Anyone’s child had a broken leg?

[AnnabelleQ]

DD1 has broken her leg (she’s 8), her tibia and fibula, bless her. She’s been in a full leg cast for 4 weeks now. Does anyone have any experience of this? Just wondering what to expect in terms of healing time - she can’t wait to get back to school and to be able to play at parks etc again. Thanks.

Hi OP, sorry to hear about your DD, I really feel for her. DS (7) broke his about 6 months ago. He was in a full leg cast for 6 weeks, then a removable boot with partial weight bearing for a further 4 weeks. He was given a frame and crutches to use and he found the frame easier to begin with as it's a bit more stable.
He was able to do sports activity clubs over the summer which was about 4 months on from the injury so hopefully your DD will be able to enjoy most of the activities at CP! The only things we were advised to avoid at that point were running on uneven ground and jumping from a height. This was because the muscles and ligaments were still weaker from his leg being in the cast, so he would have been more likely to go over on his ankle for example. In terms of the break itself, this wasn't seen as a cause for concern by this point and DS was actually discharged by the orthopaedic doctor after 10 weeks but continued seeing the physio. Building the muscles back up in his leg has taken a lot longer than the break took to heal, but we've been lucky to have a fantastic physio. Good luck to your DD!

@RandomUsernameHere I didn’t realise how much muscle rebuilding they need to do! Which bones did your DS break?

She’s in school, hopefully it’s going well!

@AnnabelleQ tib and fib. Hope school goes well today!

Same as mine! That’s great he was able to do activities after 4 months

My DS broke his ankle in May. Cast for six weeks, then boot for another two, followed by physio. The break healed really well and he's very fit and sporty, so he pushed himself hard to get back to full strength, but he was still having pain in his ankle until Sept (so four months). Now, five months on, he's back to full fitness.

@zafferana how old is your DS? I’ve heard being younger helps the healing process go faster but I don’t know if this is true! Glad he’s all better now

He's 13 @AnnabelleQ, and yes, kids heal much faster and better than adults do - even young adults. It's amazing the recovery he's made. He's back to being on the rugby A team at his sporty/competitive school and there's no shortage of kids who would've liked to take his place.

My daughter did this last year. She was 13 and In the woods with her friend about 2 miles from any path or road. She needed a full rescue team with off road vehicles it was a real adventure. The poor kid spent the whole summer in a cast and when she returns to school she managed with crutches but I appreciate 13 and 8 are completely different.

Oh poor thing @rainbowdashsneeze - how long was it until she was back to normal from break?! Such an ordeal isn’t it!