I took my bandages off and was picking my bike up. Basically what she told me was to just listen to my arm. If it hurt really bad stop doing whatever it was. If it didnt keep going. I would assume the same for your leg. Titanium in the body is a wonderful thing. I wish I was reinforced by it.

Honestly I wouldnt have it take it. If they do your in for a long recovery. All those screw holes are just like braking the bone again and you'll have to wait about 2 years for them to fill back in. Just leave it in, it wont bother you.

[therapture]

I too joined the Titanium Club...in my left femur. One big a55 long rod from just above the knee to the top of the femur, and another that goes in from the side and angles upwards and attaches to the other rod and ends up in the ball of the femur where it pivots in the hip joint. Several Ti screws on the ends to fix the rods and my leg was together...but...

...I broke it so severely that the head of the femur broke off, and the middle chunk shattered into 3 large parts. Due to the gaps and spaces created by cleaning out the shards, I was not able to have ANY load bearing other than to balance myself for 5 weeks. However, I did my stretches and leg lifts (torture at first), got out of bed on the second day after surgery, and fought it hard to maintain range of motion, and I am able to walk using only a cane now that the doc said I can just since last thursday! Having a broken left wrist and seperated right shoulder did not help matters since I could not hold myself up using my arms. I was stuck in a wheelchair for 2 weeks initially and the furthest I was able to go without that was about 10 feet by wiggling and sliding my right foot like an inchworm. Most people need therapy to walk after something like this and the docs were "surprised" to see me walk immediately with only a cane considering the "horrible" nature of my break. I told my doc that apparently he did a good job then The Ti rods stay in forever since they are an integral part of the femur now and are completely encased in bone.

I will not pay some therapist big $$$ to force me to do simple leg motions that I can find out about on the internet and do at home heheh. ?

I will ride again, albeit the doc said late october at the earliest. I just plan on waiting until the end of november, I will not rush it, and God willing I will heal completely. Some people said I had real bad luck, I just say I was lucky to not be in a wheelchair forever. Enough of my rambling, off to the showers!

[BigDesto]

Same here! With all my surgeries i've had, i've never went to

therapy! I guess i learned alot from my football college days from the training room!

[cassious]

compounded both my femurs (as well as a laundry list of other breaks), both had internal fixation...I went back a year later and had one of the rods removed because the screws they used were too long and it bothered me..

I've been riding with a wired pattella, screws in both lateral femeral condials, acl reconstruction, and a Ti rod in my right leg...I never have any problems and dont even think of the injurys except for the occasional hard landing that can create a dull pain deep inside the femur..otherwise..good to go..

[cogdoc]

Just remember the leg is weight bearing whereas the arm is not, so legs take longer to recover. The sooner you put partial weight on it, the sooner the bone reforms, and the denser the calcium construct. Nails ( rods ) stay in for life, as it ain't worth risking surgery again for no real reason unless there is a problem, like the screws rubbing on soft tissue. Only problem with being overly active, is that for he first few weeks it is only the screws in each end of the nail holding your leg together, so you can shear them if you get too carried away too soon. Moderation is the key.

Greg.

[ove]

This is exactly what my doctor told me!

A little update on my injury: It`s been alomst 4 weeks now, and the swelling has gone down quite a bit, but not totally.

I have taken my first "baby steps" without crutches, and the pain is slowly going away. In fact it`s my knee (they had to pop it out to get the rod in...)that is causing most of my discomfort now. The wounds have healed up nicly, and chicks dig scars!

Looks like I have to use crutches/cane for about a week or two more (I am getting older... )

This weekend it`s the Swedish MX GP in Uddevalla, and I will go there to look at some great racing.It Will be nice to see Stefan Everts, Michel Pichon, Kevin Strijbos,Tanel Leok and the rest of the MX1 GP guys battling it out !

Thanks for all your replys guys! ??

[therapture]

Just remember the leg is weight bearing whereas the arm is not, so legs take longer to recover. The sooner you put partial weight on it, the sooner the bone reforms, and the denser the calcium construct. Nails ( rods ) stay in for life, as it ain't worth risking surgery again for no real reason unless there is a problem, like the screws rubbing on soft tissue. Only problem with being overly active, is that for he first few weeks it is only the screws in each end of the nail holding your leg together, so you can shear them if you get too carried away too soon. Moderation is the key.

Greg.

Nails...hmm interesting term. That's what they did to me...doc said "they stay in". He did not want me walking on it the first 5 weeks. But he cleared me to walk on it to "the limit of my pain" 2 weeks ago and I have been walking on it now for a week with no cane. Getting better almost daily. Feeling good, good to walk again!

[ove]

Great to read that you are having such good progress on your injury Rapture!I envy you being able to walk for weeks already...My progress seems to have halted a bit

Still have to use crutches, and are only able to limp a few feet w/o them,so I need to focus a bit more on exersice I guess, but I can't find any good web pages with exersice tip for my kind of injury.

I will not pay some therapist big $$$ to force me to do simple leg motions that I can find out about on the internet and do at home heheh.?

Do you or anyone else have some links to good web sites with this kind of info?

Thank you! ?

[yamaha.dude]

I had a titanium rod in my left femur... and a bone graft to fill a gap... that was the most painful... they get a big chisel & hammer and chip bits off your hip... to pack into the bone to help it heal... There is a synthetic coral based alternative, but your own bone is much more likely to take when grafted... the bruising from the all that banging was more painful than having the rod put in...

I tried to get up and leave, and when they finally relented and let me out after 5 days, I went home with a cane that the kids now play grandpa games with... They wanted me on crutches etc... I said "If I can walk up and down a flight of stairs with a cane, can I go home?" I did it and they let me go...

The nails were protruding out of the bone and rubbing on the muscle, and causing some form of bursitis... I had the rod and the four nails removed - I may one day craft it into the lightest kickstand I know... ?

Good luck,

David

[Mike_Thomson]

Broke my Tib Fib in 4 places 3 years ago. Was riding in about 8 weeks. My doctor told me that if I was going to continue to race that the rod had to come out!!! If the rod bends the leg will break into a million small fragments and possibly have to be amputated. I had the rod out 13 months after the original break and it is strong as ever. I raced the whole time with the rod, against the families wishes The best possible thing I did was get back into the gym within 2 weeks, stationary bicycle was my saviour, it got the motion back into my knee quite quickly after both surgeries. I can still jog and squat. The only thing I can't do is rest on my knees on a hard surface, for some reason that still hurts. Possibly the double cuts on the same tissue? If you have any more questions feel free to ask. MIKE ?

[ove]

How long did it take for the swelling and "numb feling" to disappear after your first surgery?

I am getting a bit frustrated... It's been 6 weeks now, and I still have to use a cane when walking... I will try to get on my bicycle today,and hopefully it will speed up my recovery.

[ove]

@£$*@@....

Went to see the doc today... the leg just didn't feel right..New x-rays... and as I was afraid of, the bones have separated and not bonded at all... They didn't get it fixed correctly it seems, so it slid apart when I put weight on it?

6 friggin weeks wasted! ?

In for another operation tomorrow...

Wish me better luck this time!

See ya!

[TRAILDUDE]

I feel your pain and frustration!!! That is terrible....Remember...."and this too shall pass". I will keep you in my prayers and hope the best for you. Hope your not letting the same Doc. do the surgery without some assistance from someone more skilled.... ?

[Mike_Thomson]

That sucks but the bones shouldn't of been able to move, my leg had 4 screws behind my knee and 2 in my ankle, there was no way for it too move. maybe your doc bolted it together to far apart. Ask to see the first set of Xrays and compare them to the new ones.

As far as the numbness its still a little numb 3 years later but I have 100% use, so the numbness is no big deal. Also get on the stationary bike ASAP after this surgery. Don't pedal with it but put it on the pedal and let your other leg do the work for you, jus the motion for the first little while will help greatly.Keep a positive attitude and make the leg get better. The sooner you get it moving the better you will feel. The worst thing to do is sit around and feel sorry for yourself. Good Luck, and remember its never as bad as you think. MIKE ?