I'm just curious... How common is a femur fracture from a wakeboarding accident? Does this sound like the epitome of a "freak" accident to anyone else? <BR> <BR>I ask this because just about 6 weeks ago I snapped my left femur doing a lame HS w2w. (Ironically, it was the same day Dallas Friday broke hers') Thank God I had no complications, but I've run thru that particular jump millions of times in my head, and I've yet to conclude how in the world it happened! Can anyone make sense of this or even relate to this injury from wakeboarding? -NO, I don't have osteoporosis-

Ciara, <BR> I broke my left femur about 7 years ago on a scarecrow (triple compound spiral fracture). It was the summer of 1999, and I remember reading about 5 different femur breaks that year. And there's been more since then obviously. I've also had two friends break their femurs on Tantrums. <BR> <BR> The doctors told me that femurs break when you land in a fetal position with all of your force coming down &amp; in from behind the hips and the pressure has no where to release but in your Femur. <BR> <BR> Did you land like that on your HS W2W jump? <BR> <BR> Best of luck in your recovery. Luckily, it's an injury that heals relatively quick (despite the amount of pain when you did it), and you can completely heal from. I didn't even notice I had a femur injury the following summer when I was able to ride again. <BR> <BR> After you're completely healed, have the doctor check for shortening in your left leg compared to your good leg. Typically, your broken leg will be a little shorter after it's fully healed which is natural. However, you will want to make sure you put a heal lift under the footbed of your left binding, otherwise you will start to get really bad lower back pain from your hips being shifted. <BR> <BR> So you'll want to buy a pair of bindings that allow you to take apart the overlays without damaging the factory warranty. The best ones to buy are the ones that still have screws holding the overlays into the baseplate of the binding. Most high end Hyperlites don't allow for that anymore since they glue their materials together now. <BR> <BR> One last thing, it will also be a good idea to wear a heal lift in your shoes for everyday walking as well. This will help prevent the lower back pain from becoming Chronic. <BR> <BR> Sorry this was so long but I hope you find the information useful. Again, best of luck in your recovery.

I broke mine back in 98 doing a raley. I have a titanium rode now and all is good. <BR> <BR>Good luck and get well soon. <BR> <BR>jjakober

I just broke my femur about 2 months ago as well. I thought it was a freak accident, but it seems like broken femurs are more common than you might think. I was doing a tantrum and upon landing my left foot popped out of the boot while the right one stayed in. I think the torque of the board on my leg is what snapped it. I'm not sure though...all I remember after hitting the wake is coming to and grabbing my leg which felt like jello. I also have a titanium rod and some pretty nasty scars. I go to rehab almost every day, but I'm still walking with a limp. I should be good to go in another month or two. Good luck with your recovery! Do you have any pics? X-Rays? Here's some of mine. <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65919/394146.jpg" alt="Upload"> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65919/394147.jpg" alt="Upload"> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65919/394148.jpg" alt="Upload"> <BR><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/marcus.j.peters/BrokenFemur1729Sep?authkey=J5TDE7y0c78" target="_blank">http://picasaweb.google.com/marcus.j.peters/BrokenFemur1729Sep?authkey=J5TDE7y0c78</a> <BR><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/marcus.j.peters/XRaysOfBrokenFemur17Sept06" target="_blank">http://picasaweb.google.com/marcus.j.peters/XRaysOfBrokenFemur17Sept06</a> <BR><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/marcus.j.peters/LakeNaci1517Sept2006" target="_blank">http://picasaweb.google.com/marcus.j.peters/LakeNaci1517Sept2006</a>

WOW. Thank you guys very much! I appreciate all the info and words of wisdom! To be frank, I'm not sure how I landed because it just happened SO insanely fast. Once I landed and felt the infamous snap, all I remember after that is being in pain...everything before that is a blur. Landing in fetal position doesn't sound like something I've had a habit of doing, but who knows. It definitely was NOT my first wake to wake. Unlike you guys, I broke my femur at the intertrochanteric arch (the dr's considered it a hip fracture) and as a result have a titanium rod and a screw. Basically, I had the kind of breakage that old people are notorious for going through. <BR> <BR>I'm REALLY glad to hear that recovery was such a success!!! Approximately how long did you all wait to get back on the water?

Intertrochanteric aka... <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65919/394198.jpg" alt="Upload"> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65919/394199.jpg" alt="Upload"> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65919/394200.jpg" alt="Upload">

Ciara, <BR> I have a titanium rod &amp; 3 screws as well. It took me about 3-4 weeks to get my range of motion back. I got back on the water exactly a month after my surgery. Now, I wasn't doing anything but riding my board on glassy water. I mean nothing. <BR> Looking back, I shouldn't have done it &amp; I don't recommend doing it. At the time, I was giving a lesson and was on the back of the boat doing my stretching excercises to work on my range of motion. I started to realize that I was able to get myself into the position for a deep water start. But because my quad strength wasn't back to normal yet, I didn't know if my femur would be able to handle the force of being pulled up out of the water. But my thought was if I was able to withstand that first 1-2 seconds of force, I would be able to ride my board because there wouldn't be much pressure once I was out of the water. <BR> It worked and I was able to ride for about 5 minutes that first time before my leg was too tired to continue. Even though it was dangerous to get back on the water that soon, it really helped me mentally, and motivated me to work hard at my rehab. It was 6 months before I landed an invert again, but at that point, my leg still wasn't ready to take the impact on landing. So I waited a little longer &amp; by 10 months, I was as good as new. <BR> <BR> The dangers of riding before the bone is fully healed is breaking the bone again, or damaging what the surgery tried to fix. But most of all, severing the femoral artery. My doctor told me that had the bone fractured again before it was healed and I severed the artery, I could have bled to death. <BR> <BR> Take your time but work hard at your rehab. Make sure that not only is the femur completely healed, but that your hamstring &amp; quad strength are maximized as well. If your supporting muscles are weak from the atrophy, your leg &amp; knee won't be able to handle the impact on a landing. <BR> <BR>Good luck!

I broke my right femur (3 break spiral fracture) last december it has been a year the 27th, i did it skiing going off a jump and overshooting the landing, it is definetly a hard injury to go through, my quad still isnt as strong as used to be. I have a rod, 2 screws in the knee, nail in the hip and 3 rings around the bone. take your time and do your PT everything will work out. <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65919/399794.jpg" alt="Upload">

WOW! I still cannot explain what really happened to me. Definitely a FREAK accident. I board all the time and now I'm screwed......WTF?