Recovery from broken leg (Before Camino)

[Beergander]

Hello, my wife and I were planning to walk the Frances from Easter 25. We've booked our flights and first few nights accommodation. However last week my wife unfortunately broke her leg whilst walking our dog. She's had surgery (Plate and screws) on top of her shin.

We're in our 50s but pretty fit and have done plenty of decent walks so have some muscle memory.

My question is has anyone else suffered such an injury 6 months out and still managed to do the entire Frances in reasonable time?

We do have some flexibility to swap to late summer if required.

Thanks for your advice...

 

[J Willhaus]

Hello, my wife and I were planning to walk the Frances from Easter 25. We've booked our flights and first few nights accommodation. However last week my wife unfortunately broke her leg whilst walking our dog. She's had surgery (Plate and screws) on top of her shin.

We're in our 50s but pretty fit and have done plenty of decent walks so have some muscle memory.

My question is has anyone else suffered such an injury 6 months out and still managed to do the entire Frances in reasonable time?

We do have some flexibility to swap to late summer if required.

Thanks for your advice...

All depends on her and her healing. Check with the orthopedist and with the PT on what is enough or too much to promote good healing. Maybe check with a sports medicine specialist for sound advice.

 

[Flog]

Sorry for the predicament you find yourselves in, but you need to get proper medical advice. The 'entire Frances' entails daily walking of six or seven hours, for a full month. Think about that..

You say you have the flexibility to postpone til late summer? That's good, the camino Frances will still be there..

 

[CTLawGal]

I'm guessing you really won't know for sure until about March, that's 4 months from now. And yes, so much will depend on the severity of the break and the speed of recovery and PT. I had some tendon-related knee issues, and recovery involved a lot of rest, then slowly returning to walking, but I was advised to start with walking every other day for shorter distances (no more than 4 miles), then to two back-to-back walks with one rest day (still at 4 miles), before increasing my distance - it took me about 6 months to get where I wanted to be before leaving for my Camino. But I'm not a doctor and don't know if bones heal faster than tendons, but 4 months does not sound like a lot of time, but might be more than adequate in your case.

I guess if it were me, I would be looking at whether I could reschedule the flight and the deadlines involved with that, (I'm guessing that with the accommodations, there's more flex on the deadlines) then making my decisions as those deadlines approached - hoping to start as originally planned, but being prepared to postpone if the recovery doesn't feel like it's ready in time. Bummer, but worse would be having to abandon due to an injury that didn't heal adquately.

 

[Xali1970]

Hello, my wife and I were planning to walk the Frances from Easter 25. We've booked our flights and first few nights accommodation. However last week my wife unfortunately broke her leg whilst walking our dog. She's had surgery (Plate and screws) on top of her shin.

We're in our 50s but pretty fit and have done plenty of decent walks so have some muscle memory.

My question is has anyone else suffered such an injury 6 months out and still managed to do the entire Frances in reasonable time?

We do have some flexibility to swap to late summer if required.

Thanks for your advice...

I broke my hip, surgery was 10 months prior to a Camino Primitivo.
I did they entire camino on crutches carrying my pack, so it's definitely doable. I covered similar daily distances as a previous camino.

 

[LTfit]

Everyone's recovery is different but I walked about 500 km (Zamora - Santiago - Finisterre) last summer 3 1/2 months after my total hip replacement without an issue but I was very fit before the surgery and rehab went very well (helps that I'm a PT). I covered daily distanced of 30+ km which is what I normally did pre-surgery.

As others have said, clear it with your orthopedic surgeon and PT.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

@Beergander, 5 months seems an awfully tight timeframe. (I figure now until next Easter as just five months not six)

I can but Echo everybody else - you need to check with your wife's medical team. There are so many variables.

I broke my ankle in April, I'm only now (7 months later) up to walking 15 to 20 kilometers two to three times a week. I'm not carrying my full pack yet either.
I believe that that process could have been speeded up by a month or so with additional PT (swimming in particular apparently) but I will have no opportunity to do a full camino until next year so didn't bother. My surgeon had said it would take a minimum of six months up to an entire year before I was walking comfortably again, and he strongly advised me against carrying my pack until after the six month mark.

Personally I would swap to your late summer option so that you are not putting unnecessary pressure on your wife. Better to be a little frustrated at the delay than severely disappointed because you are forced to abort the Camino in the first week.