Re broke tib fib

sclark309d wrote:

Kenny - that's a nasty break. I had a similar break about this time last year. My own short story is 6/17/13 - broke tib/fib. Shear...

Kenny -
that's a nasty break.
I had a similar break about this time last year.
My own short story is
6/17/13 -
broke tib/fib. Shear, torsion and compression forces simultaneously. Several large pieces of tib displaced
6/18/13 - Pre-checkout exam showed undetectable distal pulse.
emergency fasciotomy to relieve Compartment Syndrome saved foot
External fixator applied
6/22/13 - Surgery to remove external fixator, and install plates on tibia and fibula. Tibial fracture was not a candidate for
IM nail because there was no good bone to drive the nail into at distal end (end nearest foot)
6/29/13 - began pt. The gal applying the electro stimulator couldn't get a response to she cranked up the power and left.
5 minutes later I called her back in and suggested she take a look, as smoke had begun to curl from the pads
attached to my ankle. "Oh sorry". apparently tight jeans and big honkers superseded actually technical skills
there
discontinued pt

Over the next 7 months the doc had me progress from putting 25% of full body weight on the broken leg, to 50% to 75%. During that time I sheared the head off every screw attaching the tibial plate.
Fracture was still non-union

2/20/14 - still on crutches
surgery to remove tibial plate and broken screws, then install IM nail (rod rammed down the inside of the tibia).
bone graft taken from tibia, pelvis and cadaver, and applied to areas of non-union.

4/20/14 - Still on crutches
some union detected, however most graft material has been absorbed, without bone deposition in that area
(largest defect).

5/25/14 - MRI showed continuous bone around about 200 degrees of cross section only, but with the IM nail secure at
both ends, doc allowed me to load it with 100% of full body weight only as tolerated.

6/11/14 - I'm walking on it a bit, the soft tissues (tendons, ligaments, and muscles) bitch at me about it every day after
having a year off....

I'm expecting no riding until at least 2015, if ever.
My dear wife has waited on me hand and foot for over a year. I'm just not sure I can put her thru this crap again, so I'm not sure I will ride again even if able

Bottom line
tib fib fractures are a bitch to recover from sometimes.
Poor blood flow in the lower part of the leg results in slow healing under the best of conditions.
At worst, you can lose part or all of your leg.
I had no idea at the time of my injury they could be so difficult, figuring I'd drive myself home from the ER, and in a couple months I'd be all healed up. Had I sucked it up and driven the 2 hours home, I'd have lost the foot.
A year later, still not anywhere near 100%.

While recuperating, I was watching something called adaptive X Games.
Not ever hearing of it before, I was amazed at how skilled those guys were, and decided to look into the nature of their injuries/handicaps.
As it turns out, Compartment Syndrome was not unusual, and sometimes resulted in losing all or part of a limb.

I'd never heard of Compartment Syndrome before my own injury. It's some serious stuff all of us need to be aware of.
" WebMD explains compartment syndrome, a potentially life threatening condition in which pressure builds up in the legs, abdomen or arms, damaging tissue."

If you have a tib/fib break, make sure to ask about it while in the ER and before they let you leave.

Here is a shot video on Compartment Syndrome and it's remedy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROwOMBtMbXo

and here is a short video showing tibia repair using IM nail
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=006h2tbynwo

I swear I have all the tools to do this one in my own garage.....

Trav138 wrote:

Ha ya i was in the middle of remodeling. I figured i would take the day off and go spin some laps. Well i should of...

Ha ya i was in the middle of remodeling. I figured i would take the day off and go spin some laps. Well i should of stayed home and worked on the house because maybe i wouldn't be sporting this:

mx5471 wrote:

Sorry about your injury, but as much as you like to ride, sell everything but your car, and take the rest of your life off. You...

Sorry about your injury, but as much as you like to ride, sell everything but your car, and take the rest of your life off. You have a young daughter you need to provide for. With your injuries, you need to resolve yourself to watching. Next time you may never walk again. Hope you heal up with out any problems.

sclark309d wrote:

After I got hurt, and after the first two surgeries I thought long and hard about whether I was being an idiot even contemplating returning to...

After I got hurt, and after the first two surgeries I thought long and hard about whether I was being an idiot even contemplating returning to dirt biking.

My questions to myself were "is quitting over-reacting, or am I tempting fate?" and "Is it time to join the "Pipe and Slippers Club" and call it a career

I had lots of time to research, and ran across a forum for folks with tib/fib problems. I then listed some of the causes. I'll post the list if I can find it, but basically people suffered severe tib/fib injuries just living, doing anything from sky diving, skiing, and dirt bike riding to just slipping on the sidewalk.

One lady caught a high heel in the space between two boards on her deck and snapped both bones. One person I know slipped on her porch - her foot went down between the house and the porch, and ripped her tib tib up badly. She is permanently disabled now - just walking on her porch.

Our injuries tend to be high energy injuries. When you do the math on how much kinetic energy is available when a 230 lb motorcycle and a 200lb rider is traveling say 30 mph down a straight, then think that energy is dissipated largely in the leg,

Bones shattered, nerves destroyed, vascular system compromised, flesh dying.

it's amazing we don't all lose legs.

And yet thru all that, would still love to ride some day.

Torco1 wrote:

I broke my tib, fib and talus all at the same time about 16 years ago when I was 21. Both the tib and fib broke...

I broke my tib, fib and talus all at the same time about 16 years ago when I was 21. Both the tib and fib broke completely in half and that cause the talus to be crushed really bad. I was riding in Beaumont at the time and the other guy that was with me didn't know how to drive a stick. I didn't want to go to the hospital that far from home so I ended driving my truck home and having to shift with the broken leg the entire way home. I kept my boot on so it would help a little. I ended up having surgery that night.

About 3 months later I was given the ok to return to activities.......the very first time back riding I crashed after only be there for 30 minutes or so. I broke all three bones in my ankle again and broke my right humerus completely in half. I thought my arm was ripped completely off and that only my jersey was holding it together because it was just swinging all over the place and I couldn't control it at all. I was afraid to even look at it. My ankle is destroyed now because of all that and I need to have it fused or something. This is what it pretty much always looks like now.....about 16 years later......

sclark309d wrote:

Kenny - that's a nasty break. I had a similar break about this time last year. My own short story is 6/17/13 - broke tib/fib. Shear...

Kenny -
that's a nasty break.
I had a similar break about this time last year.
My own short story is
6/17/13 -
broke tib/fib. Shear, torsion and compression forces simultaneously. Several large pieces of tib displaced
6/18/13 - Pre-checkout exam showed undetectable distal pulse.
emergency fasciotomy to relieve Compartment Syndrome saved foot
External fixator applied
6/22/13 - Surgery to remove external fixator, and install plates on tibia and fibula. Tibial fracture was not a candidate for
IM nail because there was no good bone to drive the nail into at distal end (end nearest foot)
6/29/13 - began pt. The gal applying the electro stimulator couldn't get a response to she cranked up the power and left.
5 minutes later I called her back in and suggested she take a look, as smoke had begun to curl from the pads
attached to my ankle. "Oh sorry". apparently tight jeans and big honkers superseded actually technical skills
there
discontinued pt

Over the next 7 months the doc had me progress from putting 25% of full body weight on the broken leg, to 50% to 75%. During that time I sheared the head off every screw attaching the tibial plate.
Fracture was still non-union

2/20/14 - still on crutches
surgery to remove tibial plate and broken screws, then install IM nail (rod rammed down the inside of the tibia).
bone graft taken from tibia, pelvis and cadaver, and applied to areas of non-union.

4/20/14 - Still on crutches
some union detected, however most graft material has been absorbed, without bone deposition in that area
(largest defect).

5/25/14 - MRI showed continuous bone around about 200 degrees of cross section only, but with the IM nail secure at
both ends, doc allowed me to load it with 100% of full body weight only as tolerated.

6/11/14 - I'm walking on it a bit, the soft tissues (tendons, ligaments, and muscles) bitch at me about it every day after
having a year off....

I'm expecting no riding until at least 2015, if ever.
My dear wife has waited on me hand and foot for over a year. I'm just not sure I can put her thru this crap again, so I'm not sure I will ride again even if able

Bottom line
tib fib fractures are a bitch to recover from sometimes.
Poor blood flow in the lower part of the leg results in slow healing under the best of conditions.
At worst, you can lose part or all of your leg.
I had no idea at the time of my injury they could be so difficult, figuring I'd drive myself home from the ER, and in a couple months I'd be all healed up. Had I sucked it up and driven the 2 hours home, I'd have lost the foot.
A year later, still not anywhere near 100%.

While recuperating, I was watching something called adaptive X Games.
Not ever hearing of it before, I was amazed at how skilled those guys were, and decided to look into the nature of their injuries/handicaps.
As it turns out, Compartment Syndrome was not unusual, and sometimes resulted in losing all or part of a limb.

I'd never heard of Compartment Syndrome before my own injury. It's some serious stuff all of us need to be aware of.
" WebMD explains compartment syndrome, a potentially life threatening condition in which pressure builds up in the legs, abdomen or arms, damaging tissue."

If you have a tib/fib break, make sure to ask about it while in the ER and before they let you leave.

Here is a shot video on Compartment Syndrome and it's remedy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROwOMBtMbXo

and here is a short video showing tibia repair using IM nail
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=006h2tbynwo

I swear I have all the tools to do this one in my own garage.....

Trav138 wrote:

Its all good Kenny. It is what it is u know. I'm doing well after my amputation and will be back riding soon. My problem is...

Its all good Kenny. It is what it is u know. I'm doing well after my amputation and will be back riding soon.

My problem is my left foot. I severed my Talus in half and it had a non union and had avascular necrosis. So they fused my foot in 3 places because of that. I still have a pretty decent range of motion, trying to improve it every day. I really did a number on them, but it has taken some time but things are working out.

Its good to rethink things when you're down with injuries, it puts things in a different perspective. But don't beat yourself up to much. I know you said you're married and have a kid and taken care of them is number 1. But don't sweat the no riding thing, you have plenty of time to figure that out.
Concentrate on getting that leg fully healed. I know what you are going through you have all the time in the world to think about things and it can get overwhelming when you're just laying around. Just try to stay as positive as you can i know its a cliche' but it helps. Just my .2 cents take care.

sclark309d wrote:

Hey Kenny and others - I've read all your stories, they tell a tale. Hopefully all our stories help someone. I had a couple thoughts base...

Hey Kenny and others - I've read all your stories, they tell a tale. Hopefully all our stories help someone.

I had a couple thoughts base on my own experience.
1) Even if I lost all or part of a limb, appliances today are so advanced, I got to thinking recovery might have been quicker had I had an amputation and gotten a prosthetic....losing a foot or part of a leg used to be so much more devastating. Nowadays we see amputees on Dancing with the Stars and doing great,
http://a.abcnews.com/images/Entertainment/ABC_amy_purdy_in_air_mar_1404…

skiing,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eUTsQMGN4k

and even motorcycling again
http://tinyurl.com/p7pydte

Then I ran across stories of our men in uniform, battling back and living their lives. Whatever angst or self pity I had vanished. I figured to lay down would be to dishonor those fine young men, so I didn't.

2) My wife had to wait on me hand and foot for most of the year. Chronic pain just wears you out, more than one would expect, and I couldn't do much of anything, except work and afterwards I was exhausted. She had to do "her work" and mine to, then care for me as well. And she did it without a single complaint. I felt bad for being a burden, but my injury and it's aftermath brought us closer together.

Now, my own journey is more of an adventure, as I watch it as well as live it.

It's all good!

markit wrote:

Did the T/F X2 when i was 35 It gets better with time, Have to admit I could'nt read your whole story.

kenny.gre wrote:

So about 7 months ago I severely broke my tib/fib and 'crushed' my ankle was the term they used I'm not sure if that means broke...

So about 7 months ago I severely broke my tib/fib and 'crushed' my ankle was the term they used I'm not sure if that means broke something else along with tib/fib however anywho I was told it was a life changing injury.. had some metal plates put in some screws the plates went about half way up my shin and even though it was limiting me on how far I could bend it 7 months in .. I was actually suprised at how far I had made it and could almost do everything I was doing before including riding without really noticing it unless i stubbed it on something then it had a good ache to it that didn't feel like it was something I should be doing lol.. Luckily I did only stub it once or twice and nothing severe..

Okay so call me stupid.. maybe I am.. I love motorcycles have a passion for them grew up riding and have for the most part had a pretty enjoyable experience overall in the 20 or so years i've ridden. I'm 30 years of age btw. Well when I broke my ankle they told me I could loose my leg so I was pretty careful I didn't want to push it and 6-7 months later when i was healed up enough to almost kickstart the bike with that leg (not quite) I would ride just enough to get some fresh air and then put my bike up.. I went on like 2-3 decent rides that lasted 5 hours or so, but otherwise my rides were short and sweet and nothing intense. I DID NOT want to rebreak that leg especially them telling me I could have lost it last time.

Well low and behold my luck is shit.. I went 2 days ago on a little 5 minute ride just to get some fresh air .. on the Sheletowee Trace Trail which runs by my house.. However I just went maybe a mile away and had no intentions of really riding just getting some air and getting my breathing/heart rate right for the day since I had been laying around most of my healing process.. The trail crosses a powerline/underground pipe cutout where the tree's have been cut and I took a detour on that cutout which at the bottom has a down hill and back up U shape hill.. and at the very bottom of the U is a pond on the right that is dam'd up .. small pond nothing major just big enough to call a pond i guess.

Well I went down and back up and was rippin the old 2 stroke back up the other side just giving it hell on the uphill part not doing nothing more than spinning really nothing intense.. 2nd gear/3rd gear on off .. after about 3 times of doing this I was going to do it one more time and this time when I come into the U my bike compressed and there was a hump at the bottom of the U just maybe 1ft high.. wore down where the bike path is but still abrupt off to the side of the bike path.. This time when i hit that hump my foot got kicked off the footpeg and my toes hit directly onto that 1ft~ hump which was like kicking a minature wall.. instantly it re-snapped my leg right in the middle of my shin and I knew right away I had broke it..

In disguist I just let my bike fall over I was so aggrivated it was beyond comprehension.. Afterwards I realized that was a mistake because my bike was laying on a hill.. facing downhill.. my leg was twisting the bottom half below the shin I could have turned it in a complete circle and sometimes it was almost doing so itself.. popping in and out of place grinding.. felt like it was in about 3-4 pieces.. pretty painful but I consider myself a bone breaking fool no phun intended.. so even though it was horrible a gruesome.. I was pretty calm .. I worked on trying to pick my bike up standing on one leg .. every movement caused my leg to pop and twist it was pretty hard to push forward I just had to suck it up.. Somehow I managed to get my bike picked up and it took every ounce of strength I had to do so.. I found myself in a open area .. on a hill.. with nothing to hold onto to get onto the bike so I held the clutch in and used the front break to let the bike roll over next to the woodline.. Although the woodline was just brush and dead branches.. nothing I could grab onto so it really did nothing for me..

At this point I was catching my breath and I started going to sleep even though I was sitting up and active I was drifting out fairly quickly.. I was calm but I knew it was probably shock .. and I did my best to just stay awake, but knew I probably didn't want to spend to much time thinking about what I had to do since I felt like any second I could pass out uncontrollably again even though I was perfectly calm.

I somehow managed to get my butt up on seat and balance my bike with nothing to grab to .. my front tire was in some dead limbs so it was kinda tricky to get it lined out without falling over .. im still downhill from the bike.. but I knew I wasnt going to have nothing to hold onto to kick my bike over to start it if it would even start.. Just getting my butt up on the seat and getting my leg swung over was intense and my leg was distorting .. i'd shake it downward to pop it out of place or seperate the bones.. it seemed to feel best in that position.. I also kept a eye for blood in my boot but whereas lastime i broke my lower leg i took my boot off.. this time I had to get myself out of the woods so I just left it on.. They were pretty loose fitting so it wasnt going to be to bad to remove them once my leg swelled.

I looked around there was no good places to coast my bike to.. I thought about roll starting but my bike is a major pain in roll starting.. I've pulled it behind a vehicle once on the road and i had to put it in 4th gear and keep flopping down on the seat.. so I knew the distance i had to try to start it and it was somewhat slick dirt that I would likely just slide and possibly fall over making things even more painful difficult.. So I eliminated that thought and knew it would be best to try to kick it over with my good leg.. Since there was no where to pull it I coasted up to the 'dam' for the pond and got as close as i could since i could coast down the hill i was on i was able to pick pretty good where i wanted my bike to be but the angle of the bank was so low that there was a high chance my bike would foul out it was far from up and down, but I knew it was all I had to hope for.. I was far enough away from the house that dragging myself would be possible but not something that would have been pleasant at all!

I was on the right side of my bike.. I put my hands on the seat and used my knee on my good leg to get my leg up on the kickstand but where it was so laid over my foot kept slipping off and where my other leg was dangling/painful popping twisting i could not put any weight so it was useless.. Also everytime I'd get my foot up on the kickstand since I was using that leg to support me and my arms but not to successfully.. When i'd get my foot up there on the kickstand if it didnt slide off lol the little weight i had on it would roll the engine over just enough that I couldn't get a kick in..

Somehow someway I lucked out and managed to just kinda hop in the air using my hands and come down on the kickstart.. the bike fired right up was very lucky of this.. very lucky i wasnt bleeding out.. didnt know what it looked like yet just knew my foot was flopping everywhere and was very unpleasant.. it was almost to much to push through but I knew I had to suck it up and do what was to be done.. I got my bike back up off the 'dam' kept it running and slowly creeped up back to the house.. on the way the trail gets narrow and where i had my foot dangling off the side I had already hit a rock in the trail and then @ the skinny part there was some shrubbery/brush and my leg got hung up in that and twisted it back lol but I ended up making it home and getting my gf to come outside..

Skip forward a bit of waiting on her to get things ready and when I was in the car getting ready to goto the hospital I was holding my kneecap in the front and letting my leg suspend.. The momentum of the car forward or backward would make my leg swing like a pendulum lol I had to use the door as a brace so my leg would stay straight and managed to deal with it pretty calmly still it was pretty intense but I was able to stay focused..

About 24-30 hours later they got me in surgery pretty fast.. the ankle injury I first had I waited 2 days before I got any assistance the hospital was so packed.. This time I was glad to go into surgery pretty quickly.. Once I saw my X-RAY my tib and fib had snapped in a different spot but the tib was broke right at the top of the metal plate from the last injury and right where the top screw went.. I also realized later on that when I broke my ankle I had pins sticking into my bone and a external fixator .. well where it broke the bottom pin in my shin they put in was also there (not anymore but im sure that didnt help when it came to rebreaking it)

They took some of the previous hardware out since they couldnt put the titanium rod in because the metal plates had screws and they needed to go through the inside of the tibia.. they said they did leave some hardware I'm not sure if they took it out put it back after they put the titanium rod or what.. Last time I had surgery it was hellish when I came out of it.. Felt like someone took a skil-saw or saw-saw to my leg no joke.. So I mentioned this to them and they told me they would do a 'nerve block' and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS.. when I came out of surgery I was ready to go back to sleep I was so comfy.. unlike the hellish time so thats a good thing to request .. it keeps the whole area numb for like 1-2 days and it really helps the initial post surgery experience.. although when it wears off .. here comes the pain lol (but bearable and no where near as bad as my ankle and waiting so long to get operated on)

So now I have a titanium rod.. some hardware from the last break and they told me if I broke it again I would likely loose my leg.. oddly they told me this when i broke my ankle the first time so as retarded as I feel saying it I think im going to hang up the towel for awhile.. I have a 4 year old daughter.. I'm in a financial hardship and now going to be down a year and a half or more with injuries counting the previous injury .. so yeh not something I care to do a 3rd time..

I know if I dont sell my bike and quad that I will just get on it and go fast again although I was pretty safe and not really going to fast this time around.. I like to ride hard and it looks like my time is up

Anyone else had any experiences similar? Anyone ever broke the titanium rod? I don't want to chance it at this point lol just wondering if anyone else had a similar situation or story of survival where they were by themselves and had to get out of the woods or wherever with injury..

Anywho figured I would share.. It's like day 3 .. the pain is pretty tolerable .. really my kneecap where its swole up (if you havent go watch how they insert those titanium rods lol).. really thats the only thing that is sore.. I been bending it and getting it loosened up.. Otherwise nothings hurting worth mentioning so I think once that swelling goes down after a few days I'll be good to go and might get some sleep..

Guys be careful ! I've rode all my life and just goes to show accidents happen.. Always take a riding buddy .. your cellphone might help but may have no service .. It's pretty intense when you have to figure out how to get yourself out of a situation like that.. and if i would have been bleeding out and hadta made a tourniquet and all that it woulda made it that much more intense..

Let me know what you think of my crappy luck lol!

- Kenny (30yr / Kentucky)

BobbyM wrote:

[IMG]https://media.ottobock.com/prosthetics/knees/genium/images/genium_system_1_1_teaser_fallback_retina.jpg[/img] State of the art.

State of the art.