I fractured my tibial plateau in an unplanned dismount in December. My bone is healing remarkably,however, I am having severe difficulties bending my knee more than 45°. ( I am at week 10)With extreme pushing I can get to 60°. I go to physical therapy four times a week and do stretching and exercising at home on my own. My surgeon wants to do a manipulation under anesthesia. I’m quite opposed to this. I’m looking for another solution to help my knee bend. Does anyone know of a different method to get the knee to bend to 90° or more? My goal is complete and full recovery and to be able to ride my horse on a daily basis for fun and for dressage competition-shows.
What does your physical therapist say? I had the same fracture and it took many, many months of therapy before I had full range of motion back.
Thank you for your kind response. I have 2 physical therapist. One does traditional pt - thinks I should do manipulation under anesthesia. The 2nd does deep tissue massage and stretching w/Pilates says give it more time…I’m on week 9 with 45 degree bend. How many months until you had 90* bend?
I’t was a while ago so I don’t remember for sure, but probably in the range of 5 months for that much range. I was back riding after 3 months.
I didn’t have a fracture in the same joint, but did have multiple fractures of my humeral head along with dislocation. Had to wear an immobilizer for 9 weeks in effort to avoid surgical repair. Talk about muscle atrophy and tendon shrinkage - I couldn’t even straighten my elbow for 2-3 weeks once PT began, let alone move my shoulder. I had adhesions in the joint and it was extremely stiff and painful working on any range of motion. PT said manipulation under anesthesia was the next step. Ummm…no. I worked, sweated and at times cried through my exercises, but I got full mobility back AFTER my 3 months of 3x/week insured PT ended. It didn’t stop me from riding, but I probably had full range 6 months after I started PT.
I’m sure there are many factors of recovery: state of health pre-injury, age, genetics, pain tolerance, etc. Patience and perseverance are 2 things you can control…the others not so much. Don’t look too far ahead and get discouraged. Take it one day at a time and I bet you’ll get to your goal!
Thank you! You give me hope😊 I see my horses almost every day. And I have someone who can ride them, my husband included. It’s very challenging for someone who is active to be so restricted. Thank you for answering my post. Have a good night
I’m late to this party, but I’m curious if you had surgery to stabilize the bone. I had the same injury 1/13, with surgery on 1/21. By end of March I could bend to 145 degrees, but I did have surgery and wondering if that made the difference. I’m no kid—58 years young. My knee is still swollen and they said it would probably be a year before that’s totally gone.
I had impact fractures in my knee, the femural and tibial plateaus had small fractures. I was having the same problem, getting it to bend. I actually fell (don’t ask how) and my knee bent, and my lower leg folded all of the way under me. I felt things tear. And that was that. It was a little sore for a bit, but I could move it fine after and I rarely have pain from where the fractures were.
