Hip Fracture following a fall from horse and recovery expectations afterwards

monte1

monte1

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Hi all, I don't post much these days but I do still browse the forum a lot, I am looking for some advice or perspective from the horsey community.....and probably a place to rant when I get fed up and frustrated ......

A couple of weeks ago I stupidly managed to come off my homebred 5 year old when he had a bit of "moment" spooked, then took off swerving and bucking- I am usally very good at staying put, but that day, sadly not !

I didnt realise at the time how bad the injury was, got up went and found him, untacked, turned out and drove home- the next day I finally went up to A&E in agony and an x-ray revealed broken neck of femur.
it seems the break was as a direct impact of the fall onto my hip rather than age or brittle bones, thank god, so the surgeon recommended a repair rather than replacement, at my age, (I'm 57)

Had the operation to repair the break on 23rd and discharged from hospital 2 days later- my horse has been turned out 24/7 to be semi ferel for a bit and I am recovering well, on crutches 6 weeks then a review, but as most forums concentrate on hip replacement rather than repair rehab advice, am wondering if anyone else has had a similar break/repair ?

Doctor has told me I won't be riding for 3 months.. which I am resigned to now, but I am trying to do as much as I can to retain my strength and muscle tone to make the rehab easier, if that is even possible, so any recommendations once i am at the 6 week stage ?

I would be very grateful
🙃

Luckily work have said I can WFH for next 6 weeks or i would be going stir crazy with nothing to do!

Other half has also been ferrying me to see the horse twice a day to feed and check on him so at least i am getting out of the house.
 
No advice regarding hip breaks and rehab, but as I'm currently off with a fractured elbow with tendon damage and nerve impingement, I thought I'd just comment to show some solidarity for recovery!
 
AutumnDays said:
No advice regarding hip breaks and rehab, but as I'm currently off with a fractured elbow with tendon damage and nerve impingement, I thought I'd just comment to show some solidarity for recovery!
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Thank you, I think we need an off games rider support group :-D wishing you a quick recovery !
 
monte1 said:
Hi all, I don't post much these days but I do still browse the forum a lot, I am looking for some advice or perspective from the horsey community.....and probably a place to rant when I get fed up and frustrated ......

A couple of weeks ago I stupidly managed to come off my homebred 5 year old when he had a bit of "moment" spooked, then took off swerving and bucking- I am usally very good at staying put, but that day, sadly not !

I didnt realise at the time how bad the injury was, got up went and found him, untacked, turned out and drove home- the next day I finally went up to A&E in agony and an x-ray revealed broken neck of femur.
it seems the break was as a direct impact of the fall onto my hip rather than age or brittle bones, thank god, so the surgeon recommended a repair rather than replacement, at my age, (I'm 57)

Had the operation to repair the break on 23rd and discharged from hospital 2 days later- my horse has been turned out 24/7 to be semi ferel for a bit and I am recovering well, on crutches 6 weeks then a review, but as most forums concentrate on hip replacement rather than repair rehab advice, am wondering if anyone else has had a similar break/repair ?

Doctor has told me I won't be riding for 3 months.. which I am resigned to now, but I am trying to do as much as I can to retain my strength and muscle tone to make the rehab easier, if that is even possible, so any recommendations once i am at the 6 week stage ?

I would be very grateful
🙃

Luckily work have said I can WFH for next 6 weeks or i would be going stir crazy with nothing to do!

Other half has also been ferrying me to see the horse twice a day to feed and check on him so at least i am getting out of the house.
Click to expand...
See if you can find someone with a mechanical horse.That helps a lot
 
Don’t want to upset you further but……………..whilst you might be healed in that space of time they may recommend you stay off the horse, off a bike, no ski-ing or running as if you fall on it again it could break again. My 6 week recovery was just that but I had to give up anything where I could fall for 9 months and on top of physio do core strength and additional balance and mobility exercises as a preventative measure to ensure if I tripped, ot had a wobble on the bike or skis I could right myself swiftly and not fall.

Same age as you…………was incensed that I was being treated as an old woman, but it paid off with a full return to all sports.
 
Bonnie Allie said:
Don’t want to upset you further but……………..whilst you might be healed in that space of time they may recommend you stay off the horse, off a bike, no ski-ing or running as if you fall on it again it could break again. My 6 week recovery was just that but I had to give up anything where I could fall for 9 months and on top of physio do core strength and additional balance and mobility exercises as a preventative measure to ensure if I tripped, ot had a wobble on the bike or skis I could right myself swiftly and not fall.

Same age as you…………was incensed that I was being treated as an old woman, but it paid off with a full return to all sports.
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Thanks, yes, I am really really trying to be positive, but also a tiny voice in the back of my mind is telling me it may well be longer :-( I guess I am a bit in denial at the moment - i am thinking of getting someone in to work my horse but that can wait for a couple of months- Thank god it is winter and a bit of downtime won't hurt him.

Totally agree with you, it is annoying being treated as "old" :rolleyes:
but I am also determined to get back to full strength and your story gives me hope!

thank you for sharing :)
 
Do you have the (not very well named) dynamic hip screw?

If so, my OH had one a couple of years ago. In terms of recovery the biggest issue was the muscle recovery and re-build, because obviously they cut through all the big muscles on the side of your leg. So anything you can do to gradually build that up will help. I think OH was back mucking out without a stick somewhere around 2-3 months post op.
 
Twice broken hip veteran here! First time was 15 years ago (59) Had surgery and went back to riding within a couple of months. My horse at 5he time, was young like yours, but generally a calm boy. I had pins in my femur but absolutely no problems in any areas of life, including riding. I’m sure that if you follow all your rehab advice, you’ll make good progress. The mechanical horse is a great idea for getting back the ‘feel’ and using the right muscles again , in a safer environment. Take care for a good few months and definitely don’t take any unnecessary risks whilst your muscles, tendons and bones heal and strengthen. Ask physio, doctors for advice regarding healing time.
Last year, I was ejected through the side door from a 16.2, landed on the same hip, which broke ( greater and lesser trochanter). No surgery ‘ it’s a straight break and will heal on its own’- yes it might if I don’t move at all for 6 weeks!! But, I trusted ‘they’ knew what they were talking about…… ended up with a hip replacement 4 months later. I can now ride again but definitely can’t afford any more accidents to that hip!
Give yourself time to heal- it will be worth it!
 
I had an avulsion fracture of the hip in June this year. I’m 25. So a mix of muscle and bone damage.

I noticed a big difference in the difference between my left and right side. I had a limp until September which is slowly fading away (it became more prominent when I was tiring). I’d recommend a good sports physio for rehab, as it’s quite challenging to build strength on the injured side to bring it level with the other side.

It’s slow progress. But far better not to muck up by over doing it too quickly!
 
i had similar about 10 years ago in my 60's. Similar time scale as you were advised. Make sure you get physio I had group rehab. further down the line.
I was told unlikely to break again as I had pins and a plate.
Pleased to say no problems since and still ride regularly.
Good luck
 
DabDab said:
Do you have the (not very well named) dynamic hip screw?

If so, my OH had one a couple of years ago. In terms of recovery the biggest issue was the muscle recovery and re-build, because obviously they cut through all the big muscles on the side of your leg. So anything you can do to gradually build that up will help. I think OH was back mucking out without a stick somewhere around 2-3 months post op.
Click to expand...
I am not sure, i will ask but think it was pinned as closed fracture ? i am waiting to see the "after repair" xray photos
:)
 
sussex brook said:
i had similar about 10 years ago in my 60's. Similar time scale as you were advised. Make sure you get physio I had group rehab. further down the line.
I was told unlikely to break again as I had pins and a plate.
Pleased to say no problems since and still ride regularly.
Good luck
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thank you so much for the positive response, I have plans to book extra physio privately, once i've had 6 week check up and I will absolutely follow the rehab advice, so hopefully will be OK-- just so frustrated at the moment :-(
first world problems-- hey !
 
I was asked to help someone in their 50s after a similar sounding injury, except that apparently when he'd had the fall he certainly could not have got up and walked to do anything with the horse, needing stretchering away in an ambulance. He had a lot of pins and a rod in there!

It was a few months before starting riding but, TBH, he had a few weeks getting back into it, and it all went without a hitch. I did make as sure as I could that he didn't fall again, but he was soon doing jumps, XC type riding and everything. I taught him for a few years after and there was no further issue.

I thought a positive story would be good! He never even seemed particularly nervous. It was often me holding back his progress as I was more scared than he was about him possibly falling and breaking it again!

I know that he continued to ride for years after.
 
I fractured my neck of femur in April when one of my horses spooked in the field, ran into me and knocked me over - I can't actually remember much about it as I also had a bad concussion. As the bone hadn't displaced I opted to have no surgery and was sent home on crutches. I was told to start weight bearing after 8 weeks, within the limits of pain, and I found that I was able to walk quite easily without crutches at all after about a week of this. I was given physio exercises to do whilst on the crutches and I did them religiously as instructed which I think helped though I wasn't offered any further physio. I've since been going to the gym (weights and resistance) two to three times a week and although my leg was much weaker initially there is now no noticeable difference. The only point that I would make is that I learned, through extensive reading about bones and bone density, that a significant fracture can have a systemic effect throughout the whole skeleton (inflammation and other processes that I don't fully understand) and that the risk of another fracture is increased for a period of time afterwards. It turns out that my bone density in my hips isn't great (I'm 60) so I made a decision not to ride for 12 months and work on bone and muscle strengthening. However if your bone density is good then hopefully you can ride sooner. I have also been thinking about having a few mechanical horse session when I get to the point of thinking about riding again.
 
I had a hip fracture in April, broke straight across the trochanter, so the bit below the femoral head. I was on the common and after managing to get to my hands and knees, I quickly realised there was no way I was getting up. I had surgery and pins put in place to hold it together. Nearly 7 months on the bone hasn't knitted together yet! They keep telling me it was a severe fracture. They have said no riding until bone knitted together, this is in case you fall off again - it might snap again and possibly do worse damage.

I have only in the last 4 weeks felt stable on my feet but some of that was down to the physio being overly cautious. I started adding my own exercises and miraculously started getting much stronger. When I get tired I do a good webble impression!

I am now taking homeopathic remedies and looking into winback/indiba to see if we can get the bone growing. I am praying that it has knitted together on the next xray but have also been told it could take a year!

Best of luck with it. I hope your recovery is much faster than mine.
 
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