UKC

What's the bad news; how long am I likely to be away from rock? I realise the sensible thing to do would be to ask the orthopaedic surgeon responsible for my recovery - but I entirely forgot, and I suspect his answer will be overly pessimistic.

It was a spiral fracture with an additional large chunk of bone not attached to anything, now all being held together by a plate. Also broke my fibula in a completely different place, just under my knee. No cast, no restrictions beyond not weighting it, and so far so good on the recovery front. The French surgeon suggested I should be walking normally within three months, light sports like cycling from about four months, and 5-6 months before things like ice hockey and climbing become feasible again. The UK approach so far has been less optimistic, but I haven't asked specifically about anything beyond the immediate goal of it being able to partially bear weight.

Is there any good reason I can't start doing sensible things like toproping and seconding once it's fully weight-bearing again? Any estimations on how long I should likely avoid leading and stupidity like jamming cracks? Does anyone have any personal experience of recovering from a similar injury?

I read a thread on UKC earlier about someone with a similar injury being advised to not climb for 18 months. I can't not climb for 18 months, I'll go insane.

Obviously, every case is different but I walked a flat footpath 2 miles (with crutches) on day 7 post-op, was doing regular lowland 'off road' walking (crutches) from week 2, Swimming from week 4 (i had to wait for a skin graft to heal), light scrambling by week 6 (one of my consultants was quite amused by my argument that if I was taking some of the weight on my arms, by definition my leg was only partial weight bearing) and on top of Snowdon in crampons by 2 months. Can't remember how soon I was bouldering /climbing but the French timeline seems reasonable with an uncomplicated healing. 

Not sure how helpful as not quite the same bone but I broke my femur and was up and about pretty much to the schedule your french surgeon gives you. Don't know how you did yours, mine was gear ripping, but I found the psychological side took a bit to get over as well. Finding a good physio really helped as well.

I did it skiing, on flat ground. Both of my climbing trip injuries and trips to A&E have been while minding my own business on the horizontal, so maybe my brain will recognise that I'm less of a danger to myself when actually climbing.

It's good to hear that the French timescale is quite realistic. I'm a bit apprehensive that getting back to leading or things which could involve impact might be a bit longer, and the UK surgeon did make the point that the plate makes one more susceptible to breaking the bone where the plate ends with certain sorts of impact.

I had an open fractured tib/fib when I was 18 ( a long time before I started climbing), had a very complicated recovery (the orthopeadic surgeon in Greece where clearly not of the same standard as the one you had in France!!).  I had 4 operations, 3 different orthopedic surgeons, several different approaches at fixing it, 4 months non weight bearing, eventually came out of a cast 6 months after the injury, and then 4 months physio My UK orthopeadic surgeon used me as a case study in a orthopeadic conference in Switzerland.. "how to sort out other peoples mess" I think was the title!!

Trampolining 12 months after the injury, and was mountain biking again a little before that.  In the years since the injury I have raced downhill mountain bikes, big wave windsurfed and obviously climbed.  

The only advice I had from the orthopedic surgeon was no motorbikes, no horse riding and no skiing (advice I have heeded), as the risk of a fracture at the same level of the original injury (mid shaft) is too high and would most likely result in amputation.

I think the key things to think about are what activities have a high likelihood of causing the same injury, particularly whilst the plate is still in situ, as a re fracture involving the plate would be a nightmare.

So, the question is how many topropers/ seconds do you know who have fractured their tib/fib? Then just take it easy at whatever activity you choose to do, and don't use painkillers to mask any pain...listen to your body.

Good luck

Bad luck Mark, and best for a good recovery,  but the thing to remember is you will go more insane if you re-injure....

Ouch, that sounds like a nightmare! I hope you haven't had any lasting effects of your complicated recovery? Was the advice to avoid motorbikes, horses and skiing forever, or for some time after your recovery?

I'll definitely be taking it easy and being quite conservative with my choice of activities, but I definitely can't stomach the idea of an extended break from all climbing.

Cheers

That's the big difference with my fracture - I had a full length pin up the tibia with interlocking screws so the full length of the bone was to some extent supported. 

On the other hand, the pin was rubbing on my patellar ligament and caused quite a bit of discomfort after long walks /runs until I had to have it removed 2 years post-op (for implant infection following a wisdom tooth extraction). 

Hi Mark, I had a similar injury. Spiral fractured tib and fib skiing. Plate and screws.

Are you in a cast? lucky you if not.

Every recovery is different but mine dragged on a bit It was six months before i was off crutches and fully weightbearing but i was leading a month after that. I guess if you are lucky and your bones knit faster than mine then you should be back on it pretty quick.

I was "fell crutching" after a few months and swimming was a great sanity saver and muscle builder.

One more thing. get the metal taken out after your all healed. mine came out 18 months after i had my break and i'm sure my leg is all the better for it, . They won't offer to do it, but if you insist they will.

All the best for a speedy recovery

No cast thankfully, and I really am thankful for that.

That was one of the first conversations I had once I was back in the UK and being seen to. It's somewhat complicated in my case by being in the middle of an application to join the Army which is - after the mandatory 12 month broken bone deferral - really pushing it before age restrictions come in. The conclusion was that the surgeon says they wouldn't usually consider removal before 12 months, but if I insist  due to Army medical reasons they could remove it earlier with increased risk of refracturing the bone. The Army medical people however have initially said absolutely not to removal, and my case is going to be considered by the medical staff at Westbury while my application is suspended. The end result may be a longer deferral which would effectively kill off my application, or being permanently disbarred on medical grounds. Their decision will somewhat dictate what happens with the metalwork, but I definitely don't want left in long term.

C'est la vie - the backup plan however is saving up to sail around the European sea cliffs, which doesn't sound too bad.

I had the same injury and it healed roughly in line with that French timeline. No reason not to top-rope once it's fully load bearing. I didn't do enough physio/exercises during the recovery period though, and never regained the full range of motion in my foot, which slightly hampers my climbing. Worth bearing in mind.

I had a very similar injury but due to my age and the fact that there was vascular damage it is a slow healer. I was in cast for three months and full weightbearing at 6 months. I am now at 12 months and i am climbing again. Start to swim as soon as you can. It is a good way to maintain fitness throughout your recovery. Your doctor will advise against many things cycling climbing etc because of the risk of crashing or falling and thus generating a high impact force on the leg. I started cycling gently on the flat in low gear as soon as i was fully weightbearing even though i was advised not to and i am certain it speeded up my healing. Walking came next but it took a long time before my leg was strong enough to walk any distance. I found that climbing ladders big hill walks and climbing rock puts similar forces through the leg. So for me when i could comfortably climb a ladder was the point at which i started to think about going back to the climbing wall. It is early days. I second and boulder at low level and always climb down. I think there are two important points to pass on. If it hurts stop. The healing process should not generate too much pain so if you get a lot of pain it is not a good thing and suggests something is wrong. You cannot speed up the healing process simply by increasing the force of excercise. A plate and screws unlike a rod will fail eventually if the bone does not heal and in my case that was a real possibility. Another reason to go easy. So in summary slow increase in activity over time and do not fall or crash. Good luck on your recovery. I suspect you will be climbing cautiously well before 18 months.

I also found mine continued to get better for a couple of years after I was back to climbing etc so don't get downhearted if it takes a while. To start with it was sore / stiff at times, particularly in colder weather. Now I don't really notice it. That might be because I've got used to it I guess but I also think flexibility etc has continued to improve as well.

Im my experience, the French surgeon definitely knows best. I had a spiral fracture (with a detached fragment) in April 2010, and was skiing and climbing in October. 

I agree with Harry that you should look to having the metal work removed as soon as possible, especially if you want to ski again. I had an intramedullary rod, which is less intrusive, but often hear that metal work on the outside of the bone can be painful in ski boots.

Fractures should be healed within six months, from then on you should be go to climb. Dont smoke, limit coffee, eat healthily and take the time to heal properly and you'll should be all good.