Is that a stress fracture? Never had a stress fracture but typical healing times (I think) are 6-8 weeks?

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on tv or on the interwebs.

Anyone have any experience with a Tibial Plateau Fracture or any other fracture in the Tibia / Fibula area? Google can be great and can also be very bad. Just trying to figure out recovery and future needs I need to consider moving forward. I know one thing that I won't be doing any longer, playing old man soccer. I guess that's what I get for going against my better judgement and playing anyway.

Sorry to hear about your injury. I hope things will get better quickly.

I am not a doctor (although I have a Ph.D., and in Europe I am addressed as "Doctor"), but I have broken bones before, high impact traumata, never a stress fracture.

I have always given the bone time to heal, and not exercised during the healing period, which was around 4 weeks. After 4 weeks, the bone has usually healed up enough to tolerate light to moderate loads, and some use of the limb will actually stimulate and speed up healing. Don't overdo it, though, follow the doc's advice, even if it sounds a bit too cautious to you. The x-rays after 3-6 weeks will show how the healing progresses, and from this you can develop a plan for getting into the groove again. Don't panic, but after 3 weeks of rest, your body will be back to square 1 again, and one or two more weeks of rest, if recommended by your doc, won't make much of a difference in terms of a comeback.

You will probably need physical therapy, or do your exercises at home religiously to get that legmoving again, and it won't be asmuch fun as you'd wish it was. Actually, quite painful, but doable. Just never give up hope, and over time, your leg will mend itself again. This holds also if you need surgery, been there, done it.

With working up to your pre-accident shape again, I always go by feel. Start with baby steps, challenge myself a bit, don't give up, and don't be afraid of taking a step back, or holding for a while, until the next step is within reach.

Good luck, hope your treatment will be easy and healing will go smoothly. Keep us in the loop with your progress!

I've had bilateral tibial stress fractures...I was 23 and it was the end of the world because I was told not to run. Back in those days the doc told me it would take at least 3 months to heal and that I run too much and should quit. That was 33 years ago....still running'!

I got nothing.  Just wanted to express my sympathies, Dan.  That fucking sucks.

A quick googling and that does not sound real good. I am always baffled by procedures dealing with the medical insurance stuff but I can't believe a simple referral from your physician wouldn't get the ball rolling to see the ortho. Wondering if you have put yourself on crutches to be non-weight bearing.  I know my femoral neck stress fracture is not the same but my ortho made it clear the timeline for healing didn't start until I went totally non-weight bearing. 8 weeks on crutches without even letting my toe touch the ground. Fun times. And that was just a stress fracture.

I hope for your sanity and well being it won't be as bad as you fear.  Good luck.

I have an Orthopedic appt this afternoon and will get my prognosis. I also have a slight tear on my medial meniscus. I am currently weight bearing because I have not been given instructions not to be yet, although I am anticipating moving in that direction. What is really going to suck besides the lay off is having to move back to a desk and not be able to stand for work, but in reality all minor complaints and short time frame compared to what I thought it was going to be (i.e., Torn ligament like the ACL or PCL). Thanks for the support, much appreciated.

Good luck!  We used to refer to these as "weekend warrior fractures" because we saw so many men with tibial fractures after playing basketball / soccer / softball etc. Heal up quickly and you'll be running in no time.

Well I am in a brace and on crutches for a couple months to allow the fracture to heal. I was told there was a tear to my MCL but it is more like a sprain just needs time to heal as well. So I am non-weight bearing for a couple months then I slowly working running back into the mix. I feel fortunate and will be patient to allow this all to heal properly, now ask me in 2 months how I feel. I am sure I will be bat shit crazy. Thanks again for the support and I'll see you in a couple months.