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[anita]

I had a Taylor Spatial frame put on 3 months ago in March here in Canada to correct the alignment of my ankle and more importantly to lengthen my tibia by 4cm.
I am walking with a cane, can walk without support though not very far.

I am trying to exercise as much as I can like swim, exercise bike, etc. but the movement moves the skin around one of my pins and it gets painful.

what are some tips to speed up the healing/consolidation? I am having x-rays in 2 weeks, the first since I stopped adjustments in mid-May. hoping for some good news... hoping to get this frame off ASAP!

[Wannabegiant]

Your time frame and situation seems very similar to my own.. I did the surgery March 1, external tibias and stopped lengthening in the beginning of May, (did 4,3 cm) I can walk quite a lot without aid and it doesnt hurt, but im still a bit stiff and clumsy, i usually need to warm up a bit before i can walk smoothly.

I havent tried swimming or using a stationary bike or anything like that though, im impressed that you are able to do that, it sounds risky to me 

As far as i can tell, the best way to speed up consolidation is to walk as much as possible, eat lots of protein, avoid excessive ammounts of sugar and salt, and take calcium and D vitamin supplements. Also sleep obviously is very important.

other than that there are similar devices to this one that could potentially work, but i dont know how reliable they are or if they are suitable for people who have done LL..

http://www.healthtechevent.com/technology/3d-printed-cast-ultrasonic-vibrations-helps-speed-recovery/

[Medium Drink Of Water]

Weight-bearing stimulates bone growth, so make sure you're doing plenty of that.

[G-Man]

Hello Anita and welcome to the forum!  I am wondering since I've never heard of a LL place in Canada, does ur doctor do cosmetic LL as well or it is just for corrections?

[Muse]

Two great articles about speeding up the healing/consolidation of bones

http://purelynutritious.com/2013/10/26/speed-healing-of-bone-fracture/
http://foodandlife.com/healingbonesresearch.htm

[leechlet]

Hi,

thanks for the articles. i've been waking up early each morning so i can stick to a rigid bike with resistance for 1 hr a day and walk around one leg in front of the other for 15 min twice a day for a total of 30 min rehab schedule

i noticed that when i started doing this for a few weeks post clicking, my bones hurt more. Dr Guichet associates bone pain with inflammation, a sign of healing. i believe my right leg is almost fused judging by the last xray and also it doesnt rlly hurt anymore no matter how much i weight bear. the left leg, which was not consolidating well as of the xray taken on beginning of may (most recent one), is now in inflammation stage. i eat healthier now, lean protein. take calcium and vitamin pills.

but it's rlly hard, consolidation, especially for near 10cm that i managed to iron-will to. the journey is far from over. its like u run and u run into the middle of the forest to find a treasure chest, and now u gotta run all the way back home. u can walk, but it'll take longer so u might as well jog. consolidation is rlly slow. things get better rlly slowly. i stopped clicking on my right leg 20 some days ago and now i can completely straighten it. but my left leg which in stopped click only a few days ago cannot be straightened yet. beginning of this month, i can barely stand bc i pushed to my absolute limit. now i can walk around on crutches or walking one leg after anohter and it's not too bad. it's rlly damn slow and u dont grow anymore. that's what makes it hard. its like constant effort toward something where the reward is not so evident or obvious.

so what i found is that while LLing is mostly a mental battle, the consolidation phase is the real boss fight. the HP on this monster is HUGE, and u just gotta keep slashing at it until u get back to normal. and i was rlly depressed thinking about how long it will take, so what i discovered that worked for me is to just shut off my brain and to just COMMIT to a routine NO MATTER WHAT. and dont ask questions. dont over think. just eat, workout, do some work related stuffs, eat, sleep etc. day after day. weeks after weeks. and perhaps month after month if u go to high numbers, especially if u neglected rehab during lengthening like i did.

please share ur wisdom below or any other form of support. i need all the help i can get. if u think surgery is tough, boy wait until u get to consolidation. 

[Blackhawk]

Hey Leechlet!

It's good to hear from you and glad you are doing ok.

Would you be able to post any pics?  I'm curious to see how someone your size looks after doing almost 10 cms. 

[Wannabegiant]

so what i found is that while LLing is mostly a mental battle, the consolidation phase is the real boss fight. the HP on this monster is HUGE, and u just gotta keep slashing at it until u get back to normal. and i was rlly depressed thinking about how long it will take, so what i discovered that worked for me is to just shut off my brain and to just COMMIT to a routine NO MATTER WHAT. and dont ask questions. dont over think. just eat, workout, do some work related stuffs, eat, sleep etc. day after day. weeks after weeks. and perhaps month after month if u go to high numbers, especially if u neglected rehab during lengthening like i did.

Same here. Im also in the consolidation phase (external only tibias) and im 4 months post op now. Before i did the surgery i thought 4 cm would be a fast journey, but apparantly that was for those who do LATN or LON only. When i did the surgery i was told it might take anywhere between 6-9 months total until frame removal, and not only that, im not allowed to play sports or jump or run for at least 6 months post frame removal (probably a year until sports, maybe less to be allowed to jump).

But at the same time, some guys like Rgkey managed 9 cm in 10 months external only, so that tells me i definitely should be done in 8 months at the very most, i did 4,3 cm and im very young, i eat healthy and eat lots of supplements, i didnt have any complications during lengthening except a small infection, and i got back full range of motion in my joints about 1 week after i stopped lengthening. i have been able to walk without aid for about a month now(but need to warm up a bit before i can walk smoothly).

But technically I really have no idea when i will be done, havent done x-rays since i stopped lengthening about 2 months ago, the rate of which improvements in walking happen are slowing down it seems. Its sickening how long this crap takes to be honest, hoping my next x-rays will be able to go me a more definite answer when i will be done.

[paco1]

Hi wannabegiant,
I think the doctors don't say the real time to consolidation. They say one month or one month and half, but in many cases is more.
I am thinking my surgery with doctor salameh, only external, because my goal is only 5,5CM , but another times i am thinking to do LON. I don't know what to do.

[Wannabegiant]

Hi wannabegiant,
I think the doctors don't say the real time to consolidation. They say one month or one month and half, but in many cases is more.
I am thinking my surgery with doctor salameh, only external, because my goal is only 5,5CM , but another times i am thinking to do LON. I don't know what to do.

Yeah i know this site claims that for adults its around 1,5 - 2 months per cm. But in Rgkeys case it ends up being around 33 days per cm. And i have seen that other site claim in some threads that it could be as low as 25 days per cm in some cases.

I think the next x-ray will give definite answers, i got an appointment with a local orthopedic doctor 24 july, and that will be almost 5 months post op. At that point it should be possible to see how much time is left.

If i needed more than 5 cm, i think i would have had to do LON or LATN, which i really wanted to avoid (mainly because of the high risk of knee pain but also the high cost and need for another surgery).

So considering my experience, if you want to do 5,5 cm, if you want external only, do it at that place RgKey did it so you have company of young people (hot girls included). Otherwise do LON or LATN. The waiting period is to long with external only and lengthening that ammount to spend on your own with the family, to lonely and boring for an insane ammount of time.

You might be lucky and have fast consolidation rate but dont count on it.

[GeTs]

Yeah i know this site claims that for adults its around 1,5 - 2 months per cm. But in Rgkeys case it ends up being around 33 days per cm. And i have seen that other site claim in some threads that it could be as low as 25 days per cm in some cases.

I think the next x-ray will give definite answers, i got an appointment with a local orthopedic doctor 24 july, and that will be almost 5 months post op. At that point it should be possible to see how much time is left.

If i needed more than 5 cm, i think i would have had to do LON or LATN, which i really wanted to avoid (mainly because of the high risk of knee pain but also the high cost and need for another surgery).

So considering my experience, if you want to do 5,5 cm, if you want external only, do it at that place RgKey did it so you have company of young people (hot girls included). Otherwise do LON or LATN. The waiting period is to long with external only and lengthening that ammount to spend on your own with the family, to lonely and boring for an insane ammount of time.

You might be lucky and have fast consolidation rate but dont count on it.

Not guaranteed but it may be easier for him

[Wannabegiant]

Not guaranteed but it may be easier for him

Yeah there might not be any hot girls there at that time if he decides to go there. But ive heard the most common patients using ilizarov fixation in russia are young girls who want to correct their legs, get them straight or fix other deformities. So there should be a good chance he meets some there. Also just being able to talk to other patients is a big deal when you are in the post surgery condition.

[GeTs]

Yeah there might not be any hot girls there at that time if he decides to go there. But ive heard the most common patients using ilizarov fixation in russia are young girls who want to correct their legs, get them straight or fix other deformities. So there should be a good chance he meets some there. Also just being able to talk to other patients is a big deal when you are in the post surgery condition.

i meant that it's not like going to russia will affect his skills, if he's good before he'll be good there, if he's bad at it before it won't change that much, but he'll get more experience and confidence boost from the fact that he's english/american which in eyes of a russian girl is something rare and attractive

[Wannabegiant]

i meant that it's not like going to russia will affect his skills, if he's good before he'll be good there, if he's bad at it before it won't change that much, but he'll get more experience and confidence boost from the fact that he's english/american which in eyes of a russian girl is something rare and attractive

lol i dont get why you started that subject from a small part of my post  , my initial point was simply that if you want to do that much height increase and do external only then the best option (and imo the only reasonable one) would be to do it where you can have company of many young people, like the volgograd clinic.

[GeTs]

lol i dont get why you started that subject from a small part of my post  , my initial point was simply that if you want to do that much height increase and do external only then the best option (and imo the only reasonable one) would be to do it where you can have company of many young people, like the volgograd clinic.

i'm refering to this :


"Yeah i know this site claims that for adults its around 1,5 - 2 months per cm. But in Rgkeys case it ends up being around 33 days per cm. And i have seen that other site claim in some threads that it could be as low as 25 days per cm in some cases.

I think the next x-ray will give definite answers, i got an appointment with a local orthopedic doctor 24 july, and that will be almost 5 months post op. At that point it should be possible to see how much time is left.

If i needed more than 5 cm, i think i would have had to do LON or LATN, which i really wanted to avoid (mainly because of the high risk of knee pain but also the high cost and need for another surgery).

So considering my experience, if you want to do 5,5 cm, if you want external only, do it at that place RgKey did it so you have company of young people (hot girls included). Otherwise do LON or LATN. The waiting period is to long with external only and lengthening that ammount to spend on your own with the family, to lonely and boring for an insane ammount of time.

You might be lucky and have fast consolidation rate but dont count on it."

[Wannabegiant]

the red part i assume? thats what i meant.. your response didnt really have anything to do with my initial post, even the red part. You kind of changed the subject, ah well whatever it doesnt matter

[GeTs]

the red part i assume? thats what i meant.. your response didnt really have anything to do with my initial post, even the red part. You kind of changed the subject, ah well whatever it doesnt matter

you say (hot girls included) like it's 100% guaranteed

[Wannabegiant]

you say (hot girls included) like it's 100% guaranteed

I said that meaning that there is a very high probability that there will be hot girls present at the clinic in volgograd, i never said anything about his chances of scoring one of the girls.

[paco1]

sometimes i think Volgogrado would be a good idea, because these girls, jajaja. But stay 9 months in russia is a lot time, whithout support by friends and family.