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.

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This is the same injury the KT Missouri had

The link is broken, so here it is:

lifted from a great AUSSIE site - [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]


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 [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]



THE AUSSIE INVASION HAS BEGUN !!

[Aus_Rider_22]

A friend of mine recently fell of his bike and broke his femur.

He now has a ti rod in his femur and shouldn't ride for another 18 months.
He standing on it now and can walk freely.

Btw, he did have knee gaurd, but it was a Thor Force gaurd/brace, and not a expensive proper brace.

[drmark]

Well, femur fractures are not that uncommon. In my experience, I have seen most of them in MX associated with the expensive kind of knee braces. They concentrate the applied forces to the area of the femur just above the brace.
Thats why I proudly wear just the knee guards when I ride.

[Aus_Rider_22]

Originally Posted by drmark

Well, femur fractures are not that uncommon. In my experience, I have seen most of them in MX associated with the expensive kind of knee braces. They concentrate the applied forces to the area of the femur just above the brace.
Thats why I proudly wear just the knee guards when I ride.

That's funny that you say that, Wes said the doctors said that the gaurd stopped the knee from hyper-extending, but it loaded up the femur with all that force and snapped it.

He also reckons that knee gaurds are overated and won't be using one....

Btw, thanks for posting this Mark

[HiG4s]

Originally Posted by Aus_Rider_22

That's funny that you say that, Wes said the doctors said that the gaurd stopped the knee from hyper-extending, but it loaded up the femur with all that force and snapped it.

He also reckons that knee gaurds are overated and won't be using one....

Btw, thanks for posting this Mark

After the Femer heals will still give him trouble? Or will he be pretty much back to normal? I'm not sure, but I would think while a very painful and serious injury there would be less of a chance of it being a crippling or chronic injury than shattering a knee.

I've hyper-extended my knee and torn the cartilage, there are now things in there that will never be the same.

I know in the skate park industry many require skaters to wear wrist guards, not so much because it stops injuries, but because on a hard fall the skaters arm will break instead of shattering their wrist, and wrist injuries can linger for years needing medical treatment over and over again.

[Macho393]

just wondering can a person have like a hair line break on the shin. I know nothing of what a femur is unless its facial hair patch on a ruff looking girl. I still got alot of swelling on my shin bone and purple brusing on my left calf. I can feel like lumps of something that goes along the front of the shin.This happen Oct 2. I don't limp its just still pretty tender.............I wacked it with a weedeater today and got light headed,lol. Is it common for people to still function with breaks?



PS Doc remember my name is Machoman, so I believe if you ain't bleeding you ain't hurt.

[Aus_Rider_22]

Originally Posted by HiG4s

After the Femer heals will still give him trouble? Or will he be pretty much back to normal? I'm not sure, but I would think while a very painful and serious injury there would be less of a chance of it being a crippling or chronic injury than shattering a knee.

I've hyper-extended my knee and torn the cartilage, there are now things in there that will never be the same.

I know in the skate park industry many require skaters to wear wrist guards, not so much because it stops injuries, but because on a hard fall the skaters arm will break instead of shattering their wrist, and wrist injuries can linger for years needing medical treatment over and over again.

I believe he's fine to ride after the rod is removed. The two things preventing him from riding are pain and possibility of re-injuring femur and not being able to get the rod out.

As of last week he could stand on the bike but still felt pain when trying some movements. The specialists say after the rod is removed he will be fine again....

[drmark]

Well, I think that a femur fracture in 100 times worse than a knee ligament injury. Femur fractures have a death rate associated with them. Knee ligament injuries get my athletes riding by three months. Femur fractures need over six months, although I think he will be fine after all the kicking and screaming is over.

I think that just a shin guard with a clamshell over the patella is all that's necessary. Thats what I wear.


I made this point to be sure that people know that the expensive knee braces are not without risk, and may not even have any benefit to protecting the knee either.

Wrist guards are good to wear and I don't think that they have any signifigant risks.

drmark
CRF 250 #57
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[1kx100]

Originally Posted by drmark

Well, I think that a femur fracture in 100 times worse than a knee ligament injury. Femur fractures have a death rate associated with them. Knee ligament injuries get my athletes riding by three months. Femur fractures need over six months, although I think he will be fine after all the kicking and screaming is over.

I think that just a shin guard with a clamshell over the patella is all that's necessary. Thats what I wear.


I made this point to be sure that people know that the expensive knee braces are not without risk, and may not even have any benefit to protecting the knee either.

Wrist guards are good to wear and I don't think that they have any signifigant risks.

drmark
CRF 250 #57
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

I disagree, 2 years ago I tore my acl, mcl, and miniscus in my knee, and fractured my femur and tibia all in the same crash. For me the acl injury was the worst to deal with, and it still bothers me alot. They couldn't surgically fix it because my growth plates were not closed. My bones haven't really bothered me since.

[drmark]

Here's is a quote from my friend and patient KT Missouri from KTMtalk.com

Litespeed:

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.

[Macho393]

To all,
protection gear is kinda like the helment. It only protects you to a degree. It doe not offer the promise you won't still have a head injury if you wear one.How many collar bones has the helment broke? Its like insurance............its only there to help lesson the burdens.IMO

[1kx100]

I was just saying what was worse for me. I didn't realize femur breaks could be so dangerous.

[Aus_Rider_22]

Originally Posted by machoman393

To all,
protection gear is kinda like the helment. It only protects you to a degree. It doe not offer the promise you won't still have a head injury if you wear one.How many collar bones has the helment broke? Its like insurance............its only there to help lesson the burdens.IMO

Very well said mate!

I guess some forms of protection can end up causing you more damage aka knee braces and femurs

[crfjedi393]

Okay, you at least have my attention. I think I'll do some research. Most of you know I wear the Asterisk knee braces. I don't like them, I don't care for the bulk or the expense. My research begins now. Then I'll make up my mind.

[Woody_393]

Very interesting......... I wear EVS Web's and they do have the crumple zone built into them, which after reading this, sounds like a good thing.

This has me thinking since I started wearing them to prevent injury to my knee's...

[drmark]

Woody, think about this:

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.

[Jay547]

i asked my ortho doc about knee braces once. he said if you have healthy knees, don't wear them. he said there hasn't been enough research to prove that they actually prevent knee injuries.

i broke my femur once. i spent over six weeks in the hospital. now my leg is 1 1/4" shorter than the other one.

[char393]

Thanks for posting this information Dr Mark.

Like Jedi, I will have to do some more research as I've been looking at dropping the big bucks on a set of knee braces. From what I've read here though, looks like my knee guards will work.

[1kx100]

Travis Pastrana has had multiple knee injuries WITH knee braces on. I thought I read somewhere that he doesn't even wear them anymore. But, I might be wrong.

[Woody_393]

LOL, yeah, my kids think I am too

I still have some thinking to do about this... Although, I can hear eBay calling my name.