How to help mend my badly broken leg through food.

[jellyjelly]

Well i think the title says it all really. I have a badly broken leg that could take up to 6 months rather than the normal 6 weeks.

I would like to help feed my bone to help it heal. I already eta tons on fruit and veg and are generally before this healthy.

Any ideas on top food to help, am taking calcuim supp already.

Thanks

JellyJelly - I believe that acupuncture might help it heal faster if you are into that and also there might be some supplements besides Calcium that might help the bones to heal quicker too. I'm not sure what those are and would have to default to someone more knowledgeable.

I second accupuncture.

I am getting married 1st july so i need to be ready for that so i will try anything.

I had to have a ligament reconstructed in my knee and it was a year long recovery, but accupuncture helped me a LOT, especially w/getting my tendonitis under control so I could get that muscle strength back. That was the worst when you have an injury like that - the muscle just wastes away.

I know,i finally got a slimmer leg and stronger arms.

jelly - no suggestions I'm afraid but what did you do? Sounds bad.

My DH got hit by a car a few years ago and smashed his tib and fib. There was an 1.5 inch of bone that had to grow to fill the smashed fib. For the first few months nothing seemed to show up on the x-rays then suddenly you could see the new growth and finally the gap closed.

I wish you well.

I keep wanting to say "eat chocolate". It won't help, of course, but it might make you feel better.

might be worth cutting back on caffeine, as it prevents absorbtion of calcium.

can't think of anything else

I fell out of my people carrier on boxing day and twisted my ankle, the bone snapped in several places (i think about 5 places and had to have a pin drilled into my knee down the bone marrow and then drilled into my ankle. I was in hospital for 2 1/2 weeks. So what a fab christmas and new year i had!.

I finally got my christmas on sunday and i got so many boxes of chocolates but my desire for choccie has got done which is very wierd.

as well as calcium I would also take glucosamine sulphate to aid wound healing/helps bones,ligaments,tendons,muscles etc. You need 1500mg per day.

whenever you can rub things on (ie, when no plaster cast on) use a good quality comfry cream or gel, bioforce do a good one, the common name for comfry is "knitbone" and this is exactly what is does!

and keep taking plenty of calcium, at least 1000mg per day.

hope that helps.

jelly you poor thing. It's strange how such a fairly minor fall can do so much damage isn't it. My DH has got the same pin down his leg with the screms at the knee and the ankle. His screws stick out either side - I think they could have dug deeper in the tool box for ones that actually fitted!

Wish you a speedy recovery.

screms???? my own word for screws!!!

Hi jellyjelly. I broke my ankle really badly three years ago and it still isn't right. My cartilage was badly damaged and still plays me up sometimes. Apparently it's the slowest growing tissue of the body.

Various people recommended various things to me, which I tried with various degrees of success. I was told to make comfrey tea which is supposed to help bones set. I also tried omega 3 fish oils. It gradually got better but I don't know what it would have been like had I not used these things.

The most stunning improvement was effected by using magnets, as recommended to me by mumsnetter easy. You wear them near the affected spot. I find a marked difference in the amount of pain when wearing magnets - I soon realise if I forget to put them on.

You can buy small disposable ones from chemists, they're in plasters that stay on for about a week. I found these were so good that I spent more money and bought some much more powerful ones that last forever - you wear them on a sock or tubigrip. I also wear one on my wrist now too, never take it off - it's supposed to magnetise your blood which helps the whole body.

I have absolutely no idea how these magnets work, but I swear they do - the difference in what I have been able to do when wearing them is quite astonishing.

I love this thread title. Very sorry to hear about your nasty break jellyjelly. But it's always cheering to think that we can improve our lives through eating

Thanks for all the info, i havent got a cast on but i do have a nasty infection which has only really started almost a month after the surgery which i am trying to clear but it is getting worse which is the other reason to try and improve my eating.

I have been eating a few cashew nuts but i dont know if i just want them or my body needs them.

Gloworm can you tell me more about comfry gel, i have never heard of it.?

I am very lucky that i do have anything sticking out its all inside(the pin)

jellyjelly - have to say - look after your back while you're limping about. My DH's back has had it due to limping and walking on crutches for four months. Think about how you are sitting and standing and try to keep your hips aligned if you can (I have seen your pain!). He's still seeing the osteopath 9 years later. I don't want to be doom and gloom but if only someone had told him he might not be suffering now.

i've only got a few bits and piueces i can show you on comfrey, i would go into your local health shop, prefrably an indepentant one where you may get more well-informed advice than somewhere like holland and barrett.

"comfrey contains several potentially beneficial substances that may be applied to the skin. Generally, it has high concentrations of allantoin, a protein that encourages new cells to grow; rosmarinic acid, which is known to be anti-inflammatory; and tannins, that help to firm skin tone. Because comfrey also contains mucilage, which swells in liquids, it forms a soft, sticky covering that stays in contact with the skin. All of these properties make comfrey useful when applied topically to soothe and treat bruises, minor skin irritation, and sprains. Comfrey may also have slight pain-relieving properties. It should be used only on unbroken skin, however -- not on large or open wounds. A mouth rinse made from comfrey may have some benefit in soothing sore gums and throat, but care must be taken not to swallow it. The mouth should be rinsed thoroughly with plain water after a comfrey rinse has been used."

"Comfrey has a long history of use as a topical agent for treating wounds, skin ulcers, thrombophlebitis, bruises, and sprains and strains.1 2 Comfrey was used by herbalists to promote more rapid repair of broken bones, hence the common names boneset and knitbone. Topically, comfrey was also used to treat minor skin irritations and inflammation."

if I have time at work tomorrow i will try to find some more info.
the one i would ask for, if oyur health shop sell it, is "Biofore comfrey sports gel" (not bioforce comfrey cream which is for wrinkles and face!)

pure aloe vera gel mixed with pure tea tree oil would help keep the infection under control