How can I heal the nerves in my leg?

[Krugermeier]

I experienced a compound fracture of my tibia and fibula about a month ago. I had a rod put in, so no cast. I’m walking on it and doing therapy.

The area of the break, the ankle, and half of my foot are relatively numb. I believe the nerve was severed and needs to grow back.

Does anyone have experience and advice healing broken nerves?

My doctor is starting me on BPC-500, an injectable peptide that promotes ligament, muscle, bones, and tendon healing.

 

[chevy_man]

My buddy had a skid steer bucket dropped on his ankle and had every nerve running into his foot cut either during the accident or surgery. (Plate, 13 pins and screws. Had to basically cut what was left of his foot off and reattach and rebuild it).

He said it was like his foot was asleep for 5 years. Just numb, dull throbbing time to time.


When I cut my finger off they said that they could reattach some nerves if they were big enough. It's 3 years in and most of the feeling is back, albeit dull.


I'd take whatever the doc is offering if you can afford it. The peptide and stem cell treatments are working wonders for everyone I've heard from. There's also horror stories of $5k shots every week, which explains why they're not for everyone.

 

[SilentStalkr]

I experienced a compound fracture of my tibia and fibula about a month ago. I had a rod put in, so no cast. I’m walking on it and doing therapy.

The area of the break, the ankle, and half of my foot are relatively numb. I believe the nerve was severed and needs to grow back.

Does anyone have experience and advice healing broken nerves?

My doctor is starting me on BPC-500, an injectable peptide that promotes ligament, muscle, bones, and tendon healing.

Yes. Time. It’s the only thing and even then it may not fully come back. But nerve endings are the slowest at regenerating so it will likely be years before you start getting any real feeling back. Make sure to keep up with your PT.

 

[Maxduty]

Nerves grow back slowly according to most studies. The caveat is that sometimes, like your cars gps, they will find other routes to take to get there. My knee surgery patient's can take up to a year before they feel sensation again.

 

[n2ishun]

I had a multiple compound rt. leg from wrecking a YammerHammer TZ750 back in the day.

Ain't no meds gonna help.
Time is the great healer.

Probably took 4-5 years before full feelz came back.
Had a 8" long plate, 11 screws that have since been removed.
Leg works perfectly these days but I can't tell the weather as well as I could when the plate was in.
Yea it's a deadly accurate weather forecaster once you get used to it.

Don't try to go swim in cooler water.
Metal conducts the cold like a mofo and you'll find that shit can hurt real bad when it's sent right to the middle of the bone.

Oh, BTW.
Bicycle. Make it your life and your lover.
Spend the money and get a really nice one, work yourself up to at least 50 mile straight up rides.....and push it as hard as you're able.
Best therapy that can be had.....period, end of story.

 

[Mike Casselton]

The bike is great, and yeah, don't skimp and buy some hunk of shit.
Make sure you buy it from a real bike shop and get it fitted to you.

The first few days will be bad. The first two weeks, your sit bones will hurt. It'll pass. Keep riding.

Hydrate while you ride.

Wear a helmet. Spandex is optional.




WARNING: Don't tell anyone on the Hide that you ride a bike or someone will do a diesel drive-by and roll coal all over you.

 

[DarnYankeeUSMC]

Back, knees and other pain areas are treated with nerve blocks. Which is basically burning the nerve in half before the pain areas. Ablation is the term IIRC. They will grow back eventually.
You are probably lucky that they are cut since you are not feeling the full brunt of the injury pain

 

[Charmingmander]

Back, knees and other pain areas are treated with nerve blocks. Which is basically burning the nerve in half before the pain areas. Ablation is the term IIRC. They will grow back eventually.
You are probably lucky that they are cut since you are not feeling the full brunt of the injury pain

This right here.

Like the others said, time.

 

[fpgt72]

Back, knees and other pain areas are treated with nerve blocks. Which is basically burning the nerve in half before the pain areas. Ablation is the term IIRC. They will grow back eventually.
You are probably lucky that they are cut since you are not feeling the full brunt of the injury pain

I had radio frequency ablation a few years ago for my back. I don't think they sever the nerve, but basically shock the ever living fuck out of it. They kind of put it in a coma. It will wake up again, and depending on the person that might be as little as two years, or as long as 5. I need to go back in again as the current meds are just not cutting it, but I am doing more so that could be it....don't know....and normal "getting old".

What happened to me is a disc went kaboom, and a nerve in my left side was pinched. Feels like I hit my funny bone ulnar nerve that runs by your elbow, had been hit. It will vary between, ouch to mother fucking cock sucking dick licking Irish cunt on a pole this hurts.

Some meds help, Lyrica, gabapentin and others, but some of them have some pretty rough side effects. Lyrica really fucks me up and I loose big blocks of time, not good when driving home and you end up 80 miles north of home and have zero memory on how you got there....total zombie mode.

OP needs to talk to a nerve guy, There are a few tests they can to. One they stick a needle in you hook a clip to it and run power through it, sounds like fun eh. Nerve drop out, drop off, something like that....not fun.

 

[Maggot]

Back, knees and other pain areas are treated with nerve blocks. Which is basically burning the nerve in half before the pain areas. Ablation is the term IIRC. They will grow back eventually.
You are probably lucky that they are cut since you are not feeling the full brunt of the injury pain

They did a femoral nerve block when they did my hip replacement. Walked out of the hospital feeling great...."I thought this was going to hurt, sort of thing." 36 hours the block wore off and ....Holy Moly give me them dialudids, quick.

 

[748rpilot]

I have some experience with it, as a patient, not a medical professional, so keep that in mind.

I did part of my inpatient and day rehab at one of, if not the, best spine injury centers in the US, and they said that with nerves, it's a matter of time, and a dash of luck. Nerves do seem to heal, but it is very slow and can take a very long time. As another poster mentioned, they don't always heal along the original pathway, either. For my injuries, which are quite different from yours, they said I could expect I'd make the majority of progress within 18 months, and that it would be slow and incremental from there, and I may/likely won't be "the same".

For me, I had numbness of the left upper jaw (so my teeth were numb), I had extreme touch and general sensation sensitivity in my left forearm and hand, my thumb, forefinger and pinky were numb, and the pinky-side of my hand was insanely sensitive. Like I couldn't let the hairs brush against clothing because it was painful. I also had significant weakness in the legs and posterior chain, and still have significant weakness in the left arm and hand.

In time, like several months, the numbers went away and feeling came back in my jaw.

The majority of sensitivity in my left forearm and hand is gone, and feeling has returned, though some sensitivity to touch and hot/cold remain, as well as weakness. This has taken the longest to improve, and hasn't made notable progress in a couple months.

For me, and what I'd suggest to anyone dealing with a similar condition, is to take PT/OT as serious as possible and work as hard as you can. I worked as hard as I could in PT/OT and continously pushed my limits. These initial couple months are absolutely invaluable to your recovery. Do the little things you may not think matters; you have a leg injury, when your sitting or laying in bed, simply squeeze your glutes, quads and hamstrings, repeatedly, for as long as you can. My idea was to move my muscles and innervate the nerves as much as I could, and I did this for hours on end, day after day, before formal PT even started.

Eat well! Nutrition is essential to your recovery, as is sleep. Sleep well, sleep often.

Are you on BPC-157 or TB-5000? It sounds like you found a cool doctor. I was a training powerlifter before, and was begging the ER docs for Nandrolone or Anavar to preserve lean tissue (I was bed-bound), and they refused.

Anyway, sorry for the novel, and I hope the best for your recovery. If you have any questions, I'll answer whatever I can. Feel free to DM me also if you want; I know dealing with this kind of injury is exhausting.

Work as hard as you can, and do not give up.

 

[Llatikcuf]

Twenty two years ago I was in a very bad, multiple fatality car accident. Among other things my sacrum was somewhat shattered, still basically in one piece but with a number of fractures. One nerve (L5? S5? I forget) was cut. My right ass cheek, back of my thigh, calf, heel and right side of my foot are numb. The calf muscle has atrophied but I can walk ok since other muscles have compensated. Yeah, my right leg looks a little weird.
The doc at the time explained the varying degrees of nerve damage. If a nerve is just slightly crushed it's akin to a bruise and can heal. If the nerve is cut forget it, nerves don't grow back.

 

[fpgt72]

Twenty two years ago I was in a very bad, multiple fatality car accident. Among other things my sacrum was somewhat shattered, still basically in one piece but with a number of fractures. One nerve (L5? S5? I forget) was cut. My right ass cheek, back of my thigh, calf, heel and right side of my foot are numb. The calf muscle has atrophied but I can walk ok since other muscles have compensated. Yeah, my right leg looks a little weird.
The doc at the time explained the varying degrees of nerve damage. If a nerve is just slightly crushed it's akin to a bruise and can heal. If the nerve is cut forget it, nerves don't grow back.

That is the same thing they told me. And you outline why they will not just "cut" the nerve. Those muscles are gone. My left arm is still very weak and the pinky and ring finger are numb. I can't off hand a rifle for over 1-2 shots. Gets feeling like it weighs a ton, everyone has had that feeling, when holding something over your head and you just can't do it anymore. That is only after a minute with me.

 

[E. Bryant]

I experienced a compound fracture of my tibia and fibula about a month ago. I had a rod put in, so no cast. I’m walking on it and doing therapy.

The area of the break, the ankle, and half of my foot are relatively numb. I believe the nerve was severed and needs to grow back.

Does anyone have experience and advice healing broken nerves?

My doctor is starting me on BPC-500, an injectable peptide that promotes ligament, muscle, bones, and tendon healing.

If this was only a month ago, it's probable that the numbness is the result of swelling and inflammation in the area of the injury. I've had some sprains and contusions before that resulted in this sensation, and at only one month in you're a long ways away from the end of the acute healing phase. Hell, it takes a couple of weeks for a paper cut to fully heal, and you just suffered an injury that would likely have been fatal 125 years ago. I put my hand into a table saw 17 years ago, and it's still in the process of getting better. This is not a short-term project.

Assuming this continues past the short-term rehab phase, you'll have to find a way to use the affected joints in a manner that promotes adaptation but without undue risk of further injury. The younger you are and the sooner you start, the better your chances of maximizing your recovery. If you're older, then you'll need to discover how to walk the knife edge between not doing enough to promote healing and doing so much that you inhibit healing - or much worse - get hurt again. It's a unique combination of asserting your will on the situation while being attentive to your body's response.

I'd start taking to your physical therapist ASAP, and work on finding one or more types of forms of exercise that are load-bearing and low-impact. Make sure it's something you like, because you'll probably need to do it the rest of your life.

 

[powdahound76]

Talk to your doctor. Ask them.

Not a buncha nerds on the internet

Signed
- A guy who makes his living off people breaking things and being hospitalized to be fixed.
(Not a doctor, a nurse)


Nerves live in their anatomical spot almost all the time.
Very easy to know where and protect them during surgery. And some docs suck and do a poor job, a hack if you will.
A large percentage of nerve damage like you describe happens at the time of fracture and displacement, or possibly in the interim between injury and surgical fixation if not reduced well or splinted well.


Again, talk to your ortho surgeon.
That is where your answer will be found.

 

[frustrated]

Real world experience here. In early '79 I was in an accident that severed the nerves in the left side of my face. To this day I have no feeling there. If I cut myself shaving I don't realise I did until I see blood in the mirror. 11 years ago I got the nerve in my left thumb with a slip while using a table saw. It wasn't much of a cut but it severed the nerve and the tip of my thumb is tingley when I touch something but I have no clue to how good my grip is and I used to drop a lot of things. At first it hurt deep down when I grasped anything but it has subsided to just a tingle and I squeeze hard when I pick anything up. Turning pages when I read a book with that thumb is an exercise in futility.

I currently have a pinched nerve that makes my right leg almost useless and am using a walker to get around while waiting on a new MRI scheduled for next Monday to see what can be done. I wouldn't mind an ablasion on that nerve at all if it would let me walk even close to normal again. A plan should be forthcoming by the end of this month.

 

[c1steve]

Use of a cold laser will speed healing of nerves and other tissues. For the cold lasers I use, I see a 3:1 healing speed improvement at a minimum.
The nerves to try to grow back, and from both ends. The laser works by increasing ATP production. Some lasers are great, some do very little. The TerraQuant lasers are very good, now sold under the MultiRadiance name. I am sure there are others that also work well.

Also a decent microcurrent machine would work well.

 

[Doc68]

Had spinal surgery back in 2020, still no feeling in my front neck area where incision was made......

Doc

 

[Maxduty]

I had radio frequency ablation a few years ago for my back. I don't think they sever the nerve, but basically shock the ever living fuck out of it. They kind of put it in a coma. It will wake up again, and depending on the person that might be as little as two years, or as long as 5. I need to go back in again as the current meds are just not cutting it, but I am doing more so that could be it....don't know....and normal "getting old".

What happened to me is a disc went kaboom, and a nerve in my left side was pinched. Feels like I hit my funny bone ulnar nerve that runs by your elbow, had been hit. It will vary between, ouch to mother fucking cock sucking dick licking Irish cunt on a pole this hurts.

Some meds help, Lyrica, gabapentin and others, but some of them have some pretty rough side effects. Lyrica really fucks me up and I loose big blocks of time, not good when driving home and you end up 80 miles north of home and have zero memory on how you got there....total zombie mode.

OP needs to talk to a nerve guy, There are a few tests they can to. One they stick a needle in you hook a clip to it and run power through it, sounds like fun eh. Nerve drop out, drop off, something like that....not fun.

They actually burn it with radio waves. It grows back though

 

[jwSubMOA]

I lost an arm and leg, broke the other femur and crushed my foot in a motorcycle accident in 09. They put my foot back together but said I'd never feel or move it. I started going to massage therapy for pain relief and pretty quickly regained sensation and eventually movement. Your mileage may vary, but it worked for me.

 

[fpgt72]

They actually burn it with radio waves. It grows back though

I have no clue what they do, I just know what it felt like.........

You are awake, I don't know if they give you something to help with the procedure, if they do they need to double it.

You are face down and the anesthesia guy is right in front of you. It feels like they are sticking needles into your spine, in the background there is a computer counting 1.......2........3......4. Then they stop and stab you again. This hurts like all fuck. The guy is right in front of me and I ask him, Hay is it too early for you to hit me with a three martini lunch. He laughs and says not yet but it is almost over. They stopped then lights out. Woke up and that pain during the procedure was well worth it. I actually felt normal again.

 

[acudaowner]

she is 18 years old still waiting for you in collage and will take you for almost every dime you have . but you will forget about any ache or pain you might currently have . hope it helps

 

[Krugermeier]

I lost an arm and leg, broke the other femur and crushed my foot in a motorcycle accident in 09. They put my foot back together but said I'd never feel or move it. I started going to massage therapy for pain relief and pretty quickly regained sensation and eventually movement. Your mileage may vary, but it worked for me.

What were you riding?

 

[BLEE]

I'll echo what others have said, time and PT exercises will help. I'll add prayer to the list. It'll help keep you positive, which promotes healing.

 

[Baron23]

Talk to your doctor. Ask them.

This ^^. First ask your doctor is the nerve was severed (as in totally cut) or damaged (as in crushed, displaced, kinked, or all of the above). Just guessing (well, "believing") it was cut really won't help you understand what's going on.

I had a very bad lumbar herniation where the broken off chunk went into the tunnel that the nerve root comes out and "crushed and kinked" it. It was "purple" and they are supposed to be grey/silvery color.

In my case it took 18-24 months for it to get as good as it would ever be. It got pretty good but def not perfect. My analogy is a wire bundle with some insulation of the wires worn in places and when they get moved around vigorously I'm liable to get a short. haha

Eh, finally had to have those vertebrae fused this past Mar and I'm back on the "how much will these nerves heal" path. I (and my neurosurgeon) think 12-18 months post-op and what I have at that point will probably be it.

So, its really important to know....severed or damaged. I believe a nerve induction test (when swelling and all goes down) can tell you if you have any permanent neuropathy.

But yeah, talk to your doctors.....just my opinion.

 

[jwSubMOA]

What were you riding?

Old ironhead Sportster. Rig pulled out in front of me, boom.

 

[eca7891]

Messaging the middle one will give temporary relief.

 

[Krugermeier]

Old ironhead Sportster. Rig pulled out in front of me, boom.

Very saddened to hear that brother. I wish you the best of health and happiness.

 

[dustingaunder]

I broke my tibia last year. Got a numb patch about the size of my hand on my shin below my knee. Doc says it’s permanent. I have seen zero improvement in 18 months.

 

[Krugermeier]

Does anyone have experience with stem cell therapy? I am currently taking a peptide injection BPC157 but I wonder if stem cell injections will assist healing the broken bones