Women any experience with tibial plateau fractures?

[gymgal]

I am looking for any info regarding recovery, timeframe of recovery, ability to come back from this injury both just every day life and gymnastics.

 

[LizzieLac]

I am happy to share my DD's experience with tibia and fibula fracture, but I think the tibial plateau fractures are closer to the knee. My DD's breaks were a couple of inches above the ankle. PM me if you are interested.

 

[gymgal]

I am happy to share my DD's experience with tibia and fibula fracture, but I think the tibial plateau fractures are closer to the knee. My DD's breaks were a couple of inches above the ankle. PM me if you are interested.

Thanks for replying. I hope she has recovered well. Yes, the tibial plateau is the very top of the tibia at the joint so potentially creates issues not found in tibia shaft fractures. ROM, stability, arthritis. these are the areas I am most concerned about and I am looking for more info. There is very little sports related info out there for recovery and prognosis. And nothing for gymnastics, that I have come across

 

[LizzieLac]

To state the obvious, a good sports orthopedic and even better physical therapist is key! Not sure where you live but you may have to travel to find the kind of doctor best suited for this. You could try USAG doctors - they may be able to make a recommendation. How long ago did it happen?

We are on the other side of it now, but it was a pretty miserable 18 months.

Wishing your gymmie a full recovery (with no complications)!

 

[2G1B]

My DD broke her leg there 1.5 years ago. I'll be honest, it still hurts. :-( it isn't enough to keep her out of practice most days; but it always seems to be there and some days she does choose to minimize floor and vault.

She has been in PT off and on since she got off of her crutches (8 weeks after the break).

 

[JazzyMom]

I'm so sorry to hear that! I'm a year out trying to recover from a TPF. There is a FaceBook group Tibial Plateau Recovery that has tons of information on this injury. There are different catagories of TPF depending on the severity. Did she have surgery? If so, how many plates and screws. It is a hard injury to recover from. The FB group can really help you understand the best way to recover from this injury. I wish a speedy recovery!

 

[GymnastMomX2]

I actually fractured my tibial plateau (and tore my PCL) almost exactly 2 years ago. They didn't even diagnose it until I had an MRI about 6 weeks after the initial injury, I was then put in an imbobilizing knee brace for 4 weeks and then did about 6 weeks of PT. It was another couple months before I felt my strength back to normal. Although I'm not sure what was related to the fracture and what was related to the PCL tear. I'm a very active CrossFit/roller derby athlete though, not a young gymnast l would say PT is key with coming back from any injury.

 

[KipNurse]

My husband (not a gymnast ....but I personally work in the OR) But avid mountain biker and cyclist, sustained a tibial plateau fx from snowboarding. We were dating at the time (this was 13 years ago) and the non-weight bearing period was rough for him, and I was so worried that somehow he would lose a sport/hobby he loved so much. But he is truly better than ever. Went back to mtn. biking and honestly has had some of the best "seasons" with the sport since then. (he works too much now to keep as active in it...that's way more of a problem than the tibial plateau) Athletes come back better than ever. Sometimes it "aches" and I believe waaaaay down the road they are perhaps susceptible to more arthritis in this joint. But I don't think it is a deal breaker with sports. I remember combing the internet for "success stories". Turns out my hubby was one of his own. His was pretty extensive as well. A plate and multiple screws. It'll all be good! Just my two cents

 

[gymgal]

thanks everyone! We are awaiting more testing next week, at which point we will know specifically the extent of the fracture and whether she needs surgery. In the mean time, I hve been scouring the web for information on her type of fracture, recovery times, therapy protocols, etc.

Jazzymom, I did request permission to join that fb group - found it on my own from searching the web - but haven't been approved yet. Wondering if it is all that active anymore?

 

[refugee]

Not a gymnast (daughter is)...I suffered a TPF about 5 years ago, skiing (bad conditions--another friend suffered the same injury on the same ski hill that day). Mine was a Type II injury, with a 2cm depression into the lateral condyle requiring bone grafting. Surgery was required (plate & 9 pins). Recovery required 12 weeks non-weight bearing.. The articular bearing surface is damaged, and I'm told to expect earlier-onset arthritis, an a candidate for earlier knee replacement surgery.

I DID ski the next season, successfully! I have generally had no problems with the knee, though this year, for the first time, my knee now "predicts" upcoming weather changes.

 

[KipNurse]

thanks everyone! We are awaiting more testing next week, at which point we will know specifically the extent of the fracture and whether she needs surgery. In the mean time, I hve been scouring the web for information on her type of fracture, recovery times, therapy protocols, etc.

Jazzymom, I did request permission to join that fb group - found it on my own from searching the web - but haven't been approved yet. Wondering if it is all that active anymore?

I believe she's gonna be just fine no matter what. We're all going to have arthritis eventually Kidding...but really, I remember being so worried about my hubby and feeling sad. He's totally fine now really. Our bodies are resilient, especially athletic types.

 

[JoyAvenueMom]

Kipper fractured her tibial plateau on March 2 of this year. (2 weeks before state...but I digress...) There was zero bone displacement, and she did not require surgery. Her doctor said that before MRI's came along to detect the fracture, they would have described her injury as a "bone bruise". There was some ligament damage, but nothing major. She was non-weight bearing for 2 weeks, then walking only for 2 weeks. She wore a brace to protect the knee while at school and gym, but nothing at home. She was prescribed PT (stretching) at her first ortho appt, which was less than a week after the accident. At four weeks post injury, she was given additional PT with bands. After 4 weeks, she was allowed low impact gymnastics activity (bars into the pit, cartwheels, walkovers, etc) At six weeks, she was allowed normal tumbling on soft surfaces, gradually working toward full release at 8 weeks. She has no more pain at the injury site, but still gets sore around the knee. I would say that general muscle weakness and tendon weakness has made the recovery difficult. When she first started tumbling, everything was "off". Now she has aches and pains in her back, shoulders, ankles, etc. Nothing major, just chronic soreness. Her doc specializes in athletes, and cautioned her about rushing through her recovery. However, he did not advocate any "down time" and encouraged her to keep doing what she could. I think his approach helped her to get back to what she loves faster than she might have with a more conservative approach. On another note, Kipper grew an inch and gained 5 pounds during the initial 6 weeks. She is 11, and I guess growth spurts while recovering are not uncommon. So now, she is dealing with a different "body" than pre-injury as well. At 12 weeks post injury (last week), her coach says she is 95% back to where she was pre-injury.

How did her injury happen?

 

[2G1B]

Interesting. My DD's sounds worse than JoyAvenueMom's DD's and not nearly as bad as gymgal's DD's. While we knew that there might be some ongoing issues, it wasn't until this post that I realized that what my DD is going through might be normal for this stuff. Since coming back from her fracture, she has dealt with different pains. Some we knew were due to issues from the break (the very obvious of pain where it broke to pretty obvious over use leading to tendonitis in the "good leg" due to being non weight bearing on the broken leg for so long); but she has also had off and on back pain, other random pains, and lately ankle pain in the ankle on the leg that she didn't break. It has been disheartening for her to have all of this. :-( maybe it will make her feel a little better to know tgat a lot if it could be from her continued recovery (she broke it a year and a half ago. Ugh. She has good days and bad days with it ) (she has been in and out of PT and the ortho.)

 

[gymgal]

We got good news today. No surgery. looking at about 6-8 more weeks of no weight bearing, then lots of PT and gradual increase in training. looking like around 4-6 months before back to full training. but dr said it could happen more quickly due to her age, fitness level, etc.

 

[JoyAvenueMom]

We got good news today. No surgery. looking at about 6-8 more weeks of no weight bearing, then lots of PT and gradual increase in training. looking like around 4-6 months before back to full training. but dr said it could happen more quickly due to her age, fitness level, etc.

So glad she doesn't need surgery!!!! It sounds like your dd's injury must be more extensive than my dd's was. That is a really long time for no weight bearing. Is a fracture visible on the X-Ray, or only on the MRI?

 

[gymgal]

So glad she doesn't need surgery!!!! It sounds like your dd's injury must be more extensive than my dd's was. That is a really long time for no weight bearing. Is a fracture visible on the X-Ray, or only on the MRI?

The fracture is visible on regular x-ray but couldn't tell the extent of it. So we did a CT scan yesterday and it showed a small fracture at the tip and on the top surface. Dr says if we did an MRI, we would see a big bruise on the bone as well. Based on the CT and his manipulation exam, he feels confident we are not dealing with any major ligament damage. So we are holding off on the MRI until swelling goes down. If she is still having pain at that point, we may do one.

 

[LizzieLac]

That's great new!!

 

[Daffodil]

That is great news!! So glad to hear that she does not need surgery.

If it makes you feel any better, my daughter had a trabecular fracture of the tibial plateau (bone bruise) recently, and was non-weight bearing for almost 6 weeks. She started full weight bearing about 3 weeks ago, was tested by her physical therapist yesterday, and has about 80 percent of her strength back already. That was great news. She has an appointment with her orthopedist on Monday. We are hoping that she will be cleared to start ramping back up slowly with gymnastics. These kids are resilient! Good luck with her recovery!!

 

[gymgal]

That is great news!! So glad to hear that she does not need surgery.

If it makes you feel any better, my daughter had a trabecular fracture of the tibial plateau (bone bruise) recently, and was non-weight bearing for almost 6 weeks. She started full weight bearing about 3 weeks ago, was tested by her physical therapist yesterday, and has about 80 percent of her strength back already. That was great news. She has an appointment with her orthopedist on Monday. We are hoping that she will be cleared to start ramping back up slowly with gymnastics. These kids are resilient! Good luck with her recovery!!

Wow! She really progressed fast! Happy to hear!