Welcome to the TPF Home Page.
This page has many useful sections with information, and fellow Tibial Plateau Fracture sufferer stories.
If you’ve recently suffered a Tibial plateau Fracture this is the place for you. This site was created after having myself gone through the recovery process of Tibial Plateau Fractures, and this site aims to contain information you need and want to know during Recovery. You can visit the forum to chat and share your story with others. Or, start reading in the Recovery Section Above. In the different pages you will find a lot of helpful information for your recovery period including medical information, first hand accounts of personal recovery stories as well as many useful tips & tricks. It’s Important to understand that this info is based on personal experience and research but that I am not a medical professional. This site is not intended to provide personal health advice. Your doctor is the professional source of information and if any advice your doctor gives you contradicts something written in this site- stick with your doctors opinion.
If you’re asking yourself how long your recovery is going to take, or what to expect, check out the recovery section. If you’re looking for some helpful tips and tricks from people who’ve been there – have a look at tips & tricks. We also have a Forum with recovery stories of different people Containing many inspiring stories and a place to ask fellow visitors questions.
If you’re looking for a community of people who have been through the same also check out the forum, or if you are looking for more information and references, those can be found in “further reading” which contains links to other websites and pages.
This page currently contains mostly information regarding recovery and recuperation after a surgery or non-surgical treatment. If you are still in the hospital and want to know more about your injury this is also the place for you. In future I might add some useful information for your stay in the hospital.
Hope you feel at Home, and feel free to contact about anything at all at [email protected]
Note: This site is currently in building and so some sections might not yet be complete
Shlomi,
September 10th, 2013
*Note: this website is not intended to provide medical advice. Your doctor is a much better source for medical advice. This information is based on firsh-hand personal experience and research*
Fracture tibial plateau March 13,2016 when bale of hay hit side of leg. Being treated ‘conservatively’ with zimmer/immobilizer. Supposed to be non wt bearing but can’t always get leg out of way or when I do steps. Foot still swollen & get heat flashes. Anybody know how long this will last? Usually very active 66 yr old farm woman. Main caregiver for 4 ponies, & lots of outsidecwork. This isby far most depressing injury ever.
Hi i had this TPF type6 surgery last may 9 2015. Now i can walk with a little limp, but everytime i get up from sitting or from lying i feel like i have an arthritist on the back of my knees for 10mins, eventually it gets better. I am worried because some part of the skin still numb and my knee can only bend 90 degree. Any advise/suggest? I can’t afford theraphy.
I have a Type VI TPF on 12/25/15 when I fell while skiing. I’m now in my 2nd week of transitioning to full weight bearing but am not making the transition very well as I have excrutiating pain in my knee. I sometimes use one crutch to help support me but then go back to two often. I was wondering if many of you experienced this kind of knee pain. I have a call into my doctor but can anticipate his answer will be to go back to two crutches as long as needed. I so want to be able to walk normally again.
I had my TPF on May 26th of last year while jogging. It was a non-displaced fracture so I opted for Non surgery. All the reports I have heard say that it takes a full year to recover, so I assumed that the pain that I have been having is related to that fact. I went ahead and had another MRI just to make sure, and the nurse came in and told me that it looked like my fracture hasn’t healed much at all! Definitely not what I expected to hear. The doctor that ordered the MRI suggest that I go ahead and have two screws put in to hold the fracture in place. Doing some more research I’m noticing that what I may have is delayed union. Has anyone else dealt with this? If so did you go to surgery route, or some of the alternate methods such as electromagnetic therapy?
Becky, too bad. Definitely not the good news you hoped for, I am sure. Have you looked into nutrition? Have you had your Vit. D checked? Bone density test? So many things impact how our bodies function with regard to healing. Good luck with your recovery.
Thank you for your reply Ruth! I have had my Vitamin D checked, but not a bone density test… Maybe a good idea. I am actually starting PEMF therapy next week, which is FDA approved, (shockingly) to improve bone healing. I will post my results if it works to help anyone else in my situation.. Prayers of healing for all on this site.
Hi im lee
I fractured my tibial plateau i had a operation which i had screws and plate ect ive been off my feet 2 month ive got 2 weeks left but ive been walking will this affect the screws or not i need help
So you’re saying that you’re walking before youve actually been “cleared” to walk and that you’re two months post surgery? My doc gave me permission to weight bear at 7 weeks but I started at 6. Probably shouldn’t admit that but it’s true. I do not believe it will in any way impact your hardware (which I also have). Just me two cents!
Lee, I think there is a reason that you are told to not bear weight for a certain amount of time – it is not just to be mean. Bottom line: only your Dr, who has access to your history and ex-rays, can tell you when you are safely ready to bear weight. You may jeopardize your recovery if you do it too soon. That being said: I understand your impatience! I was told 10 wks non weight bearing. I could not stand to wait, so I walked in the pool at 8 wks. Then at 9 wks I was told 20% weight bearing. And, when I started weight bearing, Physical Therapy was very helpful. My pelvis was all twisted from using the walker for so long. They helped me to straighten it out so that I now walk normally – without a limp. (23 months post accident right now.)
I have tpf type 6 from skiing accident 26th Jan 2016 – head of fibula. Tibial plateau surface fracture splitting tibia 2/3 down length and comminuted break of tibia in two with multiple bone fragments. Operated on 28th Jan with internal plate and about 12 screws. my ankle remains very swollen and have negligible active flexion to point toes towards face (dorsiflexion) & no sensation down one side of scar. Do other people get this too and does it improve? Also. Recently started knee bending at hourly intervals but stiffness and pain was so DREADFUL I couldn’t bend knee for next 3 days.
Jennifer, my name is Diane. I totally destroyed my knee joint, and the tibial plateau fracture was one of the worst my surgeon has ever seen. It was shattered into over 125 pieces. I was in Florida at the time on vacation. I also broke my arm. They operated on my arm in Florida, but I had to be flown home on a medical jet. I have two scars on both sides of my leg. It has been since April 29th of 2015. I know what your feeling. I had an awful time with my ankle and my foot. The pain in my knee was so severe, they couldn’t even touch the clips on my brace without me crying. The physical therapy is tough to go through. The stiffness and tightness in my knee made me feel like I would never be able to move it again. I have severe numbness on my knee and down the middle of my leg. This is all normal. Have faith, it’s a lot of work to get back your movement. There were many times I couldn’t move for days after therapy. In a few years I will need a total knee replacement. I will wait as long as I can. I don’t want to see a hospital anytime soon. Stretching is most important. Keep moving your leg and ankle watching tv. What really helps withe pain is Aspercreme with Lidocaine. Nothing I have ever tried has worked as well as this. Keep on trying hard, you’ll get there. If you need someone to talk to ever, please feel free to email me at [email protected] I will show you some photos and that will make you feel very lucky! Lol! Take care, God bless.
Hi Jennifer,
I have the same nerve/sensation problem lateral to my tpf incision. Since the shallow nerves in the shin tend to travel from the medial side of the leg outward, there is typically numbness in the skin lateral to the incision because those cutaneous nerves are severed. Sorry. My surgeon said that often the feeling will improve in the area as nerves regenerate, but that there is usually some permanent numbness.
I fractured head of my fibula 15 yrs ago. The head fractured in 9 pieces & long bone fractured along w my tibula long bone. Now I can’t stand to walk on my knee.outside, knee cap & my calf is blotchy & very tender.i have strong groin pain , I can’t figure why. I have medicad & 15 yrs ago I was told by 3 dr I needed a total knee replacement. Now I see a medicad ( new) who thinks I need therapy & don’t need s knee replacement .What a joke these medicad Dr. I’m I between a rock & a hard place in severe pain ! What do I do? This last dr wants a mri with contrast & without. What will he possibly see? I’m scared he’s a orthopedic oncologist ! Scared doesn’t cover it with his medicad dr. They get of. Nothing so I get the least care or concern. What may he see? Please give me an idea?
My surgeon told me that within the last ten years, they have improved techniques in surgery for TPF. It’s a terrible thing to have happen to you. They are not upfront about how long it takes to heal and how really screwed you are. He threatens me with knee replacement. I don’t want that. I’m 6 months out from my injury and everyday, it’s a little better. You need to get a good surgeon and maybe more than one opinion. The other thing I would say, if they think they can make things better for you with a knee replacement, consider it before you get too old. It might solve all the terrible pain you’ve been going through.
I had a severe TPF in my left leg in April of 2016 while on vacation. I tripped over a parking curb and landed hard, down on the pavement. I also broke my left arm. The first hospital I went to just put an external fixation on, to keep my leg from moving. Then I was sent to Blake Trauma Center, where they operated on my left arm to put plates and screws in. I had to then be flown by medical Leer Jet back to Boston. My surgeon there said it was one of the worst he had ever seen. It was shattered into 125 pieces and the joint totally destroyed. I had the chance of losing my leg. I was blessed with a phenomenal surgeon Dr. Rodriguez. I lost a lot of blood in surgery and the pain was unbearable. I then went to rehab for several weeks. I finally got home in July, where I needed to still be in a hospital bed in my living room. Started to put weight on it by mid September. I had great in home therapists. Had to use a wheelchair because of the broken arm, I couldn’t use crutches. Here it is March and I am beginning to walk without a limp. I still have therapy on land and in the pool. The pool was a big help. I am really lucky. I will eventually need a total knee replacement, but not for a few years. God put some wonderful Drs, nurses and therapists in my life. Everyone keep your chin up and be thankful that you will walk again. If I could get through this terrible injury, you all can too! God Bless!
Lee, I think there is a reason that you are told to not bear weight for a certain amount of time – it is not just to be mean. Bottom line: only your Dr, who has access to your history and ex-rays, can tell you when you are safely ready to bear weight. You may jeopardize your recovery if you do it too soon. That being said: I understand your impatience! I was told 10 wks non weight bearing. I could not stand to wait, so I walked in the pool at 8 wks. Then at 9 wks I was told 20% weight bearing. And, when I started weight bearing, Physical Therapy was very helpful. My pelvis was all twisted from using the walker for so long. They helped me to straighten it out so that I now walk normally – without a limp. (23 months post accident right now.)
Diane, what a wonderful testimony! I assume you meant April of 2015? One year post accident and you are so positive and hopeful. You cannot stress enough how important gratitude is. Good for you and good for God!
Thanks Ruth. Yes it was in 2015. I have already made a trip back to Florida for a do over vacation. Managed just fine walking around. I even took my favorite nurse to lunch as a thank you for all she did for me. I’m very lucky. A lot of prayers were the main contributing factor of my recovery. Thanks for your kind words.
Diane,
Thanks for sharing your story, it’s encouraging. I’m in week six of a similar injury. Hurt myself in a motorcycle accident in Moab, UT. riding on red-rock trails. I suffered a severe TPF to my left leg and I also broke my left arm. Crutches are out for me, unfortunately, with 2 plates and 20 screws in my arm and leg. After 6 weeks I’m back to work 1/2 time and am starting to be able to do a little better with taking care of myself. I can actually dress myself now! Two more months for me before I may be able to put weight on my leg. I’m hoping for approval to use crutches next week. Like you, I am thankful for the blessing of great medical professionals and a loving family (especially my wife) who have been so helpful and patient with me. I’ll admit more than my share of discouragement and fear, though. I appreciate small blessings and kindnesses so much more now; and I realize how many amazing things I have taken for granted. I pray that your recovery continues and that you have many pain-free years of walking ahead of you without the need for a total knee replacement!
Thanks Roger. Really ironic how we both broke the left leg and left arm, both requiring surgery. I have 100% motion in my arm. Left leg still hurts quite a bit, but eventually I will need that knee replacement. Every day I limp less. It will be 1 year April 29th. I was supposed to return to work on March 21st, but being on long term disability for so long my position became unavailable. Thank God there are 3 permanent positions available, so I just had to re-apply for my job. Hopefully I will be back to work by June. Sure has been a long road, but with all the support and prayers, I am a lucky woman. I hope your recovery continues to go well. Your first time weight baring will feel weird, and you will feel pain maybe for a few days after, but just keep on going. Highly recommend a pool therapy. It really helps. Good luck!
Sounds just like my accident. I had about the same amount of hardware and a blood transfusion. I was driving again at 13 weeks… You’ll get there
Hi Troy. You are well on your way to a full recovery. I’m 17months po and only have 110* rom. My tpf was a bit worse than yours and I was only aloud to start bending my knee at 8 weeks po, and only 45* to start. I’m very active and started work 7months po. Doing plumbing, witch ain’t the easyest job with a bad knee. I mtbike surf and play tennis regularly every week so you’ll be ok. Work really hard at your rom. Good luck
Hi I have just found this site and found it very helpful answering some questions that have been on my mind.
I had a low speed motorcycle accident on the 22/1/16 @ age 42. Resulting in what the surgeons say was a very impressive n unique tpf of my left knee. I broke the top of the tibia knuckles off and split the tibia down the middle. The surgeons told me that they have never seen a tpf like mine, without significant internal, head and other fractures. So I guess I am lucky I otherwise suvived the accident. I had surgery within 24hrs of the accident. I lost almost 4 litres of blood during the operation, lasting over 4hrs. I have 2 large plates and 14 screws holding my tp together n they put a filler in my knee also. I spent 11 days in hospital, the day after the operation was when they informed me that I would be nwb for 12wks. That really shocked me as I am supper active, always doing something and don’t like sitting still for long. I also ended up with a blood clot that split and went into each lung. This was discovered on the 3rd day post op when my poor blood pressure and poor oxygen levels could not be explained. I also need a blood transfusion as my body could not compensate for the blood loss during the operation. I suffered from uncontrollable painful muscle spasms in the first 2wks in the knee, I guess this was the knee trying to adjust to the trauma. Leg was initially put in a solid brace over the bandaging, then when the drain was removed was put into a flexible brace locked at 0deg for the first 4wks. It was then unlocked to 90deg in light nwb physio commenced. Coming home was an experience. Showering was challenging, need a shower chair and needed assistance for the first 4wks from wife n kids. Boredom has been the biggest challenge, n with the drugs that I was on, I tended to sleep a lot. I am now almost 8wks post op. I am driving my wife’s automatic car to medical appointments. I attend 2 physio sessions and one hydro pool session pw. Physio is impressed with my progress, currently I have 110deg of movement. He says some people don’t get that back. I pretty much do my physio exercises all day, nog like I have anything else to do. I have an ambitious goal of being back in my truck within 5mths post accident! That is 12wks nwb and 8wks intensive wb physio. Anyone with any thoughts on my chances of making this goal. Thanks Troy
Troy, I think your chances are great! Your work ethic and positive attitude work in your favor. Good luck! It is now one month past your post. How is it going?
I have a Tibial plateau fracture did it 30/1/2016 Surgon said it was a nasty fracture depresed and recomended plate an screws but I didnt want that so went for full leg cast, its going to be a long drawn out nightmare me thinks,sat down most of the day is the pits when I was walking 60 mile a week most weeks,will I ever walk that far again prob not me thinks am 65.
I have a fractured tibial plateau and will be going into surgery tomorrow 3/1/16. It is just my husband and myself in a new town with no friends and extremely limited activities to do as it is a small Texas town. I have several other health issues as well. I am 63 years old. I have a treadmill at home but have no idea of what I should do yet after surgery. I was told I will need bone filler and a plate. I will have no help at home and my husband works 10 hours a day. I am currently displaced from home staying with my daughter, but she has 5 children so is very busy and she has her own business to run. I can not stay here long term, as it is I am living in their dining room, so I am unable with small children to rest properly. Any advice would be helpful. I am also on an organ transplant list, so I feel like my life is screwed.
Hi Brenda! I am so sorry to hear about your TPF. I broke my leg in September and we are the same age. This is a difficult injury and there is no sugar coating that. You will probably have to go through rehab. They have PTs that are really great at getting you going again. Be prepared to be in a wheel chair as you will not be walking on it for awhile. For me, it was 13 weeks. They will have you set up your living space to accommodate your recovery. Just do everything they tell you. For me, it was the emotional hit. It sounds like you have serious health issues. That can only make it more difficult. I did a lot of praying, I think that got me through the hardest part. I will put you on my prayer list. I really hope the best for you, this has to be devastating for you. Just try to stay strong, love, Joan Cimyotte.
I’m sorry to hear about this. I had a TPF almost 2 years ago and do promise it will get better. I recommend doing everything the physical therapist say to ensure a full recovery. It took me 9 months to stop limping and walk normal again! Praying for healing!!!
I am new to this website, but I thought I would give my short story. I had a bad motorcycle wreck (no other vehicles involved) in early September. I was air lifted to the nearest Trauma 2 center and upon looking at the imaging, I had fractured my L1 vertebrae and had a TPF. I was, shall I say, “lucky enough” that my TPF did not shift and did not require surgery. I was, however, in a knee brace for 3-4 months and non weight-bearing for 2 months. As of right now, I am able to walk for about 30 minutes or so without too much pain. Walking up and down a flight of stairs still gives me trouble, but it seems like, with physical therapy, it’s slowly getting better. My main issue was that, not only was I non weight-bearing on my left leg, but I was in bed for almost a month straight due to my fractured vertebrae, so I lost a decent amount of muscle mass. My physical therapist is also doing ASTYM treatment, which seems to temporarily help.
Is there anything else that anyone would suggest based on their experience besides just continuing PT and just keep working at getting my muscles back to the way that they were? Thank y’all, and I am glad that I found a great site like this!
I also did not require surgery because the pieces were lined up. My midshaft tibia was fractured in a couple of pieces, the Tibial plateau in a couple of places and the head of the fibula. The emergency room doctor said my leg was shattered and that I would need plates and screws. When the orthopedic surgeon arrived, he said he had never seen anything like it, and opted to not do surgery, but it was my choice. I prefer natural healing and opted for no surgery, even though I was told that the healing process is longer WITHOUT surgery. Basically, I was told that because the plates and screws hold everything together, one is allowed to weight bear sooner and work on flexion sooner. I was hospitalized for a week, in a straight leg full cast and unhinged brace for six weeks and nwb for three months. March 2nd will be a year for me. I still can’t go down stairs “normal”. I am now walking a couple of miles daily in about 45 minutes. Six months ago (looks like you are six months out) I was walking with a cane and could only walk about 12 blocks in 30 minutes. My therapist had told me to walk 30 minute intervals. My muscles are still not “normal”. My good leg is so much stronger than the injured leg. IT DOES GET BETTER but it takes TIME to regain the strength. One thing my therapist really wanted me to do was get into a pool, but I didn’t have access.
7 months after my first surgery & 8 weeks after my second surgery I’m starting to be able to function again. I played basketball over the weekend and my leg seems to be getting stronger everyday . I feel once I get my strength back things will be looking even better . It’s amazing how weak your leg can get .