Foot sticking out after breaking leg; what issues to expect???

tenbikes
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Foot sticking out after breaking leg; what issues to expect???

Post by tenbikes »

Well, it is only two weeks post operation, but after having my tibia nailed and pinned it is looking like my R foot is going to be left pointing outwards much more than normal.

I use flattie pedals (Hope, aggressive pins) and mostly ride fat bikes with 120mms bb, so wide Q factor. But I do have two bikes with 68/73 bb's. Most riding is off road or gravel

I'm concerned. My expectations include my heel hitting the crank arms , and a whole new set of stress angles on my ankle, knee and hip.

I am about to turn 61, and I'm not, these days a high mileage rider. However as my other sports will be impacted by this, riding might be my best bet, out of XC skiing, winter climbing / hill walking and caving.

I'm sure that I am not the only cyclist with a wonky foot, and in the scheme of things count myself lucky.

Can anyone suggest mitigating strategies, helpful hints etc.?

I wondered, for example , whether shorter cranks might help?

Cheers,
TB
Jdsk
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Re: Foot sticking out after breaking leg; what issues to expect???

Post by Jdsk »

Sorry to hear that.

Have you talked to a surgeon or physiotherapist about this?

I think that you've spotted most of the possible interventions. You're not expecting it to be the same as it was before. I suggest lots of experiments rather than aiming for a single solution or change that will solve this.

Jonathan
tenbikes
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Re: Foot sticking out after breaking leg; what issues to expect???

Post by tenbikes »

Physio is aware, but we are very early stages of rehab. I can only just raise my leg, and knee bend is less than 90°
Because I am a caver they inserted the nail above the knee and under the knee cap. This puts the scar tissue above the knee rather than below so better for crawling. However , short term it knackers the knee. Well, I hope it is short term.
Don't see the surgeon for another month.

It is possible things will improve with time : maybe I'm being uncharacteristically pessimistic? But it isn't looking good at the moment.
Jdsk
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Re: Foot sticking out after breaking leg; what issues to expect???

Post by Jdsk »

Usual advice for communicating with the professionals:

• Write down your questions before consultations so that you don't forget any.

• Try and set up email so that you can communicate with them between consultations. The outbreak made a big difference on how many are happy to do this.

Jonathan

PS: That's interesting about the surgical approach and caving!
Nearholmer
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Re: Foot sticking out after breaking leg; what issues to expect???

Post by Nearholmer »

I’ve no idea about where it might throw stresses within the leg or knee, but what about an extended length pedal spindle on that side, so that your heel is following the same circle it always has, but the ball of your foot is pursuing a new one, slightly outboard?

(I have a feeling that we all might, to varying extents, turn one foot out more than the other. I know that my right foot has a very slight angle, and when tired I will occasionally clip the chainstay with my heel on that side, or in extremist get tangled-up with the crank arm.)
Bsteel
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Re: Foot sticking out after breaking leg; what issues to expect???

Post by Bsteel »

Having had tibial surgery in the past, I felt much the same that my leg had repaired wonky and it pronated more than the other. It's not very bad and I've seen worse natural pronation. It's never been an issue for cycling with a cleated shoe although I tend to wear an orthotic on that side which helps. I'm now starting to think it's more of a foot and hip problem from the time in plaster, I think that time spent strengthening the foot and hip rotators along with the general leg rehab could have helped.
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Re: Foot sticking out after breaking leg; what issues to expect???

Post by Bsteel »

Nearholmer wrote: 8 Aug 2022, 8:23pm I
(I have a feeling that we all might, to varying extents, turn one foot out more than the other. I know that my right foot has a very slight angle, and when tired I will occasionally clip the chainstay with my heel on that side, or in extremist get tangled-up with the crank arm.)
I wonder how much right foot pronation is the result of sitting for long periods of time with the foot twisted to rest on a vehicles accelerator pedal.
Nearholmer
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Re: Foot sticking out after breaking leg; what issues to expect???

Post by Nearholmer »

Could well be, but unlikely in my case, because I’ve never been a big-time driver. Apparently, when I was a tiny boy, for a period I had shoes that were supposed to correct some wonkiness in that foot, so whether it was initially present all the time, not just when tired, I don’t know.
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531colin
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Re: Foot sticking out after breaking leg; what issues to expect???

Post by 531colin »

I think the important thing is to get your knee joint working comfortably .....not necessarily exactly as before, but at least comfortably.
Better to have your foot at a funny angle on the pedal and your knee tracking straight up and down (or minor deviations to the side, if thats what you did before....and I realise you may not know what you did before)
If you can get the knee going straight up and down, I think ankle and hip will be OK.....ankle doesn't articulate much in most cyclists, and hip is ball and socket so more tolerant of a variety of orientations than knee.
Big, flat pedals which you normally use are probably going to be helpful....."pedal extenders" are available so you can get one or both feet further out; I have got a pair somewhere which you can have, the right one never used!
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531colin
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Re: Foot sticking out after breaking leg; what issues to expect???

Post by 531colin »

My daughter rides horses; she says most of the population tend to have their right foot "leading" (as in; in front of the left foot) when sat on a horse....this is a difficulty, as it tells the horse to turn.
Does anybody know why most of the population are right handed? Are we mostly right footed as well?
In general I don't think there is any great need or drive to be completely symmetrical?
Jdsk
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Re: Foot sticking out after breaking leg; what issues to expect???

Post by Jdsk »

531colin wrote: 9 Aug 2022, 11:55am Does anybody know why most of the population are right handed? Are we mostly right footed as well?
Causes, and there are lots and lots of suggestions:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handedness#Causes

Footedness:
Yes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Footedness

531colin wrote: 9 Aug 2022, 11:55am In general I don't think there is any great need or drive to be completely symmetrical?
Symmetry of the body and face is associated with attractiveness. Asymmetry of the body may be associated with greater risk of some diseases, and not only the gross organ transpositions. These probably both have something to do with early development.

Jonathan
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531colin
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Re: Foot sticking out after breaking leg; what issues to expect???

Post by 531colin »

Thanks, Jonathan.....I think! :shock:
If right handedness is due to the left brain controlling speech, that just pushes the question back one step, to "why does the left brain control speech?"

Anyway, I had this nagging feeling that there was something "to do with handedness" which was of more immediate relevance to cyclists, and its here....https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bi ... side-bias/ ...Steve Hogg on the "Right side bias"

I'm sure he will be right in saying that having your pelvis stable on the saddle is fundamental to efficient cycling. It also seems reasonable to think that bilaterally symmetrical pedaling should be more efficient than lop-sided.....so I have changed my mind; I think that functional symmetry is probably quite important, not only for cycling but for things like running.
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531colin
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Re: Foot sticking out after breaking leg; what issues to expect???

Post by 531colin »

Nearholmer wrote: 8 Aug 2022, 8:23pm I’ve no idea about where it might throw stresses within the leg or knee, but what about an extended length pedal spindle on that side, so that your heel is following the same circle it always has, but the ball of your foot is pursuing a new one, slightly outboard?

(I have a feeling that we all might, to varying extents, turn one foot out more than the other. I know that my right foot has a very slight angle, and when tired I will occasionally clip the chainstay with my heel on that side, or in extremist get tangled-up with the crank arm.)
I agree this is quite likely the way to go.

Do you know if you hold the bike upright as you ride?
.....clue....although I am left eye dominant, when I ride I see the right side of the front wheel.....in other words, the bike is leaning to the left; I also make a bigger bum bone dent on the right side of the saddle.
tenbikes
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Re: Foot sticking out after breaking leg; what issues to expect???

Post by tenbikes »

I have never thought about whether I cycle upright! Off road almost certainly not, or at least not for long.

I have pedal extenders on my two normal bb bikes which might help with crank clearance, but wouldn't want to add then to the fat bikes because the Q factor is already high. Which I like, but there must be a limit !
Bsteel
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Re: Foot sticking out after breaking leg; what issues to expect???

Post by Bsteel »

531colin wrote: 9 Aug 2022, 6:13pm Do you know if you hold the bike upright as you ride?
.....clue....although I am left eye dominant, when I ride I see the right side of the front wheel.....in other words, the bike is leaning to the left; I also make a bigger bum bone dent on the right side of the saddle.
Nice to find out others suffer from being lopsided. I started by trying to work out why by the end of a ride my left shoulder seemed higher and I had more weight on that side of the bars. I think that was in part caused by my pelvis being rotated, once aware I've tried to straighten up which seems possible as long as I remember to check that I'm sitting square whilst riding. I'm hopeful it's just bad patterns that had been ingrained from past injuries,
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