For what it’s worth I know ur pain-shattered heal bone a while back. Take ur rehab ultra seriously and DONT rush it otherwise it will be one step forward 5 steps back. Alll the best!

Unfortunately, I can't speak to hip fractures, only other bones, sorry. I've broken both legs (plus many other bones), and would say that PT early is key to regaining mobility early. I know this seems obvious to an athlete, but doc's often want patients to rest and take it easy for too long. Once you start healing and are past early risk of blood clots or other complications post-op, and aren't in danger of disturbing the repair in the first few days, commence with PT guided by pain level (and definitely work with a top local PT resource who is known for working successfully with pro athletes who need to return to competition soon as possible). And I'd definitely suggest mixing in two or three acupuncture treatments per week for the first month to reduce inflammation, then adjust/taper based on any residual inflammation after month 1.

Heal well, and sorry to hear of your crash. Glad you're put back together again.

My wife fractured her hip a couple of years back and lost a lot of muscle while on the crutches. My advice as previously mentioned is don't rush the rehab. I would add make sure you concentrate on core work, your ITB will tighten so work on glutes and core strength as much as possible.

Do not rush back, she did too much too soon and broke down a couple of times, when you do get back running, soft soft ground at first.

All the best, you WILL get to where you want to be.

You can swim pretty quickly but would see you doing some light work this year.

There's a thread on the womens forum of a woman in a similar situation. Head over there.
I wish you a speedy recovery.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Male, 44 yrs. Garden type II hip fracture from bike crash

No weight bearing and crutches for 6 weeks
On the trainer and in the pool in week #7
Started “running” and riding outdoors after 12 weeks
Screws removed after 7 months due to discomfort/pain
9 months after crash I am 5% down in FTP compared to same time last year
First “race” next week (100miles bike gran fondo)
Probably going to race HIM after summer holidays

Is the doc who told you no weight bearing for 3 months also your post surgery ortho?

I would follow the directions of whoever was providing after care.

You will have a lot of atrophy with that much time on crutches- Make sure to have a solid path of PT and weight lifting to get back to 100% strength.

Also- worst thing I have found about lengthy periods on crutches is adaptive shortening of the hip flexors on the affected side.
You tend to pull that side up to keep it all out of the way- It becomes short and weak. Do whatever you can to keep length and flexibility on that side.

great - many thanks for the responses - highly appreciated

Martin

Martin - I had a somewhat similar bike crash injury about 11 yrs ago, broke my left femur at the neck. My surgeon put a titanium rod inside the length of my femur, with screws just above the knee and up in my lower butt. I was on crutches for about 8 wks but got back in the pool after about 3.5 wks, mainly b/c i love to swim. Could've prob ridden the trainer but i hate the trainer; also, during my last 6 wks of crutching, i was crutching 2-3 mi/day w/ my dogs. After the crutching, went down to a single hiking pole for about 2.5 wks, then just limping around with nothing for about 2.5 wks. After about 13 wks total, i started to try to run again, albeit with a limp. Within about 4 wks, i was back to normal pace but still limping a bit. Think it took another 9 wks to get rid of the limp, so about 26 wks/6 months to get 98% recovered.

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

When I was young I was hit by a motorbike and broke the neck of my femur off and when they screwed it together I spent over two months in traction they had set it shallow so my leg was 2cm shorter than the other. Two years later they cut my femur further down, spread it 2cm and plated it back together. At the time I was out of action for a while but was always back on my motocross bike within several months. It was five years later I took up, cycling, running and then ironman but I have never felt any hinderance from it and I've always been at the pointy end of the age group field in all sports.

My point being do all the right things and maybe I had the luck of it happening younger but after essentially two seperate breaks there should be no reason you won't make a full recovery soon enough. All the best...

I probably typed for 45 minutes the long story of my recovery from a shattered femoral neck before deciding you probably don't want to read all that.

I had a similar injury, but was told I couldn't run for 2 years minimum due to risk of avascular necrosis since the location of the break on the femoral neck may compromise blood flow, and they didn't want me to need a full hip replacement at my age :p

I was 50% weight bearing for 7 months. Took years to really get my strength back to even on both sides.

The hardware still bugs me, but it's getting to be less and less, 7 1/2 years on for me now.

I can add more details if you want, but the key is to be patient.

Honestly if I didn't have to fight hard to get back what I lost, I might not have pushed to become the athlete I am now, which is way faster and fitter than I ever was before my injury.

It took time, persistence, and lots of listening to my body.