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Broken Tibia,mcl. Tips For Healing Leg At Home?

Posted on Thu, 23 May 2013

Question: I live in Minnesota and i have a good friend of mine who just broke his tibia and tore his mcl and lcl in one of his legs playing football. He was a semi pro football player who had everything. He works a full time job as a supervisor and has a part time job doing some EMT work but has come upon severely difficult times and has lost everything including his home and vehicle and now about to lose his FT job because of this injury. He doesn't have medical insurance because he had to remove it in order to save on money. So, needless to say, he can't get the much needed surgery for his leg. He is a good person and doesn't deserve any of this. Is there anything he can do to help his leg heal at home? He is in pain and in desperate need of help. Any suggestions, advice or help u can provide will be greatly appreciated. He is a proud man and would probably kill me if he knew I was asking for help for him.

Sincerely,
XXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Rohan Khandelwal (3 hours later)

Dear Ma'am,

Sorry to hear about your friend's problem (both medical and financial). If I am not mistaken, emergency care is provided for free and does not require insurance. In case of a fracture, you should atleast take him to the ER and get a cast. The MCL & LCL can be dealt with later but without proper treatment of his fracture, his leg would be in a bad shape.
In the meantime, you can make a splint at home (using a plank of wood). Put it behind his leg to stabilise it and tie a bandage around it. This will help in reducing some of the pain. In addition, you can give him double strength tylenol (as this is the strongest pain medicine you will get without a prescription).
I would still advise that you take him to the ER for an evaluation.
Hoping for the best. Please feel free to clarify any other query.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Rohan Khandelwal (6 hours later)

He went to the ER and they put a brace on. But he needs a surgery. Will the ligaments heal on their own? Because there isnt very much blood flow to the leg right now he said they wont heal on their own, is that right? How long would this take to "heal" without the surgery?

Answered by Dr. Rohan Khandelwal (2 minutes later)

Dear Ma'am,

If the blood flow to the leg is compromised then it might not heal at all without surgery or take a very long time (months) to heal on its own.
Ligaments will not heal by themselves and even if the fracture does, he will have to bear the pain of ligament injury. Surgery is the only way to treat ligament injury.

If it is a matter of the limb, it is my sincere advise that he undergoes surgery at the earliest.

Hoping for the best.

Note: For further follow up on related General & Family Physician Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar