About two days ago, I was landing a kite at my local beach after having an awesome session, i stupidly done a little jump to grab the kite and fell funny, after going to the hospital and getting Xrays and CT Scan they have discovered I have a broken Talus, im now in a cast and cant do too bloody much at all, I still have to get a MRI done after the swelling subsides to see if I have done any damage to ligament etc which seems to be quite a possibility.

My initial thought would be that i would be out for the rest of the season and start up again in September but after reading the doom and gloom stories on other forums, im not too sure about that either, Im just wondering if anyone has had a similar injury and what was the recovery time till you were back on the water landing jumps etc?

Broke my heal bone kitesurfing they put
6 screws and a plate in my foot . I was back on the water in 6 months
www.seabreeze.com.au/Members/Profile/Details.aspx
I went hard on the rehab did my own and the doctors . My addvice is push through the pain when your doing your rehad it will get you on the water sooner .

broke my toe last year in indo, took a full 12 months to come good.
Anything broken in your foot can take sooo long, as its under constant pressure and use.

all of the above totally blow

Broken fibula,10 screws one plate = 3 months off water,7 months physio

Full ankle reconstruction and a ligament tightening after trying to jump a fence drunk. I was out of action for 5 months. I am kiting regularly now but still get a bit of pain but you live with it. A bonus of surgery is they give you a big bag of happiness which lasts about a week, the sucky bit is the blood thinning injections I had to have everyday for 2 weeks. (I had to make the wife do it as I hate needles)

Wow Axion, that some bag of happiness there!!! I dont have anywhere near the amount of drugs you did!

Ill defiantly be pushing the rehab stuntnaz, gotta get the foot strong again.

What did you guys find easier to ride when you finally got back on the water, straps/boots/strapless?

have you tried Endone ? that **** will bring happiness!

Select to expand quote

axion said...
Full ankle reconstruction and a ligament tightening after trying to jump a fence drunk. I was out of action for 5 months. I am kiting regularly now but still get a bit of pain but you live with it. A bonus of surgery is they give you a big bag of happiness which lasts about a week, the sucky bit is the blood thinning injections I had to have everyday for 2 weeks. (I had to make the wife do it as I hate needles)




Man I had to give my self those injections
As well I did it myself the mental pain was worse than the actual pain from the needle .

The phyisio is the main thing ! push hard but don't hurt yourself !!

I had an ankle recon nearly 20 years ago, must of got lucky. I was playing football 3 mths later and am pain free. Focused hard on the re-hab and flexibility. If anything it's better than my other one.

Fractured my talus about 20 years ago wake boarding. The worst case scenario is if it's broken right across the top it can cut off the blood suplly to the top of the bone causing necrosis which results in arthritic problems down the track.

mine has given me problems ever since and I don't have any sideways rotation which means walking on sloping surfaces like roofs can lead to other aches and pains

the best thing I've done since the break is change my diet to gluten free and low sugar, lose 20kgs and aparts from the lack of rotation I don't have any pains and have been able to start kitesurfing with no dramas.

The he ankle is a bitch of a bone to break being a load bearing joint so let it heal then do all the physio you can. If your physio give up on you like mine did find another one!

pete

Select to expand quote

Greggor said..
About two days ago, I was landing a kite at my local beach after having an awesome session, i stupidly done a little jump to grab the kite and fell funny, after going to the hospital and getting Xrays and CT Scan they have discovered I have a broken Talus, im now in a cast and cant do too bloody much at all, I still have to get a MRI done after the swelling subsides to see if I have done any damage to ligament etc which seems to be quite a possibility.

My initial thought would be that i would be out for the rest of the season and start up again in September but after reading the doom and gloom stories on other forums, im not too sure about that either, Im just wondering if anyone has had a similar injury and what was the recovery time till you were back on the water landing jumps etc?

hey greggor - sorry to hear about the injury!

for those readers that dont know the talus is the bone above the heel bone and below the shin bone. its pretty unique as its one of the only bones in the body that doesnt have a muscle/ tendon mechanism attached to it, therefore it is there to provide angles! The ankle joint on top of the talus allows the ankle to move up and down, then the sub talar joint on the underside of the talus allows the foot to roll side to side - this allows the foot to conform to uneven terrain of varying density so we can do cool stuff like kitesurfing!

there are various types and classifications of talar fractures and they all have a bit of a battle in recovery as the blood supply is a tad crappy as well as the weightbearing component - usually delays the rehab/recovery a bit.

the fractures that are classified as intra-articular (fracture through a joint) are the worst IMO and often cause problems later on - like early onset arthritis etc - hopefully your xray report doesnt say talar dome lesion either as they can be a bit sticky.

at the end of the day, like any fracture, its not great news! a long period non weight bearing followed by some solid rehab to ensure you have your joint range of motion restored as well as strength and conditioning.

a few of my water sport addicted patients (including some pro athletes) use stand up paddle boarding as rehab and the ankle/foot will tell you when you are ready so there is no real point in fixing dates.

Good luck greggor!

Select to expand quote

drfoot said..

Greggor said..
About two days ago, I was landing a kite at my local beach after having an awesome session, i stupidly done a little jump to grab the kite and fell funny, after going to the hospital and getting Xrays and CT Scan they have discovered I have a broken Talus, im now in a cast and cant do too bloody much at all, I still have to get a MRI done after the swelling subsides to see if I have done any damage to ligament etc which seems to be quite a possibility.

My initial thought would be that i would be out for the rest of the season and start up again in September but after reading the doom and gloom stories on other forums, im not too sure about that either, Im just wondering if anyone has had a similar injury and what was the recovery time till you were back on the water landing jumps etc?

hey greggor - sorry to hear about the injury!

for those readers that dont know the talus is the bone above the heel bone and below the shin bone. its pretty unique as its one of the only bones in the body that doesnt have a muscle/ tendon mechanism attached to it, therefore it is there to provide angles! The ankle joint on top of the talus allows the ankle to move up and down, then the sub talar joint on the underside of the talus allows the foot to roll side to side - this allows the foot to conform to uneven terrain of varying density so we can do cool stuff like kitesurfing!

there are various types and classifications of talar fractures and they all have a bit of a battle in recovery as the blood supply is a tad crappy as well as the weightbearing component - usually delays the rehab/recovery a bit.

the fractures that are classified as intra-articular (fracture through a joint) are the worst IMO and often cause problems later on - like early onset arthritis etc - hopefully your xray report doesnt say talar dome lesion either as they can be a bit sticky.

at the end of the day, like any fracture, its not great news! a long period non weight bearing followed by some solid rehab to ensure you have your joint range of motion restored as well as strength and conditioning.

a few of my water sport addicted patients (including some pro athletes) use stand up paddle boarding as rehab and the ankle/foot will tell you when you are ready so there is no real point in fixing dates.

Good luck greggor!

Did a 360 rotation on my left ankle bad skydiving landing unlucky foot placement
part of my rehab was walking in the bay here in Melb up to my chest every day until I could put full weight on it
did this during winter Brrrrrrr!!!!! Kiting no worries??

Select to expand quote

drfoot said..

Greggor said..
About two days ago, I was landing a kite at my local beach after having an awesome session, i stupidly done a little jump to grab the kite and fell funny, after going to the hospital and getting Xrays and CT Scan they have discovered I have a broken Talus, im now in a cast and cant do too bloody much at all, I still have to get a MRI done after the swelling subsides to see if I have done any damage to ligament etc which seems to be quite a possibility.

My initial thought would be that i would be out for the rest of the season and start up again in September but after reading the doom and gloom stories on other forums, im not too sure about that either, Im just wondering if anyone has had a similar injury and what was the recovery time till you were back on the water landing jumps etc?

hey greggor - sorry to hear about the injury!

for those readers that dont know the talus is the bone above the heel bone and below the shin bone. its pretty unique as its one of the only bones in the body that doesnt have a muscle/ tendon mechanism attached to it, therefore it is there to provide angles! The ankle joint on top of the talus allows the ankle to move up and down, then the sub talar joint on the underside of the talus allows the foot to roll side to side - this allows the foot to conform to uneven terrain of varying density so we can do cool stuff like kitesurfing!

there are various types and classifications of talar fractures and they all have a bit of a battle in recovery as the blood supply is a tad crappy as well as the weightbearing component - usually delays the rehab/recovery a bit.

the fractures that are classified as intra-articular (fracture through a joint) are the worst IMO and often cause problems later on - like early onset arthritis etc - hopefully your xray report doesnt say talar dome lesion either as they can be a bit sticky.

at the end of the day, like any fracture, its not great news! a long period non weight bearing followed by some solid rehab to ensure you have your joint range of motion restored as well as strength and conditioning.

a few of my water sport addicted patients (including some pro athletes) use stand up paddle boarding as rehab and the ankle/foot will tell you when you are ready so there is no real point in fixing dates.

Good luck greggor!

A useful doctor

Eight months ago I was out kiting, mid way through a trick one foot slipped out of my footstrap so I kicked my board off entirely to avoid a twisted ankle, then landed very heavily in shallow water foot first. I managed a fractured talus and a lateral ligament complex rupture in my right ankle. Two months on crutches and six months of physio later and I've just been referred back to see an orthopedic specialist with a suspected osteochondral lesion of the talar dome.

Mine is yet another doom and gloom story with never ending problems, so I'll spare you all the negative details.

My advice, get a thorough diagnosis asap and a physio that is as committed as you are to your recovery.

Mate good luck, fingers crossed your MRI shows up clear of any problems and your return to the water happens a lot sooner then mine!

trading war stories!funny***

the foot and lowwr limb is well engineered for accomodating and adapting to change - 1/3 of the bodies bones are below the abkle joint so heaps of small movements in joints with triplanar axis can adjust to whatever the needs be

to follow on from this - say you have a talar dome lesion and your ankle joint range of motion is reduced by 5 degrees below what is required for normal day to day activities then you can expect the uptake of that 5 degrees to be from another joint. the joint having to increase its workload as a result of the original talar dome injury often starts producing symptoms.

the poor victim can avoid or reduce these secondary changes by working very hard on range of motion exersises. the ankle joint range of motion can be tested really easily via 'knee to wall' test and is a great instrument to measure your progression.

remember joints obtain their nutrition via synovial fluid not so much blood supply - so its really really important to get this happening to prevent restriction in movement and ensure best outcomes

there are some good joint supplementation out there for these conditions like your usual glucosamine and fish oil to be taken orally over a period of time but the better ones out there now like Synvisc one - a product that i use a lot! www.synviscone.com/

Synvisc is great for preventing degenerative joint disease progression and enouraging hyaline cartilage repair. you wont belive it but its made from rooster cones!!! its abit expensive but IMO worth every bit of it!

be awre that my posts are general in nature so i do not wish for any readers to launch into these things without doing their own homework and speaking to the appropriate health practitioner - every injury is different!!

Hey Greggor,

Sorry to hear about your injury. Drfoot is a really knowledgeable guy and his advice above is excellent. Every fracture is different so don't be disheartened by other stories. Having said that, good early management is vital to keep your recovery time as short as possible. See your orthopaedic surgeon ASAP and follow their instructions to the letter. If they say no weight bearing, listen to them!! I fractured the base of my left fifth metatarsal 12 months ago and the GP I saw initially didn't tell me not to weight-bear. It didn't hurt too much so I limped around for 2 weeks before going to my regular doctor. The damage had been done though... 12 months on it's functionally OK (I can walk without pain and for the last few months i've been back kiting) but it is a 'non-union', meaning the bones did not unite. 3 months in a cast and a month in a boot, and about 3 months after that with too much pain and instability to do much at all. I still can't run. IF ONLY i'd seen a different doctor initially and been referred to an orthopod immediately I would have had surgery through the public system. As it stands my ortho's advice is to have a surgery where they will debride the bone ends and fix the ends together, or risk pain and continued trouble with it for the rest of my life.

Hope you heal fast dude.

(my source, as well as my own injury: i'm a radiographer)

hey ezza - many thanks for the kind words!

as you would be aware there are so many different types of 5th metatarsal fractures - there is a cople of key factors to keep in mind when dealing with them

a couple of quick pointers as this possibly needs ots own thread! - if its an avulsion fracture - where the peroneus brevis tendon has pulled away from the attatchment at the styloid proceess then it MUST have surgical reduction as the peroneus brevis WILL pull on it and prevent natural reduction of the fracture.

the biggest factor for fifth metatarsal fractures is the lack of blood supply - when the fracure lies about 1 - 1.5 cm distal to the base of the 5th metatarsal is where the common nutrient artery to the 5th metatarsal bifurcates (divides) and there is 'black spot' of very limited blood supply - they never heal within the quoted time frame and usually require surgical revision.

the fractures often look small and on displaced on xray and the initial thought from practitioners is conservative management and the fracture will reduce, in most cases anywhere else without the significant mechanical nature they would - the 5th metatarsal and peroneus brevis are non stop providing stability and proprioreception to the brain - if you could imagine having a broken finger and then pulling on it every day then it wouldnt heal very quickly yeah?... most of these do not heal on their own! in fact most of these fractures i see are misunderstood by the first, or second or third practitioner as they appear on xray as if the fracture will reduce in size and heal on its own and eventually require surgical revision.

i have some great papers on this if anyone is interested - to be honest - there is only one or two surgeons in town that i would refer to that treat 5th met fractures with the respect they deserve!

normal healing of fracture is 6 - 8 weeks of bone knitting followed by 6 - 8 weeks of consolidation, the same as surgery i guess... so IMO always best to have surgical revision - and if your GP or practitioner sugests you manage it conservatively then demand a referral to their favourite surgeon for another opinion!!