Broken bones & weather changes question [Archive]

Sessy

10-25-2007, 04:58 AM

Hey guys... It seems my ankle is *really* playing up when the weather changes. Like stabbing sort of pain that you can barely walk for a day (or two), then the weather's changed and it's okay again. And of course the weather is right now changing like once a week minimum (strangely sunny to rainy seems to do it, rainy to sunny doesn't).
Mom said I had the same thing back when I shattered my collarbone as a child, and that it's lasted for years... I don't recall much of that, but it's not a fun prospect! Especially because, how am I supposed to know if I over-strained my ankle with the exercises, or whether the weather is about to change?!

So I'm guessing there's a lot of people who have broken bones around here. How's it for you? How do you distinguish? And what do you do to ease the pain?

Skittl1321

10-25-2007, 07:14 AM

Well, I definetly have trouble with my neck and the nerve damage from breaking my neck when the weather changes.

The only way to "distinguish" it is that it's happened every weather change for the past 8 years. So I just ignore it for the most part- take some pain killers, and use a heating pad to help.

However, since this is your FIRST weather change, I'd treat it like an injury and RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation)- especially since it's a recent healing. You don't want to rehurt yourself.

I haven't heard anyone I know complain of "barely being able to walk" and most of my family has knee or ankle problems that come up with the weather. So I'd take it easy for at least a few days. (If you can't walk, don't skate. If it just hurts, but you can walk- maybe do moves instead of jumping. They are just as challenging but don't have the impact)

Mrs Redboots

10-25-2007, 12:20 PM

Hey guys... It seems my ankle is *really* playing up when the weather changes. Like stabbing sort of pain that you can barely walk for a day (or two), then the weather's changed and it's okay again. And of course the weather is right now changing like once a week minimum (strangely sunny to rainy seems to do it, rainy to sunny doesn't).

THANK YOU, Sessy! I've been worrying for a couple of days as my knees have been very painful.... but the weather has changed from clear and cold to drizzly and horrible, and I bet that's why my knees have been hurting! I have never, as far as I know, actually damaged them, it's only age and wear and tear, but until this minute I hadn't realised that they do respond to changes in the weather!

Phew, what a relief!

Hope our various joints feel better soon.

SkaterBird

10-25-2007, 01:27 PM

How (or if) weather changes affect fractures really depends on the location and severity of the fracture, and sometimes on the person's age. Pretty much any time you damage a joint, you'll end up with some amount of arthritis in that joint, and weather changes do affect arthritis pain. With a bad non-joint fracture the healed bones may ache a bit when the weather changes. And a bad fracture not to a joint may still affect the closest joint if the soft tissue around the fracture, including around the joint, was damaged. Same thing with sprains - they too can cause some grief when the weather changes. :( Ibuprofen helps a lot, if you can take ibuprofen. So does naproxen.

liz_on_ice

10-25-2007, 03:44 PM

Well, I definetly have trouble with my neck and the nerve damage from breaking my neck when the weather changes.

8O you broke your neck?

sue123

10-25-2007, 05:55 PM

I fractured my skull has a baby, and I always get headaches when it rains. Not sure if it's from the fracture, but I do know people who get headaches when the weather changes because of pressure changes n the environment.

Sessy

10-26-2007, 06:20 AM

However, since this is your FIRST weather change, I'd treat it like an injury and RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation)- especially since it's a recent healing. You don't want to rehurt yourself.

No it's not the first one, I just realised why my ankle has been hurting without cause for the past month or two and then getting better again without cause.

I haven't heard anyone I know complain of "barely being able to walk" and most of my family has knee or ankle problems that come up with the weather. So I'd take it easy for at least a few days. (If you can't walk, don't skate. If it just hurts, but you can walk- maybe do moves instead of jumping. They are just as challenging but don't have the impact)

No I mean like, barely able to walk without feeling it. Like after a walk to the kitchen & back I'm feeling it already.

I didn't make myself very clear did I...

okay so RICE, well actually heat works better for me, but the idea's the same. How about training? Do you suppose I can still go skate even if it's hurting from the weather?

Mrs Redboots, weather is known to cause problems with arthritis and rheuma. And I'm guessing because you're not very young anymore (no offense), you might have some of that natural wear&tear:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osteoarthritis
You could try taking glucosamine supplements by the way for it. I've had some really bad knee problems in the past and that stuff totally solved it (more-over, after I've taken it for years, I forgot about it and it took over a half a year before I noticed some knee pain again). My ex-stepfather was taking it for the wear&tear from sportive long-distance running.

My great-grandma had a lot of joint pains because when she was younger, she was working in draining swamplands to become agricultural soil, and they spent most of the days up to their waist in water, even in winter. She had foot baths in hot water with birch and ash tree bits cooked in it and some people use hot cabbage leaves plastered on top of the legs & wound around with isolating plastic and bandage. And she claimed stinging nettle soup was very good for the body in general.

Sessy

10-26-2007, 06:22 AM

Ibuprofen helps a lot, if you can take ibuprofen. So does naproxen.

I can, but I prefer naproxen because ibuprofen gives me stomach aches if I take it long enough.
That's good news! Thanks! :bow:

sue123

10-26-2007, 07:43 AM

I can, but I prefer naproxen because ibuprofen gives me stomach aches if I take it long enough.
That's good news! Thanks! :bow:

Acually, I think naproxen actually has a higher rate of stomach problems than ibuprofen. According to my notes, it has a ridiculously high incidence of stomach bleeding. It also needs to be bound to protein to work, so if you don't get enough protein, it won't work for you. But it is great with soft tissue pain, you just need to be careful you're not taking too much because it also has a long half life, so ti stays in your system for a while as well.

But I hope you feel better soon, tell that ankle it needs to quiet itself down!

Sessy

10-26-2007, 07:53 AM

Skittl1321

10-26-2007, 08:01 AM

No I mean like, barely able to walk without feeling it. Like after a walk to the kitchen & back I'm feeling it already.

Do you suppose I can still go skate even if it's hurting from the weather?

Oh- I see, that makes way more sense- and I think you are much less crazy for wanting to skate. I thought you couldn't walk at all the pain was so great. In this case, but I'm no doctor, if I was pretty sure that it wasn't an injury, just a bad ache, I'd still skate.

(Which is what I do with my neck- I ignore it if it's a seasonal change. I freak out any other time it hurts)

sue123

10-26-2007, 08:58 AM

Hmm I've never once had a problem with naproxen, with paracetamol and ibuprofen all the time... Strange.
Mmm.. Happy pills. :mrgreen:

I think maybe it's because naproxen is often prescribed after normal painkillers stop working, and people's stomachs are already damaged? And because the safe dose is lower than what is often given (especially after dental surgery)?

Actually, in the US at least, you can get it over the counter, it's sold as Aleve (just FYI in case you ever come ot the US). Then again, everyone's body is different, and reacts differently to different medications, something about slight changes in your DNA. There really is no hard and fast rule, but in general, naproxen is supposed to be harder on your stomach. If it's working for you, use it, just don't take more than the listed dose. Usually the toxicities come after prolonged use, if you take it for a couple days, you're probably going to be fine.

And just becase this has been like a mini review for my exam on Monday which will have NSAID's on it, Ibuprofen is one of 3 NSAID's that are safe for breast feeding mothers to use, Flurbipofen, or Ansaid, is the second, and I can't remember the third. I actually dont' think he ever mentioned it because nobody can seem to remember the third. But thank you for giving me the oppurtunity to see how much I can remember about naproxen.

Mrs Redboots

10-26-2007, 09:23 AM

Mrs Redboots, weather is known to cause problems with arthritis and rheuma. And I'm guessing because you're not very young anymore (no offense), you might have some of that natural wear&tear:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osteoarthritis
You could try taking glucosamine supplements by the way for it. I've had some really bad knee problems in the past and that stuff totally solved it (more-over, after I've taken it for years, I forgot about it and it took over a half a year before I noticed some knee pain again). My ex-stepfather was taking it for the wear&tear from sportive long-distance running.
Oh, I've been taking glucosamine for years, usually 1000 mg a day - probably should up it to 1500 over the winter, though.

Decided to rest my knees this morning and didn't skate. Mind you, I dreamt about skating, which was good!

Here, you can buy ibuprofen in gel form, that you rub in, which is excellent if you can't tolerate it internally. I believe it is now available in the USA, at least in some areas?

Sessy

10-26-2007, 10:15 AM

Ah but I live in the Netherlands, not the USA. I've not seen it, but maybe I should ask around... Thanks for the tip! I lie gels better than pills. I totally love the diclofen gel I have!

BTW aleve goes over the counter here too, but it's pretty expensive, but that's what I mean as prescription after dental surgery and stuff. The doctors here tend to prescribe over-the-counter as much as they can, because the insurance companies are insisting on it, since they don't have to pay over-the-counter prescriptions.
Also, aleve gives me a headache afterwards. I usually take the brandless naproxennatrium 220mg, which takes longer before it kicks in, but the effects stay longer and it gives me no headaches. Naproxennatrium is nasty in its own way though, if you take it like for 2 weeks straight, you get a headache just for quitting to take it!

SkaterBird

10-26-2007, 12:45 PM

I have teen told that a number of pain medications will cause withdrawal headaches (rebound headaches?) after a while. As far as stomach problems, I am no physician, but I grew up with one and he told me that any NSAID can cause gastric irritation. He told me to never take them on an empty stomach and to always take them with a full glass of water, so that's what I do. I usually eat a couple of crackers with peanut butter or cheese with my ibuprofen or naproxen. If naproxen binds to protein then that may be why I don't have difficulty with it - the cheese and/or peanut butter may be saving me! Anyway, that's my experience with it, if it helps.

teresa

10-26-2007, 11:41 PM

kander

10-27-2007, 01:23 AM

Actually, in the US at least, you can get it over the counter, it's sold as Aleve (just FYI in case you ever come ot the US). Then again, everyone's body is different, and reacts differently to different medications, something about slight changes in your DNA. There really is no hard and fast rule, but in general, naproxen is supposed to be harder on your stomach. If it's working for you, use it, just don't take more than the listed dose. Usually the toxicities come after prolonged use, if you take it for a couple days, you're probably going to be fine.

And just becase this has been like a mini review for my exam on Monday which will have NSAID's on it, Ibuprofen is one of 3 NSAID's that are safe for breast feeding mothers to use, Flurbipofen, or Ansaid, is the second, and I can't remember the third. I actually dont' think he ever mentioned it because nobody can seem to remember the third. But thank you for giving me the oppurtunity to see how much I can remember about naproxen.

I know some people swear by Aleve, but it's never had any affect on me. Does that mean I don't get enough protein??

As a side note of useless information, there is a skater at one of our local rinks who used to work at a pharmaceutical company and claims to have worked on the team that developed aleve.

Good luck on your exam! When are you going to be Dr. Sue123?

Kevin

jazzpants

10-27-2007, 01:36 AM

The joints for my lower back aches badly when it's cold. One of those ThermaCare lower back heating pads usually does the trick for me. (No pills.)

Might want to see if a warm foot bath helps you. Can't hurt.

Sessy

10-27-2007, 03:29 AM

I hurt my ankle pretty bad a few years back. Weather per say doesn't bother it but cold does. In the winter when my rink gets really cold my ankle can ache. I broke my ankle and had tendon damage, the tendons bother me the most on these days.

teresa
Yeah that's my case as well, tendon damage... So those take the longest huh? Yeah I figured that part out... How long did they take you to heal before you were back jumping?

Mrs Redboots

10-27-2007, 06:19 AM

Ah but I live in the Netherlands, not the USA. Yes, I knew that, but that comment was aimed at others in the thread who are in the USA. I don't know if you can get ibuprofen gel in the Netherlands - I've never needed to find out! If you get the brand Ibuprofen, their branded gel is called Ibuleve.

kayskate

10-27-2007, 08:14 AM

Weather change does not seem to bother mine. This is my second fall after the ankle break (pun intended). I get sore after exercising. Yesterday I skated 1.5 hrs then went to the gym for another 1.5 hrs. My ankle was sore in the evening.

Kay

sue123

10-27-2007, 08:36 AM

I know some people swear by Aleve, but it's never had any affect on me. Does that mean I don't get enough protein??

As a side note of useless information, there is a skater at one of our local rinks who used to work at a pharmaceutical company and claims to have worked on the team that developed aleve.

Good luck on your exam! When are you going to be Dr. Sue123?

Kevin

As far as Aleve having no effect on you, it might be you're not getting enough protein in your body, or it might be that your genetic composition is such that your body can't absorb it. Your genes determine how you metabolize drugs, which is why no 2 people will have the exact same reaction to any given drug. You give me codiene, I'm out like a light, my friend takes codeine, adn he;s bouncing off the walls. The way different people metabolize drugs is also why we have a whole host of drugs that do the same thing, I have a list of about 25 different NSAID's in front of me right now, and there are many more out there, but you need to find what works for your particular patient.

As far as when I get to be Dr. Sue, that's not going to be for a while. I'm still in my frst year, and med school is 4 years, so I'm closer than I was in August when i started, but it's still a ways to go. We just happen to be in hte muscoskeletal system now, so we get all these drugs and diseases of the MSK system, which is why I get to spend my weekend studying painkillers and gout and rheumatoid arthritis, adn a bunch of other painful conditions I hope to never get.

Sessy

10-27-2007, 09:57 AM

LOL!

Not a study for the hypochondriacs, huh!?

Well, I have that with ketanov, doesn't do a thing for me...

kander

10-27-2007, 08:23 PM

As far as Aleve having no effect on you, it might be you're not getting enough protein in your body, or it might be that your genetic composition is such that your body can't absorb it. Your genes determine how you metabolize drugs, which is why no 2 people will have the exact same reaction to any given drug. You give me codiene, I'm out like a light, my friend takes codeine, adn he;s bouncing off the walls. The way different people metabolize drugs is also why we have a whole host of drugs that do the same thing, I have a list of about 25 different NSAID's in front of me right now, and there are many more out there, but you need to find what works for your particular patient.

As far as when I get to be Dr. Sue, that's not going to be for a while. I'm still in my frst year, and med school is 4 years, so I'm closer than I was in August when i started, but it's still a ways to go. We just happen to be in hte muscoskeletal system now, so we get all these drugs and diseases of the MSK system, which is why I get to spend my weekend studying painkillers and gout and rheumatoid arthritis, adn a bunch of other painful conditions I hope to never get.

Good luck! Once you're hip deep in it skating can be your lifeline. Speaking of skating Docs, there seems to be an unusually high number of them around here (SF). I know a skating dermatologist, cardiologist, pediatrition, phsychologist, and endroconologist

NCSkater02

10-28-2007, 12:39 PM

I broke my arm as a teenager, and it hurt for years afterwards when the weather changed. I've not had the same problem with my ankle. Maybe it was the severity of the break--the arm was much worse than the ankle.

Mrs Redboots

10-28-2007, 01:13 PM

Good luck! Once you're hip deep in it skating can be your lifeline. Speaking of skating Docs, there seems to be an unusually high number of them around here (SF). I know a skating dermatologist, cardiologist, pediatrition, phsychologist, and endroconologistYou mean, you're covered for every eventuality?! :)

teresa

10-28-2007, 11:12 PM

Sessy,

Hmm, I started skating because of my injury. I had been out of my cast 6 or 7weeks before I started. I didn't try jumping for a few months. When I first started however it hurt BAD. It would swell and sometimes I couldn't get my boot off without help. It's rare for me to hurt now but it does happen. Like I said, cold can cause me to ache. I've found that exercise is the best medicine for tendon injury. Heat is the second. Massage the third. How long ago did you hurt yourself? Did you skate before? You can overcome this injury, honest, but it is tough. I'm sure most folks don't even think about my past injury when I skate. I'm proud of this, as the doctor told me once I would never have ankle strength in this leg. =-) He was wrong!

teresa

Sessy

10-29-2007, 03:27 AM

sue123

10-29-2007, 03:01 PM

Yeah I was skating before and they told me I'd probably have enough strength in the ankle to skate, but never to dance again, although they encouraged me to continue ballet anyway cuz it would strengthen the ankle...

Yeah heat and massage are great! :) I was jumping before, that's why it was so frustrating. I hurt myself from february to june, basically, so I'm sure it'll take longer than a few months, I was just curious on what to expect.
.

Generally, or as far as I've learned, it usually takes twice as long to gain back the strength as you were immobilized. So say you didn't walk for 4 weeks, it normally take 8 weeks to get full strength back in the leg. By 3-5 weeks of immobilization and not moving it, you've lost between 20-50% of your muscle strength. And how do I know that? Because it was a question on my exam and I got it wrong, so now I'll never forget that. :oops:

So yea, these things take time to heal. And soft tissue injuries tend to take longer to heal than broken bones, which is why when you break a bone, the docs tend to be more concerned about the soft tissue injuries that happened when you broke the bone than the actual broken bone itself.

Query

10-31-2007, 09:25 PM

Whee! I'm going to be a doctor!

As a skater, you can tell your patients all about their injuries from first hand experience. :)

P.S. - since you are almost a doctor, has anyone figured out why weather changes affect chronic conditions? (Easy to come up with theories. Temperature, pressure and moisture affect many chemical reactions. Someone told me low air pressure reduces flexibility and mobility, because organs containing fluid swell. But theories aren't proof.)

teresa

10-31-2007, 10:33 PM

Sessy,

I just skated "over" the pain. =-) I tried to ignore the hurt. Not a good thing I'm sure but I did it anyway. My first coach was fun and I found it easy to ignore most pain. Everything was fun and games. Her coaching style probably was bad for me as a skater but great for someone ignoring hurt.

Good luck.

teresa

sk8pics

11-01-2007, 05:58 AM

Generally, or as far as I've learned, it usually takes twice as long to gain back the strength as you were immobilized. So say you didn't walk for 4 weeks, it normally take 8 weeks to get full strength back in the leg. By 3-5 weeks of immobilization and not moving it, you've lost between 20-50% of your muscle strength. And how do I know that? Because it was a question on my exam and I got it wrong, so now I'll never forget that. :oops:
Hey Sue123, I wonder if that is also age-related. Because I was immobilized with no weight on my broken ankle for around 6 1/2 weeks. Then there was the second surgery, which also set me back. It's been a year now since I broke my ankle, and I can't say I have 100% of my strength back. Close, but not 100%. But it probably was about 4 months or so before I was walking without a limp.

sue123

11-01-2007, 07:17 AM

Hey Sue123, I wonder if that is also age-related. Because I was immobilized with no weight on my broken ankle for around 6 1/2 weeks. Then there was the second surgery, which also set me back. It's been a year now since I broke my ankle, and I can't say I have 100% of my strength back. Close, but not 100%. But it probably was about 4 months or so before I was walking without a limp.

Let me preface by saying I am not a doctor (yet) so I don't have experience to go by, just the texts and what we've learned in class, which of course, always has exceptions, as well as different information depending on who you're talking to and their experience and their preferred treatment and techniques. But generally, age will effect just about everything. When you break a bone, you have to form new bone to replace the broken one, and I would assume that like other cells in your body, they slowly lose the ability to regenerate as you get older.

So that would be from the bone part, but really, it's your muscles that atrophy when you don't use them. You also lose the number of muscle fibers as you age, and teh number of filaments in the fibers also decrease with age. So then, the ability of muscles to benefit from exercise is not as noticeable as it is in someone younger. So now, you've got muscles that lose the filaments because of lack of use, and muscles that lose filaments as a part of aging, and your muscles do not respond to exercise the same way that a young person would, so I would venture a guess that yes, your age has something to do with how long it would take for you to get strength back. I just don't know at around what age you start to lose muscle fibers, but just about everything else we've learned as far as age related stuff goes, it's usually around 50-60 that you start seeing these things, just not sure if that's the same age for muscle.

As far as weather changes and chronic conditions, I really don't know. Everything we've gotten that is affected by weather, we're always told "For some reason..." So I guess it really is just theories.

AndreaUK

11-01-2007, 05:04 PM

Hi

Ive had a damaged knee, ankle, wrist and thumb over the last couple of years and when the weather changes, goes damp or cold, I do notice a difference. Infact the joint in my thumb aches for ages after I have been in the ice arena, must be due to the cold despite the fact im wearing gloves.

The biggest thing with me at the moment though is not the fact that the weather is changing but more that I have lost confidence in my left knee and ankle since my accidents earlier this year. I know this is likely to be affecting my skating and is slowing down my progress.

Andrea xx