Knee brace, broken femur

[DrMark]

For those who don't believe it can happen, check out the link

Here's the link to a MXer with a femur fracture convieniently located at the top of his knee brace.

http://www.motonews.com/mototalk2/showflat...sb=5&o=0&fpart=

This is the same injury the KT Missouri had

The link is broken, so here it is:

lifted from a great AUSSIE site - http://www.fullnoise.com.au/

Jay Marmont out for at least six months

Tuesday, 18th October, 2005

U.S Red Bull KTM rider Jay Marmont has suffered a s serious practice crash at his home track in Wollongong NSW, which could take him off the bike for up to six months.

Whilst landing a triple jump, a split pin worked loose on his foot peg, providing Marmont with no landing structure but the dirt.

Marmont’s right leg took full impact of his crash, clean breaking his right femur just above his protective knee brace. Marmont underwent immediate surgery at Wollongong Hospital where a metal rod was placed from his hip through his femur to his knee.

Commenting on his accident Marmont said, "I had only just recovered from a snapped interior cruciate in my left knee that happened back in June, so to now break my right femur I'm obviously extremely disappointed.

"I was going to take on the American East Coast Supercross Championship with KTM next year in late February but I now look like missing the first few rounds.

"Doctors said it would take longer than it did for my earlier injury to my knee to recover, so hopefully my femur will also heal sooner than the proposed six months.

"KTM's American management team Larry Brooks and Kurt Nicoll have both confirmed their support for me to return to the KTM America Factory Team as soon as I'm fit enough. It's comforting to know my international ride is not in jeopardy which makes me all the more determined to focus on recovering as soon as I can.

"The Australian dirt bike community has also shown great support for me including my former Australian factory team, Motorex KTM. Fans and industry folks have also been sending me their well wishes and I’m very grateful for their encouragement."

Marmont rose to fame in 2004 winning his first Australian Supercross Masters Championship with the Motorex KTM Racing Team, he then followed up with another win in 2005 at the now defunct Australian Supercross Nationals before signing with KTM America to ride in the USA.

Marmont is now recovering at his home in Wollongong NSW, where he will be stationed for at least four weeks before he can begin physiotherapy and then look to return to the States early next year.

Marmont will also be making a guest appearance at the final round of the Nokia Supercross Masters at WIN Stadium in Wollongong on Saturday 29 October, in support of his younger brother Ryan, who will be racing in the Australian Championship finale.

Dirt bike fans wanting to email Jay their well wishes can drop him a line at jay.marmont@ktm.com.au

THE AUSSIE INVASION HAS BEGUN !!

[xcracer123]

I agree that braces tend to cause breaks. A pro level Off-Road (HS) racer that I know has suffered tib/fib breaks in both of his legs. One was actually caught on film during a race. The opposite leg was broken this year during a practice session at his home track.

Make no mistake, he wasn't wearing cheap braces. They were custom CTI2s. When I last spoke to him I asked if he thought that the braces contributed to the breaks. He said he didn't think so at first but with the second break occurring just as the last one had, just where the brace ended on his calf, he now believes that they were a contributing factor.

The question remains.....which would you rather deal with, a broken bone or torn ligaments and meniscus?

Just me 2 cents.........

[CBus660R]

My understanding of what happens when you break a femur, I'd rather have a ripped up knee. Tib/fib may be a different story though, they seem to be less severe and heal pretty quickly unless you really bust em up.

[DrMark]

CBus660

Any long bone fracture in the lower extremity is worse than a knee ligament injury. I think that having a knee joint, which is a naturally occurring break in the lower extemity, is a natural defense against long bone fractures which would be fatal in a caveman. A caveman wouldn't even blink if his ACL was torn.

I should know. My kids think I am a caveman.

[sellis]

Not to sound like I'm arguing, but why is a broken bone worse than a joint injury? When my son broke his collarbone, we initially thought he had damaged his shoulder. Turns out his collarbone was broken at the end of the bone. The docotor said he was much better off with the broken bone than any injury to his shoulder. How would that be different in the leg?

[DrMark]

Sellis, you have asked a good question. Rather than answer it myself, I am going to cut and paste from my friend and patient Shawn Hall, a regular contributor to KTMtalk.com. I did his final surgery (#5) such that he could move his knee. He is one of the smartest guys on two wheels. With all that he is the Missouri Enduro Champion

Here is what he has to say on the subject:

I thought the same thing before I broke my femur. Boy, was I wrong. It has been three years, 5 surgeries and I will never be back to full capability. Not to mention the fact that I came within a MM of death from a severed Femural artery.

I know mine was a little abnormal in it's severity, but let's look at two super athletes that went through the two injuries. RC and K-Dub. Who was out longer? Who came back stronger?

I watched countless athletes walk out of the rehab center in 3 to 6 months after a knee reconstruction ready to compete, while I toiled away for years. I know this is controversial because braces give you such a sense of security, and you spent big bucks on them, but they are dangerous.

I know you hate to hear this, but if it saves one of you the pain I have endured, it is worth it to me

and another one from KT Missouri. His real name is Shawn Hall. He is one of the smartest guys on two wheels. Also the Missouri State Enduro Champ.

Dr. Mark has explained his feeling about knee braces in a number of threads. We believe that the riding community is being taken advantage of by the knee brace manufacturers. I am the poster child for this movement. Knee braces may prevent some minor injuries, but they will not stop a major injury. The brace would have to be screwed into your bone to do any good.

The bad news is that they can even cause a fracture to one of the long bones in the leg. In my case, I had an open fracture of my femur and a broken hip (neck of femur). If I was not wearing the brace, I would have had a blown knee. Surgery and 6 months of Rehab and I would be good to go. In my case 3 years and 3 doctors and 5 surgeries. I am still at about 70% and my knee will never bend like it should. Oh and by the way almost $500K in doctors bills. (thank GOD, most of it covered by insurance)

Look at the advertising for the braces. They never claim to prevent injury. They just talk about comfort or whatever. Spend your money on a home gym and get those legs as strong as possible.

Thump! that is the sound of me stepping down from my soapbox. Sorry folks, it has been a while since I went off like that.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[jamesp]

It has always been my impression that while you risk a femur break with the braces, you probably prevent knee injuries that could occur with impacts/forces that wouldn't break a femur anyhow. I know the braces held my knee in place post ACL tear when riding, but every time I tried to ride without the braces, it would pop out. So I KNOW they do something.

Couldn't the same argument could be applied to boots. By wearing boots, you are supporting the ankles and probably preventing injuries while the forces that would normally be applied to your ankle are now being applied to the tib/fib and/or knees?

[DrMark]

the lever arm isn't nearly long enough for boots to cause leg fractures. Now before ski boots disengaged from skis upon a fall, boot top fractures were common.

Good question though.

[scottmotox]

i'd rather break a bone than tear stuff

[DrMark]

Sellis, you have asked a good question. Rather than answer it myself, I am going to cut and paste from my friend and patient Shawn Hall, a regular contributor to KTMtalk.com. I did his final surgery (#5) such that he could move his knee. He is one of the smartest guys on two wheels. With all that he is the Missouri Enduro Champion

Here is what he has to say on the subject:

I thought the same thing before I broke my femur. Boy, was I wrong. It has been three years, 5 surgeries and I will never be back to full capability. Not to mention the fact that I came within a MM of death from a severed Femural artery.

I know mine was a little abnormal in it's severity, but let's look at two super athletes that went through the two injuries. RC and K-Dub. Who was out longer? Who came back stronger?

I watched countless athletes walk out of the rehab center in 3 to 6 months after a knee reconstruction ready to compete, while I toiled away for years. I know this is controversial because braces give you such a sense of security, and you spent big bucks on them, but they are dangerous.

I know you hate to hear this, but if it saves one of you the pain I have endured, it is worth it to me

and another one from KT Missouri. His real name is Shawn Hall. He is one of the smartest guys on two wheels. Also the Missouri State Enduro Champ.

Dr. Mark has explained his feeling about knee braces in a number of threads. We believe that the riding community is being taken advantage of by the knee brace manufacturers. I am the poster child for this movement. Knee braces may prevent some minor injuries, but they will not stop a major injury. The brace would have to be screwed into your bone to do any good.

The bad news is that they can even cause a fracture to one of the long bones in the leg. In my case, I had an open fracture of my femur and a broken hip (neck of femur). If I was not wearing the brace, I would have had a blown knee. Surgery and 6 months of Rehab and I would be good to go. In my case 3 years and 3 doctors and 5 surgeries. I am still at about 70% and my knee will never bend like it should. Oh and by the way almost $500K in doctors bills. (thank GOD, most of it covered by insurance)

Look at the advertising for the braces. They never claim to prevent injury. They just talk about comfort or whatever. Spend your money on a home gym and get those legs as strong as possible.

Thump! that is the sound of me stepping down from my soapbox. Sorry folks, it has been a while since I went off like that.

Scottmotox, read this again.

[scottmotox]

i'll admit drmark, i didn't read it the first time all the way through. i commented on the break versus tearing because thats what i've always heard."you'd rather break that tear" my brother in law tore his acl and is still having problems. i also have friends that have had broken femurs, tib fibs that are back to normal. then again, i know some that aren't. i guess it depends on the severity of the break or tear. i will admit after reading this i probably won't buy the expensive knee braces.i'll just stick with my knee pads. where are you from in tx drmark? where do you ride?

[DrMark]

Good decision, Scott.

I am sorry that people you love are still having problems with their ACL reconstruction. At our Clinic, our riders no longer have those problems and guys are riding by three months.

I live in Houston

I ride a Honda

CRF 250 #57

Where do you live? We will be at the Dealers Challenge in Conroe, Texas tomorrow. Stop by and see us there if you aren't too far away.

check out our website below.

good luck

[honda88]

What about a knee brace like the EVS web.They are supposed to brake when too much force is applied.As much as i would like to stop wearing braces i have torn acl and miniscus in both legs and need some kind of support.What would you reccomend.

[thumpin-rn]

Another point that is a soft tissue tear is rarely if ever fatal. Painful and hard to rehab, but not fatal. Long bone fractures are all potentially life threatining. A good orthopod (like Dr.Mark) can repair most knees to full function or at least to an acceptable level.

No brace of any kind can completly support and protect a knee. To me it is not worth the risk of a fracture.

[jamesp]

One only has two patellar tendons, so how many times can a knee be fixed suitably for MX. Am I correct in assuming that you can only get one graft from each? If that is the case, you only get two and then you are done.

[DrMark]

If a long enough time has passed after harvest of a patella tendon, it can be reharvested again. It that is not possible, then the allograft is the next best thing. Too many of our road riding brothers ride without a helmet, so the allogaft supply is inehaustable.

[jamesp]

Interesting! How much time (average/estimate of course) has to pass before another patellar tendon can be harvested? Do you prefer the allograft over hamstring because you would consider both to be short term fixes? I guess hamstrings don't regenerate?

[DrMark]

Hamstrings are always my last choice because there is not bone to bone union with hamstrings, but two areas of bone to tendon union which is uncertain and will not mature until one year. For the same year, I would just as soon use the allograft, which I think is really no worse. Although it a bit out of style now, the patella tendon is still the Gold Standard.

I thing two years would be ok, but I need to measure the tendon in the clinic before I would use it. Have you had both tendons tendons harvested?

[jamesp]

No, I had the hamstring graft about two years ago. All is well for now.

I am just thinking about/planning the next 20 years of riding. Having at least two ACLs on reserve is the good news I guess.

Thanks for the info

[cyclerc]

I broke my right femur in dec 03 using asterisk in small jump front flip. In May 04 , racing hs i make endo in the top of the hill and rotate over 100ft down receiving impacts fom the bike. No kneebrace here only kneeguard of 30.00 no knee or femur fracture. I broke the pelvis in the acetabule area (joint for the femur) I riding right now but not at the same speed. The recovery its very slow the DR put 2 plates and 8 scews and my moviment are 75%.I can't walk very straight.Its possible in the last accident broken femur if kneebraces are using.Who know.