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Has anyone had a broken leg while wearing a brace?

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  • Has anyone had a broken leg while wearing a brace?

    Has anyone out there had a broken leg and worn a brace? My 14 year old daughter broke her leg (4 weeks ago now) and has been in a full leg cast. Just yesterday she got the cast off and a leg brace on but still is not allowed to bend her leg...she can start putting weight on it though. Her curves are 29/24 and she has gotten alot of time in the back brace in the past 4 weeks. (She's worn her brace for over 2 years now.) But, when she has the brace on and the the cast/leg brace it is rather difficult to move! It has been an uphill road. I'd welcome any first hand experiences dealing with something like this. Thanks!

  • #2
    .........could perhaps some different crutches help??. I'm guessing she's got the one's that go under her armpits, would perhaps the ones that go around the elbow (we call them here forearm crutches) be a bit easier.

    Whilst they take relatively good arm strength to hop on (is possible though, I've done it for 12 weeks, I didn't find it that bad), they might make it a bit easier to move (as they wouldn't be rubbing against the brace etc)........just a suggestion though, not sure if it would work

    Alison

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    • #3
      before my surgery when i had to wear a brace 12 hours a day i had foot surgery which required a cast (i didn't break my leg, but it's similar). my cast was only below the knee, so i could bend my leg. i just didn't wear my brace that much. if possible, try to rent a wheelchair for your daughter to use as much as possible, and try to limit the distance she has to move. sorry i couldn't be much of a help
      Marlana
      16, Senior
      Spina Bifida
      Boston Brace for 2 years
      Spinal Fusion July 25, 2002
      Post-Op Brace for 6 months

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      • #4
        Thanks for your input!

        Thanks Alison and Marlana for your replies...I really appreciate it! The different kind of crutches is something I'll keep in mind if she's ever in this predicament again while wearing her back brace (I hope not, though). The problem with the crutches rubbing against the brace mostly affected the moleskin, pushing it up and causing it to roll up. I had to replace that part several times until we finally figured out if we just reduced the amount of the moleskin that wraps around the edge it doesn't roll up. That's worked so far. Unfortunately the cast and now the leg brace is a full length one and she still can't bend her leg, but she can start putting weight on it. The real challenge is when she's in the back brace and now the leg brace she doesn't bend at the waist or in the right leg. Thank goodness she is very strong and has great balance but she is still quite vulnerable...if she were to fall ... well, I don't even want to go there! Yes, we have a wheelchair, but her doctor wants her to be up and about on the crutches. At her 2nd appointment I made her stay in her brace so he could see first hand how difficult it is to move ... I think he finally understood.

        The silver lining in all of this is that she is getting significant time (20 hours or more) in her back brace...she usually wears it 18 hours/day and realistically when she's in school it's more like 16 hours. Since she's on home instruction she just stays in the back brace. And, right now we think she has gone through a growth spurt so hopefully something good will come out of all of this!

        I'd like to add a note to all of you wearing a brace right now or trying to...my daughter has worn her brace faithfully for 2 years and the curves had gone from 24/24 to 18/20 and remained there. The brace had proved to be very effective. Then, between her Feb. checkup this year and her July checkup she must have had a growth spurt and the curves jumped to 29/24! She basically outgrew her brace and the pushes weren't pushing in the right place anymore. (Nothing had changed in her wearing time.) She had had a new brace made the previous September and generally they last about a year. So, be watchful and mindful of when your current brace was made, where you are in terms of how long ago you started with your cycles, and where your growth is. The doctor has since told me that the 6 months prior to and following the beginning of menstruation can be a time of rapid growth. (She started her cycles in Jan.) When she's able to I want to take my daughter to the pediatrician and have her height checked to see how much she's grown since September (her last checkup) and be sure she has not grown more than 2 inches, which is what the brace allows for before you need a new one.

        I hope this might be of help to someone out there. On another note, Marlana...we're in the Philadelphia area as well! -Attie

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