 Poster: A snowHead
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I forgot to mention - I now have one leg about an inch to an inch and a half shorter than the other. The Surgeon in France told me this would happen!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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jb1970, oh bug. I am surprised though - I always thought thats why people have traction or external fixation. Will your UK surgeon do anything to correct it?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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jb1970, was that surgeon in France's nice way of saying you won't ever be a good skier again?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Will make turning interesting.......
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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you should change your forum name to haggis legs (great for walking round hills! Sorry couldn't resist  hope you make a full recovery
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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jb1970, the "leg shorter than the other" problem might be because one of your femurs is now shorter than the other, or it could be a functional problem related to pelvic imbalance etc. Lots of people have this problem - which needs very different treatment from an anatomical difference. Who has diagnosed your different length legs, and how?
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| pam w wrote: |
| jb1970, the "leg shorter than the other" problem might be because one of your femurs is now shorter than the other, or it could be a functional problem related to pelvic imbalance etc. Lots of people have this problem - which needs very different treatment from an anatomical difference. Who has diagnosed your different length legs, and how? |
Its because my femur is shorter than the other. I don't need it diagnosed; I can see its shorter just by looking at it!!! Surgeon in France told me this would be the case. I'm going to discuss with my Orthopaedic Consultant when I see him on 15th of this month.
Thanks
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Quote: |
I'm going to discuss with my Orthopaedic Consultant when I see him on 15th of this month.
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I hope that discussion goes well and he can give you a positive prognosis.
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jb1970, I think you should change your forum name to Eileen
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| jb1970 wrote: |
| I forgot to mention - I now have one leg about an inch to an inch and a half shorter than the other. The Surgeon in France told me this would happen! |
they said the same to me after I broke my femur, nobody has managed to effectively measure the difference (if any)
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
| jb1970, I think you should change your forum name to Eileen |
Why Eileen?!
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| kitenski wrote: |
| jb1970 wrote: |
| I forgot to mention - I now have one leg about an inch to an inch and a half shorter than the other. The Surgeon in France told me this would happen! |
they said the same to me after I broke my femur, nobody has managed to effectively measure the difference (if any) |
I don't need to measure - its quite obvious that one leg is shorter than the other!
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You know it makes sense.
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Just say it outloud, jb1970. 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| pam w wrote: |
Just say it outloud, jb1970. |
I'm lost - don't know what you mean!
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Poster: A snowHead
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I lean. one leg longer than the other.....
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| pam w wrote: |
| I lean. one leg longer than the other..... |
Got it now...duh!!!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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jb1970, hope you don't think Frosty the Snowman's making fun of you! Hope your leg gets sorted. I'd guess it's quite difficult (although not impossible) to ski with one leg shorter than the other.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| maggi wrote: |
| jb1970, hope you don't think Frosty the Snowman's making fun of you! Hope your leg gets sorted. I'd guess it's quite difficult (although not impossible) to ski with one leg shorter than the other. |
Not at all! I hope its not too difficult!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Anatomically what causes the shortening? If a bone cracks cleanly and is realigned surely the ends must meet up. Where does the loss in length come from?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Megamum wrote: |
| Anatomically what causes the shortening? If a bone cracks cleanly and is realigned surely the ends must meet up. Where does the loss in length come from? |
+1 
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Megamum, IIR . . . and that is an old IIR, unless there is a mechanical brace to the bone, ie. pins and/or rods etc. natural muscle/ligament contraction will exert a pull on the shards. A big injury like jb's has a much greater risk than a minor break like mine. Though it is a potental complication in any fracture. Give you an idea. All the ligaments around my ankle joint were stretched in the accident so there is little pull on the lower head of the tibia into the joint yet the big muscles in my leg still exert a pull, drawing the shorter end up my leg possibly ending up with a a shortened tibia and a less stable ankle joint. That's why I'm working so hard to maintain a good blood flow through the area and get the soft tissue damage reduced as fast as possible. I'll detail the results later but I'm very lucky in having a big ol' Fib as a splint 
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I think it depends on the fracture type and the method of fixation used, but I'm no expert on this. Hopefully Jonathan Bell might be able to elaborate, but I would have to move the thread for him to see it.
jb1970, is it OK for me to move this to the Injury and Rehabiliatation forum?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Masque, interesting - I guess the amount of shortening must be related to the cleaness of the break then, the more trauma to the ends of the bone the more possibility that is what is left could effectively crush, as you described. 1-1.5" still sounds a huge change in length to manage. Lets hope that it won't be that much jb1970, or you will have to learn to sew to keep turning up one leg on your trousers!!!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Hells Bells wrote: |
I think it depends on the fracture type and the method of fixation used, but I'm no expert on this. Hopefully Jonathan Bell might be able to elaborate, but I would have to move the thread for him to see it.
jb1970, is it OK for me to move this to the Injury and Rehabiliatation forum? |
Yes, Hells Bells, please move it to the appropriate section. Thanks
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I'm going back to see Ortho on 15th of this month, so will see what happens then and will keep you all posted. On a more positive note, I have been doing my physio exercises and there is much less pain and more movement in my leg, so all good there!
Will keep you posted.
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jb1970, good to hear that. The physio is so important. ..don't underestimate the amount of work you'll have to do once you are fully weight bearing. Try and get the physio to let you partially weight bear on your full foot as soon as possible if you feel you can. They wanted me to toe touch at first. ..they said it was to stop too much weight going through but if I could manage the weight through the crutches I could use my full foot...much easier!
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You know it makes sense.
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| holidayloverxx wrote: |
| jb1970, good to hear that. The physio is so important. ..don't underestimate the amount of work you'll have to do once you are fully weight bearing. Try and get the physio to let you partially weight bear on your full foot as soon as possible if you feel you can. They wanted me to toe touch at first. ..they said it was to stop too much weight going through but if I could manage the weight through the crutches I could use my full foot...much easier! |
That's what the Consultant has told me to do - toe touch only at the moment. They are more concerned with the way the metalwork is sitting...or not sitting in my case!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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jb1970, Ah, OK. My consultant said it was up to the physio. I forgot your metalwork wasn't sitting well
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Poster: A snowHead
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if I could manage the weight through the crutches I could use my full foot...much easier!
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I had no physio, with my straightforward fracture, but I found this too - I had been told that weight-bearing was OK from the outset so I could experiment with more weight, and a more normal gait - and decided that walking very slowly but with a normal foot movement was much better for me than hopalong cassidying at higher speed with my left foot off the ground, or just toe-touching.
I used a bathroom scales to try to get an idea of how much weight I was bearing on the affected leg - it was most encouraging to see that increasing.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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jb1970,
Recovery after a fracture will depend on many variables.
Those involving the joint surfaces can cause quite significant problems, most usually if they cannot be reduced( put back together) accurately. Those may lead to pain, arthritis etc.
Some with cause trouble because they don't heal.
Others are a problem because the metalwork is bulky and uncomfortable.
Rehab and associated soft tissue damage is also relevant .
However. Many people can get an excellent recovery and get back to skiing , some, I know this season have skied to a high level.
Jonathan Bell
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Been to see the Orthopaedic Docs this morning and this is the update:
Had x-ray and leg is healing well, still not to fully weight bear as doc said leg has to heal in 4 places (I had two breaks in my femur, so presume that this means 2 joins + 2 breaks = 4 places - I'm a layman, so will be guided by their expert opinion!). I also asked about the metalwork and that the doctor last time said it wasn't sitting quite as he would like it to - was told this morning that it looks ok, is keeping everything in place and metalwork is not protruding through skin or anything like that, so just to keep an eye on it. I've to continue with my physio (I love my physio woman, she's great) and go back to see Ortho in 6 weeks' time. Still not allowed to drive either as I wouldn't be legal (emergency stop, etc) which is a bummer because I have a lovely shiny brand spanking new (14 plate) car sitting outside the house that I can't use! I also asked him about one leg being shorter than the other - doc said that it probably looks worse than it is (from my position) and that this is easily corrected with insoles from orthotics - still don't know how that is going to be with I'm turning whilst skiing - will be interesting! He says that leg is shorter because of fragments in the bone.
When I go back in 6 weeks' time, and if he allows me to start weight bearing at that time, that's when I'm going to ask him about skiing next year. My mum doesn't want me to go skiing and neither does some of my friends. Although, I'm a recreational skier and quite average, I do like the whole being in the mountains, getting exercise, eating nice lunch, etc, so I want to go back. To be honest, I don't think I'm nervous about putting on skis again (I say this because I'm not in the mountains and at home, I might be different if I was there!) what I am a bit nervous about is if I injury myself again - its not the potential injury that would wee wee me off, its the recovery but I suppose that's an occupational hazard! Can you ski with metalwork in your leg and how would it affect my skiing - I mean would it pop out if I was to fall?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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jb1970, can't comment on skiing with metalwork, but don't listen to your friends and mum on this. I have had similar comments, I am not listening to them either. Currently day 2 of our holiday and my knees are feeling great  I am glad I didn't listen to the naysayers.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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jb1970, they took my metal work out as I said I wanted to ski again. But every person and consultant are different...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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jb1970, Thanks for the update, sounds like a good report after thinking it may not go so well. Of course you'll be skiing next season!
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NickyJ,
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Currently day 2 of our holiday and my knees are feeling great I am glad I didn't listen to the naysayers.
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holidayloverxx,
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Of course you'll be skiing next season!
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Indeed!
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| kitenski wrote: |
| jb1970, they took my metal work out as I said I wanted to ski again. But every person and consultant are different... |
Thanks for this - when I go back to see them at the end of May, I'm going to ask them about whether or not to take out the metalwork so I can go skiing next year!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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If you need physio that will get you back on the slopes, don't hesitate to go to Jacques in Les Menuires Centre Medical totally brilliant, has worked on my knee that was trashed by a "friend" it's the service station for esf.
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White Dog, I think that might be a little too for him to commute to
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FAQ
Third, that's what friends are for... when you are really down, they are suppose to make fun of you, otherwise they are not real friends. And fourth, get a bit tougher and get some sense of humor 