Rehabilitation After Tibial Plateau Cracks

The tibial plateau is the flat area of the top of the tibia bone, the lower half of the knee joint, which expands from the shaft of the shin bone. The tibial plateau is an extremely important weight bearing share and any disruption of the area affects the workings, movement and alignment of the knee. This means that the identification and correct management of this fracture is crucial if the patient's associated with future knee disability should be minimised. Older people, typically over fifty years of age, are more frequent sufferers out of this fracture, especially in women after the menopause who may have a degree of osteoporosis that causes the plateau more very sensitive.

In older people the forces involved in the fracture are usually low, such as a fall of a few kind, and the fracture is really depressed which means compressed downwards. Younger people suffer more aerobic fractures from motor personal injury or being hit utilizing a car as a walking, with split type a part of fractures. Depressed fractures may require operation to bring a right flat plateau surface up the right position with a small increase bone graft and internal fixation always them in place. Cast braces are often employed, a brace around the thigh and calf by using knee hinge, with the brace harmfull any sideways forces by the knee which might get worse the fracture.

In the cast splint the physioTherapist will assess the patient's ability to permission their quadriceps muscle and direct attention to flexion of the knee or perhaps the main potential limitation after in this fracture. The physio will instruct the patient in the correct degree, which is often non weight bearing initially, progressed to partial weight bearing as the surgeon is satisfied with the healing just like the fracture. Many patients are elderly and acquire non weight bearing only for very short distances or transfers by using a wheelchair and an attractive frame.

Once the brace is removed the physioTherapist will focus on mobility of the patella, strength of the quadriceps and flexion in the knee. Mobilisation techniques can be used to increase the accessory movements of that knee and the physio would like to encourage hamstring work against resistance as an exercise band or gently resistance rrn the other leg. Gradual progress through active ranges of motion towards resisted movements will be encouraged, with the physio instructing a patient from partial to full weight bearing and functional work if possible.

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