First time on crutches

vickeym

Well, I made it almost to 61 without ever having to use crutches. Not bad. Went outside to shut down generator last Thursday night very late. Walking on an layer of hard packed snow/ice. Seems the melting runoff had eaten the snow and ice from below and left a shelf of sorts there. When I stepped on it that shelf broke off. Only dropped and inch or two but it was enough to wrench my knee and all my weight to the side and onto that knee.

Hurt so bad I couldn't move for about 10 minutes. When I could it was barely a shuffling limp and very painful. Hubby was already asleep and I was not bright enough to take my phone out with me.

Managed to get inside and to my walking stick. Used it to help me finish getting ready for bed as well as taking Homeopathic Arnica and using arnica oil on the knee before laying down. Not much sleep was had that night.

Local clinic the nest morning. X-rays didn't show much two possible hairline fractures deep inside on the bone tips where ligaments attach inside joint. Wrapped with ace bandages, put me on crutches with instructions to ice over the weekend and if not considerably better go to orthopedic walk in clinic in nearet larger town about an hour away. Ended up doing that on Monday. More x-rays and a knee brace. Torn meniscus. If hairline fractures they are very small and not clear. Told to take Aleve every 12 hours and come back on the 28th.

Guess it could have been worse. They also saw some old hairline fractures that had healed on their own. Told me I am stubborn. lol I knew that already.

Torey

Ouch!!! Keep taking the Arnica for a couple of days. Lots of oatstraw nourishing herbal infusion to help mend any breaks. Comfrey salve to speed the healing of the torn parts. Rest, rest and more rest!

kbmbillups1

That sounds painful! Sorry!! My daughter had hairline fractures twice - once in each foot. That was before I learned about homeopathy or herbs. She got a pulsing machine (I can't remember the name of it) from the orthopedic and was told to do it twice a day for 5 minutes. She was healed in 3 weeks. Everyone was shocked.

Hope you get better soon.

vickeym

@torey I have a blend with the comfrey i am using. But have no Oatsraw. Need to find a new source for my herbs. I love Mountain Rose but the shipping is prohibitive for ordering to ship to Alaska. Last order I tried to put in the shipping was actually going to be more than $80 and it wasn't a very big order. I think it amounted to a little over half the cost of the herbs.

@kbmbillups1 Knee is doing better. I can walk a bit on it now without the crutches, but I can feel it good if i do anything that stretches the leg muscles, leans the knee outward or twists the knee. Since I work an 8 hour shift on my feet on concrete, not quiet ready for that yet.

Monek Marie

@vickeym Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

LaurieLovesLearning

@vickeym I deal with torn (medial) meniscus in both knees, but the right one has always been the worst. It's not fun. It's been bad enough at times that 3 stairs were worse than Mount Everest and I barely walked at all and the knee would "lock" at times. I probably should have had surgery at that point (I wanted to avoid it because it doesn’t solve much for long anyway), but two years later, it had healed pretty well and the surgeon that I finally got to see for an assessment probably thought I was wasting his time. Oh well. He hadn't seen me when I started the process.

Leaning the knee outward or twisting the knee is very bad for torn meniscus. Try not to do that at all. Keep off of stairs as well until it heals. If you don't, you might continue to damage it. Meniscus tears take time to heal and more so as you get older (I've had issues off & on since I was 19).

The meniscus gets very little blood to some parts of it if it does at all. There us another fluid that surrounds it that can help nourish it, but I don't remember what it's called. If you can find that out, it would help you figure out how to get the nourishment to that area.

Comfrey is a good choice.

Giving your knee some resting time is also wise. Be kind to your knee and it will heal much better. If you don't, it will stay angry. It's a signal that you need to slow down for a bit.

Kuri and Kona

@vickeym You have all my sympathy and best wishes for speedy healing. I severely injured my knee and also hurt my tailbone when I was 21 years old (a long time ago). It only was excruciating when I sat, stood, or walked, lol. It took over a year before I could walk on it without bad pain, and many years before it was rehabilitated. I didn`t do anything for it special except wrap it in a brace. I am glad that you have gotten both medical treatment and the herbal treatments to speed the recovery along. Like you said, being able to go without crutches until over the age of sixty is an accomplishment!

vickeym

@LaurieLovesLearning I learned very quickly to try and not twist or lean it at all. The PA I saw at the orthopedic place explained about the blood flow. Didn't mention the other fluid. Will try to remember to ask on Thursday when I go back.

Thought I had comfrey oil as well as the salves I had made, but cannot locate it so far. Will be quite awhile before mine is up and green again, but will be making lots of oil this year. lol

Trying to take it easy on it but hard to do. Need to get back to work and there is so much to do here.

My husband took me to my best friends my first day home without trips to doctor. He was gonna be working outside and figured I wouldn't be able to get into too much if I was there instead of in the house alone. Can't fuss at him for it though, not only did we enjoy the day, but I took him there after his shoulder surgery.

We call it Debbie Day Care. lol

@Monek Marie and @Kuri and Kona Thank you both. I am slowly getting a little better. Hard to remember I can't just go like I want/need to.

Michelle D

@vickeym wishing you a speedy recovery and lots of patience. I too am very stubborn. I have been informed of that fact by doctors also. I struggled with the patience to let myself heal and not push myself with past injuries. It is hard when you have so much you want to do.

JodieDownUnder

@vickeym sorry to hear of your injury, speedy recovery. When I hurt my shoulder a while back, I used comfrey compress to help with pain & healing, gotta say it worked. I just boiled up comfrey leaves, put them in a tea towel & dipped the towel into the hot liquid (with the boiled leaves still in the towel) placed on site until it cooled & repeat. Now I also have some St Johns Wort & comfrey salve I made & I swear by that!

jowitt.europe

@vickeym I wish you a speedy recovery as well. We are so fragile. One moment fit and strong, another on crutches. Then fit and strong again. Enjoy the calmer period. It is a good opportunity to catch up with reading and writing and other not too active hobbies.

SuperC

@vickeym keep it elevated above your heart, lay down and use pillows or blankets and keep it elevated. Alternate ten minutes heat and then ten minutes of cold compresses, then cover it to keep the area warm.

vickeym

@Michelle D, @JodieDownUnder, @jowitt.europe and @SuperC Thank you all for your thoughts and/or prayers.

Unfortunately I am out of comfrey at the moment and still a month or more away from seeing even a start of mine. They are buried under snow still. I have a knee brace, a small amount of healing salve I made a while back that had comfrey in it, been using arnica oil, used homeopathic arnica at first and using homeopathic rus tox and ruta. Also have been using a knee cryocuff a friend gave us some time back. Those are great.

For those unfamiliar with one....

You add water and ice to a part that is basically a big thermos jug with a special hose instead of the spigot. The other end of the hose attaches to the cuff. Place the jus up above the level of your leg and open the pour spout and the cuff fills with ice water. When full close the spout. When it gets warm, lower the jug below the level of your leg and open the spout again. The cuff drains back into the jug and when you repaet it will refill with the cold water again.

MissPatricia

Wishing you a speedy recovery, vickeym. Wishing you patience, also.

SuperC

@vickeym how is the healing progress?

vickeym

@SuperC I go back to orthopedic clinic tomorrow. It feels a lot better than it did but I still have to be very careful. If I move wrong, or turn the wrong way or too quickly I know it vor a couple days after. Even rolling over in bed has caused it to hurt for a couple days and even need the crutches again.

Did find my comfrey oil I thought I had more of, so have been putting that on it several times a day.

water2world

@ vickeym I'm glad it is better, but do not rush it! (That is experience talking)

vickeym

Went back to work Friday after going back to orthopedic clinic on Thursday. Only worked half a day both Friday and Saturday. Was off next two days. Hoping to be back to full time tomorrow, if the boss will let me. lol

Knee actually felt better after working the two days. Like it was getting worse from all the sitting down and finally getting moving again helped it not stiffen and pressing on nerves or something.

Still being very careful with it, but will be glad to get a paycheck back again.

Kuri and Kona

@vickeym Glad that you are seeing the knee somewhat better. I know from experience that it is so very hard to balance needing to keep the knee moving to prevent stiffness, and the need to protect it so that it can heal. It sounds like you are being very careful and that your knee is improving.

vickeym

The orthopedic clinic wants me to go to therapy. I keep forgetting to call for appointment. The therapist is only in my community one day a week and it is not the day I'm off. I guess I need to call on my break at work.

nicksamanda11

Good job taking care of yourself😋

vickeym

Well, I got lucky. The therapy company is going to it's summer hours in a week or two and will be out here everyday. So now I can go on my day off. My first therapy appointment is the 23rd.

SuperC

Thank goodness you are feeling better, and that moving and working help the knee to feel better. And it is nice to read that you are taking it slow and resting. @vickeym

Cornelius

@vickeym I wish you a speedy recovery! If you are still using the crutches be careful with your armpits as it can causes chafing and sores. I did not make my first decade without crutches lol.

vickeym

Thank you all for you thoughts and well wishes. By the end of the work week I was starting to feel it a bit more. Kinda pinching type pain when I walk, but not drastic. Will see how it goes. So far spring has been one thing after another. By Saturday evening I had a head cold hit so was down all day Sunday. A bit better now but balance is still off.

@Cornelius Yes, I found out quickly about the armpits issues. No chaffing but got quite sore for a little while. Only using them now if it gets very painful. Same with brace. It doesn't fit well and have to pull bottom strap so tight it cuts into my leg at the bottom of the hinges and right on top of the shin bone. Only wear it if I have to now.