Tibia Fracture Physiotherapy Exercises

Strengthen Your Ankle

Strengthening exercises for your ankle begin in a seated, or non-weight-bearing, position. A resistance band can be added to range-of-motion activities to strengthen your muscles, as part of your HOW TO DO IT The resistance band should be looped around your ball foot. Hold the ends of the band in one hand, or tie it to a secure object, such as a table leg.

soft tissue massage

joint mobilization

Electrotherapy (e.g. ultrasound)

heat treatment or taping

Exercises to increase strength, flexibility, and balance

hydrotherapy

education

activity modification

is a plan to return to work after completing the program.

Introduction

Tibial plateau fractures are often referred to as intra-articular fractures. They are very common injuries, accounting for approximately 1% of all fractures among adults. They are a common type of fracture that affects approximately 52-year-olds.

Two main age groups are represented by these patients. First, there are male young patients that sustain injury from high-energy accidents (road traffic accidents). Second, older female patients suffer these injuries from simple falls. The high-energy trauma leading to increased axial and/or torsional forces to the proximal tibia is the main causative factor for the first group of patients. The main cause of death in the elderly group is osteoporosis.

There is ample evidence to show that these kinds of fractures impact the lives and health systems of patients. It is reported that these patients are not able to return to work for 3-4 months after surgical fixation.

Numerous surgical complications like wound problems, bleeding, and infection can all lead to poor outcomes.

Others, which can be related to an injury such as the development of arthritis or muscle and bone atrophy in the future, and the stiffness and pain associated with joint function, may also affect patients’ lives.

The rehabilitation of patients is made easier by physical therapy. This can prevent certain problems from happening or help patients focus on the most important areas to improve their outcomes.

Surprisingly the literature doesn’t contain much information regarding the rehabilitation of these patients. Research articles tend to focus either on the method of fixing the tibial plateau fractures, or their clinical results. This paper focuses exclusively on the treatment that patients with tibial plateau fractures should receive. The aim of this study is to review the current literature about the rehabilitation of patients who sustained a tibial plateau fracture and treated surgically, with the view to provide some guidance especially on four main subjects: the range of motion exercises of the knee joint, immobilisation, weight bearing and ongoing rehabilitation.

Abstract

Background: Tibial plateau fractures are frequent injuries that orthopaedic surgeons face. It has been reported that they have a significant negative impact on the patients’ lives, decreasing their quality of live, keeping them of work for long periods of time and reducing their activity levels.

The aim: It is striking that not enough attention has been paid to the rehabilitation of post-operative patients. This review will examine this area of literature. It will attempt to answer four major questions: The range of motion post-surgery and immobilization, weight bearing status, and ongoing rehabilitation.

Materials and Methods: Literature searches were conducted with the Google Scholar and PubMed search engines. 39 total articles were included.

Results: Unfortunately, there is very little literature available on this topic. Early range of motion exercises should be encouraged as soon as possible after the procedure. Immobilization following plate fixation doesn’t seem to have any positive effects on the patients. It was their weight that caused the greatest controversy in literature. The early studies showed that patients were more likely to be overweight. The impact of a tibial plateau fracture on a patient’s life can be significant. It is therefore recommended that patients undergo ongoing rehabilitation, with a focus on quadriceps strengthening as well as proprioception exercise.

Conclusion: The current literature review reveals the controversy surrounding physiotherapy in the aftermath of a tibia fracture. Early range of motion exercises and early weight bearing should be encouraged. The benefits of immobilization are not apparent. For better clinical outcomes, ongoing rehabilitation should be considered.

Keywords; Rehabilitation; proximal Tibia.

(c) Author(s), 2020.

.Tibia Fracture Physiotherapy Exercises

Kent Chiro-Med Wellness Clinic

Ottawa Acupuncture

Beverly Physiotherapy

Best Acupuncture Winnipeg