Depending on the severity of the break and the complexity of the surgery that time could be even longer. This initial healing period is extremely difficult because not putting weight on the bone causes atrophy of the surrounding muscles.ĭuring the period of non-weight bearing recovery, rehabilitative procedures can be done to encourage healing. This contributes to the prolonged healing time and requires a period of about 6 weeks where no weight is put on that leg. Any time a bone is broken we have to remove pressure on that bone to allow it to heal. Just like a load-bearing wall in a house, the tibia is integral to our physical structure and without it we can’t stand up. The biggest factor is that the tibia is a weight bearing bone. NON WEIGHT BEARING PERIOD OF PHYSICAL THERAPY The severity of the break can vary, but there are some standard things that anyone who breaks these bones will go through.

The footage of the Washington Redskins quarterback, Alex Smith, breaking both of these bones is hard to watch.Īnyone sustaining a double break like this would go directly to surgery. It takes quite a bit of trauma to break both of them at the same time. It’s unusual to break both bones, even in contact sports like football. The tibia and fibula are the two bones of the lower leg.

Tibia fibula