Location
LSU Health Sciences Center - New Orleans
Event Website
https://alliedhealth.lsuhsc.edu/admin/sahpresearchday.aspx
Document Type
Event
Start Date
8-4-2024 3:00 PM
End Date
8-4-2024 5:00 PM
Description
Introduction
Tibial fractures are one of the most common pediatric long bone fractures,1 with 30% involving an associated fibula fracture. Simple manipulation and casting are a first-line treatment option for pediatric distal leg fractures. Weakness, stiffness, and pain linked to immobilization following a fracture can result in decreased physical function after immobilization, without full recovery of physical function even 2 years after the fracture.
Purpose
This purpose of this case report was to underscore the effects of joint immobilization and patient-specific rehabilitation strategies in lower leg casting patients to retrain the neuromuscular system in cases of prolonged limping.
Case Description
This case report examines the rehabilitation process of a 14-year-old male who sustained a distal tibia/fibula fracture in a pedestrian accident. The patient's injury resulted from a collision with a motor vehicle while riding his bike across a crosswalk. After six weeks of immobilization, he initiated outpatient physical therapy to address pain management, restore range of motion and strength, and facilitate a safe return to physical activities.
Outcomes
Through comprehensive physical therapy, the patient regained lower extremity strength and joint mobility, however prolonged limp observed during running and skipping persisted throughout treatments despite continued improvements in muscle strength and improvements in other functional activities.
Discussion
This case highlights the successful rehabilitation of a 14-year-old male following a distal tibia/fibula fracture sustained in a pedestrian accident. Physical therapy treatments deemed effective in regaining lower extremity mobility, strength, and neuromuscular control in order to run and skip without gait impairments included targeted joint mobilizations, soft tissue mobilization, and exercise.
Recommended Citation
Lightfoot, Mallory, "Effectiveness of Outpatient Physical Therapy Following Distal Tibia/Fibula Fracture and Subsequent Immobilization in a 14-Year-Old Male: A Case Report" (2024). School of Allied Health Professions Research Day. 20.
https://digitalscholar.lsuhsc.edu/ahrd/2024/2024/20
Included in
Effectiveness of Outpatient Physical Therapy Following Distal Tibia/Fibula Fracture and Subsequent Immobilization in a 14-Year-Old Male: A Case Report
LSU Health Sciences Center - New Orleans
Introduction
Tibial fractures are one of the most common pediatric long bone fractures,1 with 30% involving an associated fibula fracture. Simple manipulation and casting are a first-line treatment option for pediatric distal leg fractures. Weakness, stiffness, and pain linked to immobilization following a fracture can result in decreased physical function after immobilization, without full recovery of physical function even 2 years after the fracture.
Purpose
This purpose of this case report was to underscore the effects of joint immobilization and patient-specific rehabilitation strategies in lower leg casting patients to retrain the neuromuscular system in cases of prolonged limping.
Case Description
This case report examines the rehabilitation process of a 14-year-old male who sustained a distal tibia/fibula fracture in a pedestrian accident. The patient's injury resulted from a collision with a motor vehicle while riding his bike across a crosswalk. After six weeks of immobilization, he initiated outpatient physical therapy to address pain management, restore range of motion and strength, and facilitate a safe return to physical activities.
Outcomes
Through comprehensive physical therapy, the patient regained lower extremity strength and joint mobility, however prolonged limp observed during running and skipping persisted throughout treatments despite continued improvements in muscle strength and improvements in other functional activities.
Discussion
This case highlights the successful rehabilitation of a 14-year-old male following a distal tibia/fibula fracture sustained in a pedestrian accident. Physical therapy treatments deemed effective in regaining lower extremity mobility, strength, and neuromuscular control in order to run and skip without gait impairments included targeted joint mobilizations, soft tissue mobilization, and exercise.
https://digitalscholar.lsuhsc.edu/ahrd/2024/2024/20