Broken Pelvis: Healing time

Storyteller5

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My character broke his pelvis and his leg in a truck rollover in the past. From what I've read online, it sounds like the first month to six weeks is a write off as far as being vertical. Does anyone know how long it would likely be for complete recovery (just healing or healing + PT)?
 

Drachen Jager

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Depends largely on how bad the fracture is and how old the character is.

A sixty year old will take two to three times longer to heal than a twenty year old.
 

RJK

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My wife had a golf ball size tumor removed from her pelvis when she was in her late 30's. They actually removed about a 3 inch diameter area. She was bedridden for 2 weeks, no weight on that leg for 4 more weeks, and off work for six months.
 

Noah Body

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Yep... if the major pelvic rings are fractured, you're looking at over a year for anything even approaching a recovery. A guy I knew busted his up big time in an Apache crash in 1986, and he's still messed up from it.
 

Tsu Dho Nimh

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My character broke his pelvis and his leg in a truck rollover in the past. From what I've read online, it sounds like the first month to six weeks is a write off as far as being vertical. Does anyone know how long it would likely be for complete recovery (just healing or healing + PT)?

A long time ... because after the absolute immobility to let the bones knit together there is the slow process of starting to bear weight on it, and then to regain muscle strength lost to immobility.

What does the plot need? How bad and for how long do you want to immobilize him? Just the bruising alone could lay him up for a couple of weeks.
 

StoryG27

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My son fractured his pelvis a year ago, but it wasn't major. It hurt like heck, but the nice thing about the pelvis is it is naturally immobile. Sitting, standing, lying down, every position hurt, and actually standing was the most comfortable for him. He had to be on crutches for a month, then no sports or gym or anything for three months. By that time, he was fully recovered, but he is very young and didn't have a broken leg to add to the problem.
 

blackrose602

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My dad was in a bad car accident at 33. Among other injuries, it shattered his left pelvis, to the point that they thought he might never walk again (which still sounded pretty good, since with his internal injuries he was originally given a 10% chance of even living through surgery!). He left the hospital ten days later on crutches, and graduated to a cane within a few weeks. He auditioned for a community theater show about three months later and was cast as the Ancient Man (because he was still using the cane, and a bit shaky). About halfway through the six-week rehearsal period, he got yelled at by the director. "What are you doing, Andy?" "I'm walking across the stage." "You're just tootling along at top speed!" "Oops, sorry. I'm healing!" By that point he wasn't using the cane in daily life, just for the show.

Dad's primary PT was water aerobics...he said he was the only male and the only one under 70 in the class! But supposedly since the water supports your weight, it's one of the best ways to heal a pelvic injury.

He healed fine, and had no apparent lasting effects. Unfortunately he developed arthritis about 15 years later, which doctors say is a result of the car accident.
 

GeorgeK

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Dad's primary PT was water aerobics...he said he was the only male and the only one under 70 in the class! But supposedly since the water supports your weight, it's one of the best ways to heal a pelvic injury..

It is SO beneficial I can not agree enough, both as an MD and a patient.
 

BellaRush

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My friend's boyfriend-at-the-time broke his pelvis in four places - I guess he was about 20. The three of us were in a car accident. :p He was off for four months; I assume that included any PT he would have had. He was a jockey and went back to riding horses after it had healed.