Today is exactly four years since I broke my Tibia Plateau. I still get anxiety around this time of year! In some ways the time has passed quickly and in other ways it seems like I have been dealing with this forever.
On the whole, I am pretty well and can't complain. My biggest problems in the last year has been 1) trying to keep my plantar fasciitis under control and 2) working on keeping knee "flare ups" to a minimum.
I'm not sure how common plantar faciitis is after an injury like ours, but I bet it is more common than we know. My problems started about 4 months after my hardware removal. Now, whether the hardware removal caused this, or as my activity level increased after hardware removal and caused it, I'll never know. All I know is it took me at least 18 months to be rid of it, or I should say, mostly rid of it because if I overdo I still can feel the twinge. I tried everything to get better; icing, massage, custom orthotics, rest, but the one thing that did it for me was a night split. It looks like this:
As far as flare ups, I noticed that if I overdo the activity and don't do the exercise bicycle I start getting swelling in the knee. Of course, that sends me into a total panic that there is something wrong with my knee. If this happens, I revert back to the RICE method. Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. It really does work, especially the ice. Well actually, it all works pretty well. My best advice to you all is to consistently use an exercise bicycle or a real bike, and work out with that. It really strengthens the quads, which is super important. For me, no other exercise works as well as the bike. Sometimes I slack off going to the gym and don't take my own advice and I start getting the twinges. I know its happening so I know I need to get biking ASAP.
I wish you all best of healing and try to keep a positive attitude. All TPFs are different and everyone heals differently. I'm now 56 years old and doing pretty much everything I want to do. Just take it one day at a time was my motto back then and I still have to remember that old saw when I get a twinge.
Good luck, everyone!
Hi Patty, Glad to hear things are still going well for you, i'm now almost 2 half yrs since my injury, I can still feel there is allot of recovery in the "tank" so the progress is made at a snails pace, but progress is good if it takes another 2 yrs I dont care as long as its progress, i'm walking much faster now, (even other half says slow down)and walking up and down stairs now is no problem..it is my objective to start cycling, but at the moment with work and travelling, its not possible, but thanks for that tip. Onwards and upwards! and Keep smiling. :o)
ReplyDeleteI read your blog when I was non-weight bearing (Feb-Mar-Apr), and now I've returned to read what you have to say about limping. What a surprise to see you've done an update- thank you for that! Always good to know what the future holds, and you don't sugar-coat things, which I appreciate. Today marks the day that I've been weight-bearing for as long as I was not ( I hope that makes sense: 3 months NWB, and now 3 months since I was given the OK to bear weight). I must be slow to recover, as my PT at Kaiser "graduated" me from crutches to a cane just 2 weeks ago. I have my 6 month checkup with my ortho surgeon next week. My limp is still bad, and I dont know if it has to do with the swelling that still exists. My swollen ankle seems like its the culprit. Anyways, there is a Facebook group for Tibia Plateau Fractures; you might want to check it out. They keep a spreadsheet, and from that I learned how people commonly get their TPF's: 1) skiing and 2) dogs crashing into them!
ReplyDeleteHi trickortreat,
ReplyDeleteAs you probably know I also was, and still am, in Kaiser. I was pretty leery about some of the stories I heard but my treatment was really first rate. They have given me whatever I asked and the doctors and nurses were really good.
Swelling is the enemy! When I started walking again my patellar tendon would be the first to swell and hurt. So, my inner side, below my kneecap was always in pain. My PT told me to ice, massage and not to do too much too fast! The limp goes away so slowly you might not even notice it until one day, you look and you've improved!
Interesting about dogs causing a lot of TPF! I thought mine was the one in a million freak accident. I'm so sad to say it's not. Skiing is inherently somewhat dangerous, but you don't expect to get such an injury from taking your dog out.
Hope you are doing well and keep up the good work!
Thanks for the reply. I like what you said about "you might not even notice it until one day, you look and you've improved!" It'll be a wonderous moment when that happens. Also, I have had great treatment from Kaiser as well, I'm very happy with them. Good luck with your plantar faciitis, and keep updating us!
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