Cowgirl, thanks for the encouragement. I am thinking that I will wait for the two year mark, and then go ahead and have it out. I have a crazy summer, then I teach fall term, so it will be around January. By then, my leg should be even stronger and heal faster–I hope.
I had a compound tib/fib fracture in May 2010. It was repaired with an intramedullary rod and 6 screws. Initially I had no interested in getting the hardware out, but within maybe 6 months it started bothering me. I was asking my ortho at every visit when he could take it out. He said it had to stay in for a year, so May 2011 I got it removed.
Surgery was in a hospital (not an ambulatory surgery center) in case of problems. My surgery took longer than expected because the hardware didn’t want to come out, but I was walking after surgery. I was a little shaky (more mentally than physically) for a day or so, but then it was fine.
Having it out was a godsend. That leg is never going to be 100% again, but it’s greatly improved.
[QUOTE=IFG;8694916]
Cowgirl, thanks for the encouragement. I am thinking that I will wait for the two year mark, and then go ahead and have it out. I have a crazy summer, then I teach fall term, so it will be around January. By then, my leg should be even stronger and heal faster–I hope.[/QUOTE]
You will be so glad you did! I am now about 6 weeks post-removal. I have been riding my horse since week 3 and we started trotting this week (very depressing because I cannot sit the trot anymore and I was GREAT at it before–I know be patient!). I bought myself a cold laser for the rehab and all was going well: I could turn my toe in after about two weeks of riding (which I never could have done with the metal still in), and I seemed to have lost the pain in my ankle. Then, however, I started having foot pain again, so went back to the doctor and was referred, once again, to physical therapy. I picked a new PT this time (was told they have shockwave, etc.) and have had one appointment. It seems that the muscles up my calf that connect to my toes are the culprit: still weak. So I have exercises to do every day with my toes and calves and the PT gives a very deep massage of the calf (which I am supposed to do as well: good excuse to buy an Equistix). The positive part is that PT is only expected to go through July (weekly for about 5 weeks). My range of motion in my injured ankle vs the non injured is still off by a few degrees.
All that said, it is all greatly improved by having the metal removed. I just made the mistake of thinking that all my problems were connected to that–some of it obviously is connected to the immobilizing of the ankle and remaining weakness in this leg. Plus, I had the metal removed very early (at about 7 months post ORIF) so it was still early in my recovery. Still, I am hopeful that I will eventually get close to normal.
When you do get it removed, it is a good idea to get some scar work. I am using the laser on the scarring, but also doing scar massage. The PT explained it is not to “break up” the scar, because nothing can do that, but to cause the scar to remodel with fibers in the right direction.
Thanks for the info. After being off my feet for months, I developed Plantar Fasciitis when I came back, so now I do PT for that too. The best thing bar none is Yoga. My regular yoga teacher is on hiatus for the summer, and the master teacher whose classes I have been going to has a different style and does different positions. New level of agony the first day after class, but new level of motion the day after that. So do consider yoga if you do not currently do it. Just make sure you find a really good, really experienced teacher.
Take it out! I know the docs like to say there’s only a 50% chance you’ll feel any better but my experience is that it always feels better. And hey, even if your pain level stays the same, there is 100% chance that you won’t spend your days wondering if you could make it better.
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I had 11 screws and a long plate in my right ankle after a very bad tib fib. Only after I had the hardware removed did it cease being swollen most of the time (2 years post injury). I couldn’t be happier with the choice to remove it. Walked out of the hospital.
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Other leg has the IM nail and had 6 or 8 screws to stabilize it inside the tibia. Surgeon removed all the screws and left the nail at 6 months. out. Again, no doubt the correct choice.
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First leg still has 6 long screws and a big plate in under the knee (tibeal plateau fracture) and it is the only one left that still really bothers me consistently.
Good luck!
[QUOTE=magentagiraffe;8719787]
Take it out! I know the docs like to say there’s only a 50% chance you’ll feel any better but my experience is that it always feels better. And hey, even if your pain level stays the same, there is 100% chance that you won’t spend your days wondering if you could make it better.
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I had 11 screws and a long plate in my right ankle after a very bad tib fib. Only after I had the hardware removed did it cease being swollen most of the time (2 years post injury). I couldn’t be happier with the choice to remove it. Walked out of the hospital.
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Other leg has the IM nail and had 6 or 8 screws to stabilize it inside the tibia. Surgeon removed all the screws and left the nail at 6 months. out. Again, no doubt the correct choice.
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First leg still has 6 long screws and a big plate in under the knee (tibeal plateau fracture) and it is the only one left that still really bothers me consistently.
Good luck![/QUOTE]
Oh my, was this one accident? You are making me feel much better. Broke left foot Nov 2012, right foot Jul 2013, Tibial Plateau Fracture Jan 2015. I only have hardware in the Tibia. Two plates and about 14 screws. Plan to get it out around Jan 2017. Magentagiraffe, how long have you had your plate?
Cowgirl- I suffered a compound tib/fib fracture while getting off a horse. I can laugh about it now, but talk about bizarre. My mom was there, and to her it looked like I hopped off, sat down and rolled over. She thought I was being funny when I told her to call an ambulance. I ended up in the hospital for 3 weeks, had 2 surgeries, and I’m now the proud owner of two plates and about 15 screws…
Glad to hear you’re healing well. I guess weird stuff happens if you hang around horses long enough!
Janedoe, how horrible! THREE WEEKS!!! Honestly the metal on the ankle really interferes and you will feel instantly better (except for the incision pain) right away. The PT I have now is making a huge difference and my leg is getting stronger. This I can tell because I can keep my toe in when riding (we are up to 35 minutes walk and 10 minutes trot). That said, I have a new complication now: spitting stitches. Yep, my body is rejecting the inner dissolving sutures that won’t completely dissolve, so they are coming up to the surface. I had one removed by my Doctor’s PA, and have another one starting to poke out and a few more I can feel just under the surface. A friend pointed out to me today that I should be soaking in epsom salts again–might help.
IFG–I got the plantar fasciitis too. Also a big knot in my calf and some tendonitis on the top of my foot. The new PT is really helping. He works on my leg during the session and has given me stretching and toe exercises, as well as has me working the muscles to exhaustion a few days a week, which is really helping it to get stronger. My leg occasionally feels normal, well except for the spitting stitches and tight scars…bleh.
Is anyone else still feeling easily tired? How long does this last? I am in the tenth month since my surgery and I still get blotto tired.
Cowgirl, I am not sure how long you were off your feet. I was in bed essentially after surgery for 10 weeks, then on crutches and a cane for about 8 months post-surgery. I am now a year and a half out, and I am getting my stamina back. Being out of circulation that long really took a toll on me, but I spent all week-end moving a compost pile–a REALLY big compost pile accumulated in the year and a half since I broke my leg. It was disgusting work, but great to be able to be out there doing it.
IGF, I was non-weight bearing for 11 weeks (I did have a knee walker), and then in a CAM boot for two months (I think?). I did physical therapy while I was NWB–I was driven to my appointments and used the knee walker, from about Thanksgiving until late March, when the PT wanted me to do impact stuff and I was suffering and not making progress. So then I had the metal removed May 6 or so and am back in physical therapy. My accident was September 20, 2015. I have about 3 more sessions of PT. He is having my do some exercises to help stretch the outside of my ankle where the scar is really tight, and to strengthen my calf and the other muscles and ligaments. My leg is getting stronger, but the progress is very slow. I do have days where it feels almost normal though, so that is good, and other days where I still have stiffness and pain. I am riding and it is encouraging me to do some work without stirrups, which is good for my seat and core.
I can TOTALLY relate about the compost pile! I have been working on my overgrown and neglected garden the last few months and it does feel great to be able to do something normal. A few weeks ago I spent some hours working in the garden (too many too soon) and then I think I slept the entire next day!
I am happy to report that soaking in epsom salts took care of the spitting stitch, so I am going to keep doing it. I never knew about spitting stitches before. It is weird and gross, but not uncommon.
