Thanks for that. You had a long road, didn’t you. I’m sorry for that. I am mentally preparing for a similar path. I knew it would be a long road when they showed me the fracture, and just knowing how long hips can take. It’s definitely got some ups and downs. I’m trying to move my leg gently just to wake things up (of course not putting any weight on it). I’m icing but have now turned to the hot tup, which really seems to loosen things up. I am thinking (hoping?) being cleared to swim gently will be a big step. Thanks again.
Yep, looks pretty similar to mine in location and the hardware used ( comminuted intertrochanteric fracture of the femoral neck )
I was told not to run for 2 years, and I was 7 months 50% weight bearing.
The first jogging steps were agony, and it was years of imbalances to deal with ( to date I have a 44-46 / 54-56 Left / right balance on my PMs ) but I did eventually start walking with no limp, running with relatively little pain, and became a faster athlete than I was pre-fracture.
I’m not super fast but I did qualify for and run the boston marathon, went 16:42 in a 5k, while going sub 20 was a pipe dream before my fracture.
It all depends on how you heal, and the work you are ready to put in. Cycling is great rehab but only does half the job.
I found skipping rope, and attempting to do it one footed was eye opening, frustrating, but over time one of the best things I could do to get fast some of the last stages of recovery.
AS said, listen to the docs, have a good physio and work with them.
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That’s awesome that you came back like that. Nicely done, and I hope to copy that!
If you had to go back in time, is there anything (other than crashing and being injured of course) that you would do differently? Any tips?
I have two weeks to go until I see the doc and get the next series of Xrays.
I’m stretching the leg to get the muscles limber in preparation for PT; I’m not putting any weight on it but instead lightly bending the knee, flexing the muscles and trying to warm things up. I find the hot tub helps with that. Who knows with the bone, though.
I would have started doing the strength and mobility a lot earlier with bodyweight and then bands. While the bike is great cardio, it really doesn’t address all the issues w/your leg/hip. Walking and running are so much more complicated than cycling.
With shorter duration, i.e., 6wks vs 16wks, I’d expect your road to recovery to be quicker. Again, listen to the doc. Write down questions, so you don’t forget them when you see him!
p.s… sleeping, lots of pillows to prop your leg up and help you find a comfy position.
Thanks a bunch. LOL on the getting comfy notion. The damn crutches and walker are putting a hurt on me that’s way worse than the hip!
I didn’t do crutches, walker only. You mentioned shoulder issues. This would be a good time for you to rehab it as well since you’re not doing much else 
Get your nutrition on point. Your body needs it all to deal w/the trauma and healing. If you gain a bit of weight, so be it. It’ll come off once you really start moving again.
Honestly there isn’t a lot I can think of for the actual rehab side, for the first months I was super diligent with all my exercises, stretches, pool walking, self massage, and reported back to my physio as I made progressions based on feel.
The day I was cleared for 100% weight bearing, I took my bike outside for a rip, just pull the bandaid off.
Only regret I really have is letting myself go a bit too much as far as the dietary habits go, as I had shed 50+ lbs before my accident and put every pound back on.
That said the extra food likely helped heal the bone and rehab muscles, but it made getting back to normal activity levels harder, and I had less motivation to get out and move.
In the end it all came back off though, I jsut had to fall back in love with the bike.
Last Sunday I met with an accident while biking n unfortunately my femur neck got fractured semi displaced at subcapital region. I got operated the next day with surgeons opted for ORIF with 3 CC screws. As of now no weight bearing on my leg but have advised to keep it this way for 6 weeks. Pain of surgery is there , but hope to get it over in same time duration.
After reading many experiences I am only hoping for good recovery for day to day activities. Cycling would be a distant dream as of now. Anybody has experienced similar fracture?
How stiff does the thigh muscle becomes due to non weight bearing limbs? N how long does it take to recover the full strength. Currently I am focused on resuming my regular walking n driving.
I broke my hip in February 2022. Fixed with 3 cannulated screws. Coincidentally a friend broke his around March of this year. I think there’s quite a range of recovery experiences. I read this thread, which was helpful:
I was on crutches for 12 full weeks with only touch weight bearing. I was on a turbo gently from 6 weeks. Muscle wastage is significant - I’d experience of this before having snapped an achilles tendon a few years back.
For me things are not too bad now, I can ride fine, and walk pretty well. Am now debating whether to have the screws taken out.
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Sorry to hear about your accident. Recovery times will vary depending on the nature of the break. If you read thru this thread, you’ll see a variety of timelines for recovery.
I was 16wks non-weight bearing. Cycling comes back relatively quickly. Once you can start weight bearing and rehab/PT, you can probably start spinning. Walking “normally” will take longer. How much longer will vary on how long you were non-weight bearing and how your rehab/PT goes. Full strength? Well, I’d say getting to 80% is not so difficult. The initial gains come quick. But from 80% to 100% the gains come slower and require more effort.
Listen to your doc. Be patient!
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Hi,
How long did it take you to walk normally ( without pain or limp) ? Post 8 weeks , I was cleared for partial weight bearing & after 12 weeks, I am cleared for full weight bearing.
Walking is ok but I am bending on the injured leg , slight limp. If I focus not to limp I get lower back pain on the injured side. Currently physio has advised for balancing, hip/glute strengthening. Not started turbo as I would concentrate on building strength.
@KickrLin
It takes time, you have to be patient. I could fake walking w/out a limp for short distances after about 3mo. It was probably around 6mo before I didn’t have to concentrate on doing so. Even after 6mo, I could still feel a dull pressure on the side of my hip and/or in my glute, more so w/fatigue. Almost 2yr on now, I still feel it, but nothing painful, just the occasional tightness which reminds me to loosen things up w/stretching, massage gun, and roller.
From day 1 of rehab, riding the turbo was easy compared to walking. Ride the turbo easy to loosen up, warm up, sanity, etc… Then get off and do your physio routine (bands, balance, body weight, etc…) Again, it takes time and patience. There will be weeks where you feel like no progress, then one day suddenly something releases or changes for the better. Keep at it!
I almost forgot about the lower back. The psoas run from your lower back to the top of your femur, lesser trochanter to be exact. In my case, I also broke off the lesser trochanter. It was floating close enough that it was left as is, assuming it would reattach. Anyway, my point here is that it sounds like you too will need to strengthen your psoas. When weak, it makes it harder to flex the hip joint, harder to climb stairs or walk uphill. Can you stand or even sit down and lift your knee high enough to put your sock on comfortably? I couldn’t for a long time.
Patience!
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Hey there, just scrolled through and thought I’d mention my current situation in life… Ha
Well to put it in fewer words… Femur fracture, currently almost 3months non-weight bearing. Knee is real stiff and flexion is around 70° degrees… I was looking into getting an exercise bike to help with the knee ROM, having seat set higher then go lower to achieve more knee ROM as we go along, whilst also progressively rebuilding on the muscles lost from upper & lower leg. Any ideas and/or suggestions from people having been through or similir issues like knee ROM from immobilisation etc… Thank you all in advance…
I was non-weight bearing for 14wks. You may or may not still have some swelling in the leg which will affect your range of motion. Movement will help w/that. I flexed my calves and quads a lot while sitting or laying around. I also bent my knee as much as possible. I always thought it odd that my knee wasn’t hurt but I couldn’t bend it right and that when I started doing rehab, it felt horrible. In the end, it was just compensating too much for issues upstream (hip). Anyway, try flexing your muscles as much as possible, leg extensions while sitting, etc… When you’re cleared for weight bearing, that’s when the real work begins. It takes time, longer than you probably expect. Be patient.
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Hey Bro… Wow that’s about the same as mine! Yes the knee does look more rounded & feels kinda spongey as opposed to my normal ‘bony’ side… Does that take a while in itself? When I’m in bed I push my knee into the cushions placed behind it to work the quads & knee extensions. I also bend as much as I can (almost 90°) and hold it for 5mins then bend it more & keep doing that for 30mins… I’ve learnt through research that it’s better to hold than force…?! Likewise as you said no knee pain until I recently had the cast (splint?) removed & sudden obsession with my knee flexion. Mind you it was only around 45° then but I guess you don’t see the progress if you’re at it everyday kinda thing, plus I don’t have access to one of those angle measure things. Hips seem good, leg raises and stuff are easy & normal, similar with other side. You were saying about real work soon once weight bearing is cleared… Can you please enlighten me further on that as I’m due for the 3months follow-up this Thursday. And yes I have all the patience in the world only & ultimately to achieve a FULL recovery, like yourself I’m kinda young (35) so don’t want to be experiencing limitations and/or complications within myself… Just yet anyways. Ha… Thank you for getting back to me & congratulations on your own full recovery… 
What exactly happened to your femur? No cast or splint for most if not all of us here so far. Without rereading all the messages, I believe we all broke our hips and as a result have hardware additions. I also don’t remember any hip replacements.
Your physio/PT will give you exercises to do once you’re cleared for weight bearing and rehab. I was using bodyweight and bands for a long time. I started on the bike immediately. The progress on the bike for me was fast. ~3mo and I was pushing over 4w/kg again. However at 3mo, walking normally or w/out soreness, especially for longer durations was still not possible. Cycling is great for your motivation, cardio, leg, and especially mental health. But, it’s only part of the equation. You’ll need to do the PT exercises and strength work to get all the way back/recovered.
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Sorry quick question (using phone) what were your knee ROM (max flexion) from weight bearing clearance and how long did it take for you to achieve full knee ROM…? Thanks again
By the time I was cleared for weight bearing, my knee ROM was already 100%.
Where along your femur did you break it? Was a rod/nail inserted? I ask because it sounds like maybe you had a break in the middle of your femur and maybe a rod/nail was inserted from your knee. Thus, your knee seems to be of concern.
In my case and many/most of the others here, we had hardware inserted via incisions along the lateral side of our upper thigh. My leg was swollen down to the knee especially in the initial weeks after surgery which limited range of motion. But as the incisions and bones started healing, the swelling also began to subside.
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Ah now I get you, they had me in a fixed splint for 11wks so that’s basically where the problem lies, having my knee in a locked position, (straight) being immobilised for so long.
Mine was high speed trauma (drunk driver hit me head-on in a car collision) midshaft fracture with the same lateral incision, ORIF… metal plate with 8 screws. Been told as mine was an open fracture will take longer to heal etc.
So yeah I’ve been working the knees (still NWB) and slowly achieving 90° with knee pain mainly, some slight pain around the muscles masking the fracture area. As mentioned I’m guessing due to the immobility for such and extent, the knee joint in itself has formed adhesions which I now have to break with bending exercises etc. It just makes it that much harder with the NWB rule to maintain, non body weight stretches/bends etc.
Thank you once again for your quick, informative & helpful responses… If you have any further info, please let me know… Hope you have a wonderful weekend
That’s nasty! That’s both severe and traumatic! I would imagine lots of damage to surrounding muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Be patient!
That would explain it. Once you start moving, things will get better. The range of motion will come eventually. I remember when I was a kid and broke my arm. The cast included my elbow bent at 90 degrees. After about 3mo the cast was shortened to forearm only. My elbow felt like a rusty old joint w/no lube. Any elbow movement was both limited and painful, but it all came back in no time.