Manage A Broken Leg with Mount Sinai

In previous blogs, we at Mount Sinai’s Department of Rehabilitative Medicine have often focused on nuanced physical damage and therapy like ACL tears and rectifying damaged ligaments. This week,we are shifting our focus toward more serious damages: broken bones.

Your leg is comprised of four bones, the femur, patella, tibia, and fibula which work together alongside tendons and muscles to allow bending at the hip, knee and ankle. You won’t need to be told that you’ve broken something, a leg fracture or break is severely painful – and will likely be swollen or bruised. You will rarely be able to walk on it.

One of the key indicators of a broken bone in the leg is the leg being out of shape, oddly shaped, or differently shaped than before the incident. Likely, there will have been a crack when the leg was broken and the shock and pain of breaking your leg will likely cause you to feel faint, dizzy, or sick.

Unfortunately, as with many broken bones – you need to immediately make your way to a local A&E department. If the injury seems severe, call for an ambulance service. While you are on your way there are three key points you should always bear in mind.

Movement – stay put and do not move the injured leg unless absolutely necessary. Avoid moving the leg as much as possible by keeping it straight or wedging it with a soft object like a cushion.

DIY – do not attempt to realign or fix the bones yourself, and do not let a friend or passer-by attempt at doing so either. Seek professional attention immediately to avoid long term problems and worsening the situation.

Plastering – attempt to cover wounds with sterile dressing and any clean item you might have on your person (like a clean t-shirt). This will ensure that the wound has the best chance of avoiding infection.

When you arrive to your doctor, they will most likely give you painkillers and may fix a splint to your leg. This will secure it into position and prevent further damage. If the bone is broken, but still in position, you will most likely be recommended a plaster cast which will hold the damaged area together until healed. Large amounts of swelling will mean that you will need to wait a few days until your cast is fitted.

In severe cases, surgery will be required to ensure that the bones heal properly and are fully realigned. This is especially important if you play sports.

If you, or a friend, has damaged or broken a bone in their leg recently and would like to discuss a physio plan – please contact our switch board on (212) 241-6321 to discuss options.

Why SAD affects us in the winter

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a state of depression that stems from the changing of the season, specifically – the summer to winter. In the winter, the days get shorter, it is cloudy and cold – but SAD isn’t a prophetic fallacy – it’s a physical reaction to a lack of vitamin D. Although there is a myriad of reasons as to how this depressive state can be triggered, none is more widely accepted than the vitamin D deficiency the body undergoes during the winter. A lack of vitamin D will create a chain reaction with other symptoms of SAD, which then feed into other depressive behaviours, in turn worsening the state of affairs. Let’s look at what vitamin D deficiency does to the human body.

Vitamin D, like all vitamins, it is a nutrient we make in our body; and most it comes from the sun. But vitamin D is unique as it is a hormone and not a nutrient like other vitamins. It works with calcium and phosphorus to create and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and teeth. Without enough vitamin D, your body will not be able to absorb calcium and other important nutrients that allow our body to function. In turn, many people with low levels of vitamin D will experience rickets, osteomalacia alongside other muscle and bone deficiencies. This leads us to be being tired, frustrated that our bodies are not functioning as it should be, and possibly lowering our immune system.

Vitamin D also has a role in maintaining stable brain hormones. Serotonin, the hormone associated with happiness, rises with the exposure to bright light – and drops in correlation with decreased sun exposure. As understood by research in medical science, people with lower vitamin D are 11 times more prone to be depressed than those with healthy does. A low level of vitamin D will cause a deficiency in serotonin, causing depressive-like behaviours to occur.

If we amalgamate these two factors, we see instantly that low vitamin D, caused by reduced sun exposure, is responsible for making us tired and unhappy. These physical deprivations feed into mental manifestations of psychological dispositions – such as bipolar – or other types of depression. It also suppresses the immune system, which can have a knock-on effect on making us ill, and then beginning the “cycle of depression”.

If you would like to learn more about how the cycle of depression works, click here.

SAD can have an extremely negative impact on your quality of life. If you need a consultation or are suffering from any of the symptoms outlined at the end of the article, please contact us on (212) 241-6321 to book an appointment.