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I fell off of the 4th rung of a ladder into a shower stall while painting on August 2nd. I might add that I’m a 57 year old female that was used to walking 18-20 miles per week with road biking 30 miles or so additionally per week as well. So I was in pretty good shape before my injury.
Initial ER report was no fracture but I was sent home in an immobilizer brace and on crutches. That was fortunate, because after a follow-up appointment with my Ortho doc a few days later (who did meniscus surgery less than two years ago on the same knee) it was determined I actually had a non-displaced tibia fracture directly under my knee. He didn’t call it a tibia plateau injury as such, but he doesn’t normally talk ‘medical term specific speak’.
Anyway…after an MRI…he drained my knee and sent me home with a hinged brace and I have been total NWB since. I have been fortunate per his instruction to be able to set the brace slowly from 80 to 120 Flexion and 20 to 0 Extension since my injury.
On Sept 8th the new x-ray looked pretty promising, but he said he wanted me to still stay NWB for three more weeks. I’m anxious to go back on the 29th for the next set of x-rays. He said if all still looked good I MAY be able to do partial WB for two weeks..and then progress to full WB from there.
I’m wondering what to expect once I start to put weight on it. Will the swelling and tingling start to go away? Do most people use a cane while progressing from crutches to no support? Can I expect to be able to walk at a decent pace for 3 miles and possible bike ride by spring of 2015 if I am conscientious about my PT? Some things I have been reading say it can take up to a year to fully recover and that disheartens me. My leg looks pretty pitiful when I remove the brace to sit in the shower.