Tibia Plateau Fracture-Advice

So I tried a tantrum for like the 7-8 time and got really close, but under rotated a little. Cased the wake, jammed my leg when I crashed. The first thing I notice is this excruciating pain in my left knee. the next is this golf ball size knot beside my knee. Next day after x-ray, MRI, and CT scan. Doc says about a 3rd of the tibia plateau is broken off and depressed down. A steel plate and 5 screws later he says I'm O.K. My question is this- 8 to 12 weeks no load bearing, what is my actual 'down time' after the release? That will put me around 1st Oct. will I have time to build the knee back up before season is up, or wait for next year. possibly snowboard? any PT's or Ortho's out there, help please. Thanks Shawne

There have been about 3 posts on this same type of break over the last year. Do a search and you will find something. I broke my Tib and Fib trying a backside 180 which took about six months to heal enough to ride comfortably again.

Ask Braden who used to be wake team manager for NoFear. He did same thing, he's out a year

christie fisher (wakeworld member) had the same injury, as did my friend henry. henry was out for maybe 6-8 mos. you might wanna ask fisher about hers.

Shawne,
Sorry to hear the news...I and feel your pain literally!
June of 2003 pulled a sweet t/s backroll and landed straight-legged...rolled forward and BAM...snapped the T/P completely off...the pain was so bad I became docile, the others in the boat (my wife, best friend and another very close friend) were not even sure I was serious about being injured. After they picked me out of the water...the swelling was already there as you may know and reality set in. Once we got home...my dad took one look and turned white. I knew then that it was bad!

My dilly was as follows:
I mmediate surgery to insert 2 3" screws to reattach the bone.
6 weeks in bed (no pressure what so ever, your meds are for the muscle atrophy)
8 weeks on crutches after that
3 months of stretches, re-aquiring of the walking muscles and generally stability (you will be amazed at what you lose in just a few weeks)
3 months of P/T (3 times per week)
follow up stretching
Surgery to remove the screws (this is fairly important to reduce the inflammation on the tendons)
Golds Gym for several months to continue

Total time out: 11 Months

Results:
After 2 years, I still have issues with weather, and the knee is always sore after boarding but I have finally gotten around. And even thouhg it may not look like it right now...you will live to board another day.

Recommendations:
Do not try to do anything your not 100% confident, and also, unless your doctor and P/T ppl give you the ok to board, do not even attempt it, better to at least drive and out having fun then to risk a re-fracture.

feel free to email me kevingeary@gmail.com, or if you even want to talk, I'll forward you my cell and we can shoot the bull while you recover.

Best of luck to you on the recovery.
KG

(Message edited by wakescene on July 21, 2005)

Shawne,

I fractured my tibial plateau and also had a 9mm depression in April of last year. I had one surgery in May where they put in three screws to hold the pieces together and tried to line up the depressed pieces with the joint. I had another surgery in August to clean up scare tissue and remove two of the screws. I am looking at minimum two more surgeries in the future.

I spent almost a year in physical therapy (3 times a week) and am continuing the therapy on my own at home. My quad is still atrophied (sp?), I'm still in quite a bit of pain and I don't have proper motion in my knee. I've been wakeboarding since, but am dealing with the "mental" part of it now.

The key part is where the fracture is and how cleanly it heals at the joint. I had significant bruising to both the femur and the tibial plateau and severely damaged the cartilidge in the knee. They also had to remove part of my medial miniscus. The scar tissue is significant and is constantly inflammed due to the position near the joint.

In my case, the docs have said the only way to free up the knee joint and decrease the inflammation would be to actually reposition the knee. That is a pretty severe surgery with a much longer recovery time

I do know a few other people who have had a similar injury and are back at things mostly normal within 2-3 years.

Hang in there, do what the docs and the physical therapists say and try to stay positive. The injury will mess with you mentally as well as physically.

On the bright side, at least you were trying a tantrum. I broke mine on a simple HS wake to wake!

Best wishes on your recovery!

Christie

My roommate did the same thing in Feb. and was out about 5 months. He'll prolly post up here shortly.

Alright, I'm gonna try and add another dimension, so here goes.

If you believe that a basically unseen "spiritual" dimension exists in this universe, then as part of your healing process do what a person who believes in the spiritual dimension would do which is this: seek what it is that the Spirit wants to do in your life with this injury.

As an aside, those of us with serious and debilitating injuries, we are sort of in a life circumstance that allows us to think a lot about this stuff, if we choose, and investigate and speak with "holy" people typically because we're a bit overwhelmed, and moving pretty slow, if not flat on our backs!

Okay, so if you believe in the spiritual realm, then you want to make sure you've identified the true Spirit and then are in step with what the Spirit wants to do.

If this is journey you want to take, be methodical about discovering the identity of the true Spirit. Keep an open mind. Me, when I found the true Spirit, it was like I'd grabbed onto a live electrical wire-- very, very real.

After that, my goal was to find out what the Spirit required of me in order to know what it is the Spirit wanted to do. Answer for me: the Spirit wanted me to listen to find out His plan and to then embrace His plan. Here's the parameters I've discovered: the God I follow is a good God. His plan is for healing in almost all cases. Some instantaneously. (Christie, that's my prayer for you!) Others through the process of healing-- which is the path I am on as shown to me by the Spirit. Second, in following His direction, things will work out and all along the way, wherever I'm too weak, He will provide whatever it is I need to stay with the plan.

Thanks for all the info everyone! The first week was a bummer. I have never been so house burnt in all my life!!! Doc said that I could get up and move around as soon as I felt comfortable doing so(NO LOAD BEARING WHAT SO EVER!) I actually went to work monday for about 4 hours. I own a mechanic shop so I can boss a little and make sure things run smoothly. 8 hours on tuesday then back to the doctor wednesday with bloody drainage from the incision. He taped it up and said to go back to doing what ever, but stressed again, no weight on that leg. No trouble since except for swelling. I go wednesday to get the stitch(1) out and re x-ray. Hopefully everything will be O.K. He did mention that the fracture and depression went back together perfectly. My wife is a P.T. so other than a stressed marriage during therapy, this may not be THAT bad. The doctor actually has me doing quad sets, leg raises, heel pumps, and knee bends to help with the atrophy(my left quad still looks like a toothpick after only 2 weeks. The doc comes from a sports Ortho school in Alabama, supposed to be one of the best in the nation. Seems like a nice guy with a better bedside manner than most. Again, thanks for the info and support and I'll keep ya'll posted on the progress. Laters, Shawne

Steven,
Thanks for the spiritual advice. I've been a christian for many years and I sometimes loose track of what it is that God has planned for my life. It often takes a little "bump" in the road to help straighten things out. Back in '95 I had a severe rodeo accident that helped me to see that I wasn't living the life that God wanted for me. He carried me through that rough time in my life and helped me to see things in a new light. I can only pray that I will be able to use this "bump" to see the things that He wants me to see, and use these things to help in my daily walk through this life. Thanks again for the words of inspiration and God Bless. Shawne

Hey Shawn...read Romans 8:28. The key words are "in all things"...not just isolated incidents. Anyway...don't rush it. I am a surgical nurse with specialty in orthopedics. I also had a tib/fib fracture from a horse accident. I would say you are done til next year. If you take your time you will heal nicely and be ready next year. If you rush it you will be on the 2 year plan. God bless and heal well!!

I fractured my tibia plateau on August 8th of last year. I am happy to report that as of July 3rd 2005 I am back on the water. I did mine doing a W2W on a wake skate and landed with one foot on and one foot off (exactly like Shaun Murray.) My advice is to take it slow and listen to the doctors and PT. I was laid up, no weight bearing for 3 months (that was tough), started PT in November. Besides the severity of the fracture (25% of the bone lopped off) I did my MCL, PCL and TCL. The key with my PT was range of motion. He was very aggressive in getting up to 90% of ROM. The pain was excrutiating! Then we started work on streghtneing in the gym. Squats, leg presses etc. In May and June I went hard with re-hab, 5 days a week. As I said back on the water in 11 months. Not bad considering my surgeon said 18-24 months and my age (41). Good luck and I wish you well.

Went to the doc for 2 week check-up wednesday last week. doc said x-ray showed excellent repair w/good chance for full recovery IF I DO WHAT HE SAYS!! No load bearing(spl?) for 5 more weeks then start loosing the crutchs. Guess I was lucky, no tendon or meniscus damage,although I too had 25-30% fracture. Hopefully ready in time for snowboarding late winter. Thanks again for the support. God Bless! Shawne

Hey Shawne....hate to break this to you but you would have been better off with a meniscus tear than the fracture you received!!! Anyway, season is almost over so heal well, pray hard, and have a great time next year.