
How fast to rebuild from broken femur?
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons notes that a broken femur often takes three to six months to heal. About 75 to 85 percent of the time, a fracture of the tibia is accompanied by a fracture of the fibula.
How long does it take to heal after a broken femur?
In the elderly, broken femur may be caused by a slip or fall. Most people who receive specialized treatment for a femur fracture are admitted in a long-term nursing or rehabilitation facility. Full recovery can take anywhere from 12 weeks to 12 months . Yet, many patients can start walking much earlier with the help of a physical therapist.
What is the average healing time for broken femur?
The recovery from a femur fracture depends on the severity of the fracture. Most of the femur fractures heal within 3 to 6 months. But if an open fracture or the bone is broken into pieces or the patient consumes tobacco products, the fracture takes more time to heal.
What are the best exercises for a broken femur?
- Place your right hand against the wall, railing, or the back of a chair. ...
- Bend your left knee forward and bring it up as high as you comfortably can, preferably up to waist height.
- Straighten your knee to briefly place your foot on the floor in the starting position and go immediately to step 4.

How long does it take to walk after a broken femur?
Full recovery from a femur fracture can take anywhere from 12 weeks to 12 months. But you are not alone. Most people experiencing a femur fracture can begin walking with the help of a physical therapist in the first day or two after injury and/or surgery.
What are the long term effects of a broken femur?
Long-term symptoms after fracture include muscular weakness, limited standing and walking, gait abnormalities, some intermittent pain, and inability to return to preinjury work. Surgical management is rarely needed to treat femoral stress fractures; however, surgical stabilization is recommended for recalcitrant cases.
How painful is a broken femur?
A femoral shaft fracture usually causes immediate, severe pain. You will not be able to put weight on the injured leg, and it may look deformed—shorter than the other leg and no longer straight.
How long are you in the hospital for a broken femur?
Treatment methods included intramedullary nailing, open reduction and internal fixation, arthroplasty or other definitive fixation of femur fracture. Investigators used hospital length of stay as the primary outcome measure. Results showed patients had a median length of stay of 6.43 days.
Do you ever fully recover from a broken femur?
Most femoral fractures take about 4 to 6 months to heal completely, but you should be able to resume many activities before this time.
How serious is a broken femur for elderly?
A femur break is a serious break at any age but it can be deadly to seniors that are 65 years and older. The femur is the longest bone in the body. Femur breaks/fractures are most likely at the hip but in some cases can be at the lower extremities.
How do you rehab a broken femur?
0:122:11The Best Gym Exercises to Recover From a Broken Femur - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipYou can even go into single leg squat stances where you have the leg out in front as you feel betterMoreYou can even go into single leg squat stances where you have the leg out in front as you feel better that'll put more weight load here so that would be a progression. Up same thing.
Do you get a cast for a broken femur?
After reduction or surgery, your child will be put in a spica cast to hold the bone in place while it heals. If your child has surgery, the spica cast will also hold the hip or thigh muscles in place while they heal.
How common is a broken femur?
Because the femur is such a strong bone, a broken femur (excluding hip fractures) is rare. The healing process typically takes up to six months, going through four phases: The body starts the healing process.
How many hours does femur surgery take?
The surgeon makes a surgical cut on the side of your thigh. The metal plate or nail is attached with a few screws. This surgery takes 2 to 4 hours.
Is it hard to break your femur?
The femur, the longest and strongest bone in the human body, is quite hard to break. Unless your bone has been weakened (most commonly the result of osteoporosis, medication side effects or cancer), it takes quite a lot of force to sustain a femur fracture.
When do you start weight bearing after femur fracture?
After the fracture has been open reduced and internally fixed, there is debate on postoperative management of weight bearing. Weight bearing following fixation is generally restricted for 6 to 12 weeks until radiologic evidence of evidence demonstrates sufficient callous.
Does a broken femur qualify for disability?
If you have a fracture of the femur, pelvis, tibia or one or more of the tarsal bones, listing 1.06 may qualify for disability benefits if your condition is so severe that you cannot walk without using a cane, walker or crutches. It must also limit your ability to independently perform and finish activities.
Is a broken bone more likely to break again?
There is an old adage that states you can't break the same bone twice because the bone grows back stronger than before. Unfortunately, this is a myth. There is still a chance you can fracture it again in the same place in the future. The odds are no higher or lower.
How long does it take to bend knee after femur surgery?
Within 7 to 10 days after your knee replacement, you should be able to get your knee entirely straight/full extension (Fig. 1) (no space between the back of your knee and the table) and you should be able to bend/flex your knee to at least 90 degrees (Fig. 2). 90 degrees is the same thing as a right angle.
Is a broken femur the same as a broken hip?
The top of your femur and part of your pelvic bone meet to form your hip. A broken hip is usually a fracture in the upper portion of your femur, or thigh bone. A joint is a point where two or more bones come together, and the hip is a ball-and-socket joint.
What is the best treatment for a fractured femur?
Surgical Treatment for Femur Fracture: Most of the time, femur fractures require surgery to correct or repair them. Orthopaedic surgeons use new surgical techniques and tools to deliver optimum results, even in elderly patients with low bone density.
What is the classification of a fractured femur?
Classification of Distal Femur Fractures: If the bone breaks straight across, it is a transverse fracture, and if the bone breaks into pieces, it is known as a comminuted fracture. Sometimes, the femur fractures extend into your knee joint, which are known as intra-articular fractures.
How are femur fractures classified?
Femur fractures are classified based on: 1 Fracture location 2 Fracture pattern 3 Whether the skin and muscle around the bone are torn or not
Why do people have distal femur fractures?
Distal femur fractures are common in older people as they have weak bones. In younger people, they may occur due to a high impact fall or motor vehicle accidents.
What is a fractured femoral shaft?
Types of Femoral Shaft Fractures: Femur fractures vary based on the severity of the break. The bone might crack (stable fracture), or the broken bone pieces go out of alignment (displaced fracture). The skin surrounding the fracture might be intact (closed fracture), or the bone may pierce out of the skin (open fracture).
What is intramedullary nailing?
Intramedullary nailing: The procedure involves the insertion of specially designed metal rods into the femur bone. The rods help the fracture to hold it in its position.
What is the straight part of the thigh called?
The straight part of your thigh bone (femur) is called the femoral shaft. When it breaks anywhere along the length of the bone, it is termed as femoral shaft fracture. This type of fracture always needs surgery to heal.
Why is my femur so strong?
The femur is a very large, strong bone that is difficult to break. A broken femur is usually caused by a severe accident; vehicle accidents are one of the primary causes. Older adults can fracture their femur from a fall because their bones tend to be weaker.
What is the procedure to fix a broken femur?
The most common surgery for a broken femur is called intramedullary nailing . This surgery inserts a rod into the length of the bone with screws above and below to hold it into place.
What is the strongest bone in the body?
The femur — your thigh bone — is the largest and strongest bone in your body. When the femur breaks, it takes a long time to heal. Breaking your femur can make everyday tasks much more difficult because it’s one of the main bones used to walk.
What happens if you don't set your femur properly?
If the femur is not set properly, there’s a chance the leg will become shorter than the other one and may cause hip or knee pain many years later. Poor alignment of the femur bone may also be painful.
How to heal a broken femur?
Following a femur break, once the bone is set back into its proper place and is stable, your doctor will most likely recommend physical therapy to strengthen the muscles around the bone. Exercises to strengthen the thigh will also help with the return to flexibility and normal function of the leg.
What is a comminuted fracture?
Comminuted fracture. The bone is broken into three or more pieces.
How long does it take for a broken femur to heal?
Because the femur is such a strong bone, a broken femur (excluding hip fractures) is rare. The healing process typically takes up to six months, going through four phases:
What is the average healing time for broken femur?
3-4 months: It typically takes 3-4 months in adults for femur shaft fracture to consolidate. However neck & distal femur heal in half the time. Children also take... Read More
How much time it takes to walk to run and to get fit after broken femur?
6m - 1 year: Depending on your age, nature of the injury and the treatment, recovery after a femur fracture takes 6 m to 1 year.
What are some the major complications of a broken femur?
Busted Bone Blues: Among the serious complications are fat embolism (where droplets of oil float in the blood and travel to cause problems in other vessels), DVT and pul... Read More
How long does surgery take on a broken femur?
1-6 hours: Depends on the severity of the fracture and the experience of the surgeon. If it is a simple fracture the surgery itself can be less than an hour. How... Read More
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What are the complications of a busted bone blue?
Busted Bone Blues: Among the serious complications are fat embolism (where droplets of oil float in the blood and travel to cause problems in other vessels), DVT and pul ... Read More
What is the best treatment for a fractured femur?
Recovery: An open reduction and internal fixation with rod and screws, is the recommended method of treating femur fracture. Smoking nicotine will DELAY healing... Read More
Why do painkillers need to be taken at their proper dosage?
Stronger types of painkillers must be taken at their proper dosage to avoid addiction and dependence.
Why do you need antibiotics for femoral fracture?
Antibiotics may be necessary to avoid infection. Especially in the case of open femoral fracture and directly after surgery, antibiotics may be used to prevent infection of the site. The physician will first obtain a wound culture by getting a sample of wound discharge and getting it analyzed.
What is the procedure to fix a broken femur?
Internal fixation is the choice surgery done to treat a broken femur. In this type of surgery, a cut is made to open the fracture, then internal fixator or special metal devices are used to hold the bone in place. Afterwards, a rod or a large nail is placed in the center of the femur to support the bone until it heals.
How to fix a fractured bone?
For external fixation, the surgeon will cut an opening to surgically place metal pins and screws into the bone above and below the fracture site. The pins and screws are attached to a bar outside the skin. This bar holds the bones together, when the skin and muscles have been injured, to promote healing.
How long does it take to recover from a broken femur?
Running can be done after 3 weeks then gradual return to usual training regimen. After surgery, physical therapy, discussed below, is needed in order to gradually restore function to the thighs. Usually, range of motion exercises and stretches are done to give strength to the broken femur.
What are the phases of surgical treatment?
There are three phases of surgical treatment – acute, recovery and maintenance . The first priority when it comes to surgery is to rule out any other life threatening injuries and to stabilize the affected area. Acute Phase – surgical stabilization is necessary at this point as well as the restoration of limb alignment.
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