Helping a broken leg heal

shredhead
shredhead Posts: 67
edited October 2010 in Health, fitness & training
I broke my tibia (shin bone) falling off my bike on the S Downs Way. I've now got a pin in it and am confined to bed or sofa for a month. I'm taking calcium supplements, arnica, eating well and doing stretching exercises. Physio starts next week. Any tips for helping healing / rehab please?

Comments

  • cee
    cee Posts: 4,553
    Yes.

    Do absolutely everything the physio tells you...to the letter.

    Sounds like you have the healthy living thing already sussed out...but keep it up...

    Oh...and also....

    Did I say do absolutely everything the physio tells you....

    can't really stress that enough....
    Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I believe in the future of the human race.

    H.G. Wells.
  • WisePranker
    WisePranker Posts: 823
    Depending on how close you are to one, hyperbaric chambers can have some benefit in the speedy healing of fractured bones.
    There's some interesting stuff about it on the website for the Isle Of Man hyperbaric chamber:

    http://www.hboman.com/

    I'm not sure if it's something you can be referred to if your local NHS trust has one but it's got to be worth a try.
  • shredhead
    shredhead Posts: 67
    Thanks for the tip - found one nearby. Costs £500 for a course of 20 treatments.
  • WisePranker
    WisePranker Posts: 823
    shredhead wrote:
    Thanks for the tip - found one nearby. Costs £500 for a course of 20 treatments.

    That's not actually too bad, £25 a session is cheaper than most physio's!

    If you decide to go with it, let us know how you get on :)
  • Mr Dog
    Mr Dog Posts: 643
    Agree, if it helps the mending process. Physios = Shamen of the modern age. 8)
    Why tidy the house when you can clean your bike?
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    FWIW my brother just had lower back surgery and is wearing some sort of "bone growth stimulator" that the doctor prescribed for him. It's got a couple of "electrodes"(I guess)
    that direct whatever this thing does into the area needing bone growth. Couldn't hurt to ask the Doctor about this and whether it might help you.
  • DCR00
    DCR00 Posts: 2,160
    My advice, dont be in too much of a rush

    I broke my fibia last Dec and was out of action for around 8 weeks or so. As an avid runner, this was torture, but focusing on what the physio told me and doing the prescribed execises twice a day, and then going back to running very slowly, meant that i was back to it in a relatively short period of time.

    Good work on the diet. First thing i did was read up on whta ishould be eating to help it heal. Def helps.

    A year on and my leg is fine.

    Good luck with the recovery
    Tranny
    Tracey
    Bouncy
    Carbon
  • shredhead
    shredhead Posts: 67
    Thanks everyone. A mate who's a personal trainer and cycle courier has given me a training programme for my upper body which is helping - at least my heart rate climbs above resting.

Categories