Leg Presses After A Broken Tibia

Certain types of injuries require the use of the leg-press machine as part of the therapeutic process. A tibia fracture is not one of them. The tibia is the larger of two lower leg bones, the other being the fibula. Most tibial fractures require leg demobilization and restriction from any type of weight-bearing activity.

Tibia Fractures

Your tibia or shin bone forms a vital connection with the femur or thigh bone. This connection allows you to bend and straighten your leg. A tibia fracture breaks this important connection. Ankle sprains and fractured feet often accompany a tibial fracture, says PhysioAdvisor.com. Treatment depends on the type and severity of the fracture, and might involve surgery, a cast and crutches, or both. The orthopedist must also realign the tibia with the knee. Any movement at the knee joint might destroy this alignment.

Leg-press Machine

The leg-press machine, which puts you in a seated position, requires you to place your feet against a gliding platform, and bend and straighten your legs against the resistance of the selected weight. The exercise targets the hamstrings, quadriceps and gluteal muscles. Its statues as a weight-bearing exercise makes the leg press an effective exercise for increasing bone density, strengthening your leg muscles and making you less vulnerable to tibia fractures, but using it while recovering from a broken tibia is impossible.

Leg Press and Tibial Fractures

Orthopedists advise against all types of leg flexion and leg extension movements after a tibia fracture, says the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. This contraindication immediately rules out the leg extension machine as a viable post-fracture exercise. When a tibia fracture also involves your foot or ankle, your feet might have difficulty maintaining a stable position on the platform. Misalignment of the feet and ankles throws off the alignment of the knee and exacerbates the fracture.

Time Frame

Most patients require a three- or four-month healing period, Dr. Scott-William Smith, team physician for the Carolina Hurricanes told ESPN. Once your doctor removes your cast, your physical therapist prescribes small leg and ankle movements to help you regain your range of motion. Weight-bearing exercises like the leg press begin when your leg has full range of motion. Your therapist might start with easier variations of the exercise, using either resistance bands or manual resistance.

Leg Press after Surgery

If your doctor performs a surgical procedure in lieu of a cast, your therapist might introduce leg-press exercises at nine weeks after the operation, says Robert F. LaPrade, M.D., of University of Minnesota Sports Medicine Institute. At that time, if patients can walk without crutches and without a limp, they can use the leg press, says LaPrade. Begin with no more than 40 pounds, and perform three sets of 20 repetitions everyday. After four months have passed since the operation, increase the weight to no more than half of your body weight.