I had a tibial plateau fracture in Jan 2015. After 2 years, I still had pain, feelings of discomfort, etc., so I just had two plates and 12 screws removed May 25, 2017. My surgeon wants me using two crutches, but I am already comfortable on just one in small spaces. I had day surgery. Everything looks good. Sorest place is my ankle, which must have gotten torqued during the removal. I start PT June 2, recheck with Orthopod on June 13. He said 6-8 weeks to hiking. I am really afraid of breaking the bone where the screws were removed. How long did you wait before getting on a horse? At this point, my horse is 25, so we are not talking doing much, but I do hope to get something younger at some point.
Forgot to add, my horse (and my daughter’s horse) live at home, so once I am down to one crutch, I will be back to feeding. Will wait until I am crutchless to do stalls though.
I had a less complicated break with a rod in my tibia and 6 screws (2 at the top and bottom holding the rod in place, 2 holding a fracture in the ankle in place). The recovery from the hardware removal was ridiculously simple (even though the surgery took 4 hours instead of the expected 1 hour). I was walking within an hour or two after surgery. The next day I snuck out to the barn and hopped on my horse bareback. I think I took it easy for a couple days, then was completely back to normal.
It sounds like your hardware removal was more involved than mine, and maybe your surgeon is concerned about bone quality/speed of growth. Of course you should do what your surgeon says, but if you decide to get on your horse in a few days or a week and take a gentle ride before dismounting carefully back onto a mounting block, I won’t tell :winkgrin:.
Good to know it went so well for you. I am amazed at how quick the recovery is going from the hardware removal. My main concern is the 12 screw holes. I am a bit older than you, and I don;t want to jeopardize the structure of the bone, so I am going to be a bit more careful I think. Will wait until m y next appt with the doc (3 weeks post removal) before doing anything like riding.
BTW, all the screws at the top of the tibia are now removed, and the holes need to fill in. Hence my caution.
I had a plate with six screws removed from one side of my ankle and two long screws removed from the other side last May. I started riding two weeks after and that was ok because my horse was rehabbing too (we both got injured in the same accident) and was only walking. I think it might depend on what you plan on doing, how long you wait. I had to do a month of walk, a month of trot and a month of canter for my horse to bring her back (and she had been about three months on a treadmill at this point and hand walking over caveletti). So I took it slow and that was good because it hurt for a while to weight a stirrup. I also needed chiropractic and core work to even out my strength after so long on crutches and a boot.
I used a great supplement during the whole healing process: Bone=Up by Jarrow. I am 60 and I healed very fast. Started PT again about a month after the removal surgery.
I took about a month off after getting the hardware in my ankle removed, and had my friend teach my pony to line himself up with the mounting block and picnic table in the meantime for dismounting. I used a block or table to dismount for several weeks after that, until I felt I was strong enough to land evenly.
Thinline insoles in my riding boots also seem to make a difference as far as the impact of dismounting.
I actually ended up teaching my pony to let me slide back off his bum, because I find it hard to get out of my western saddle without getting hung up now that my left leg has extremely limited feeling (severed nerves in my hip in the fall that trashed my ankle). It lets me slide and make sure I land safely, without torquing his back. Also has come in handy on the trail a time or two, haha!
Thanks all. Three weeks today. So happy to have the hardware out. I am walking up to about 2 miles and back to barn work. I got the stitches out two days ago, which has made the area tender. Since one of the incisions in on the inside of the knee, I will wait till that is less ouchy, and then try a walk ride :).
Yay! I’m so happy it’s going well for you. Looking at the xray, no wonder you were nervous about the bone filling in the holes–there were a LOT of holes! Isn’t it crazy how much more comfortable you are with the hardware out? I still don’t understand why or how hardware is so painful, but it is.
