Fractured Femur - Three Exercises to Start Your Recovery

A fracture of the femur will respond like all other fractures if the initial response to repair it was correct and timely. The femur being a heavy bone designed to support your bodyweight will need the time to heal properly and the proper exercise to assist the body in lying down new bone growth during the healing phase. If surgery was required and in many cases it is due to the trauma to other soft tissue around it, you will start on three basic exercises that will start your road to recovery.

1: Quadricep Sets: After your surgery you will be assigned physical therapy. the therapist will start on an isometric exercise for your thigh. You will be instructed while in bed to push the back of your knees into the bed and hold for a slow count of five. Doing this exercise 10 times is a good start. it will help to strengthen the thigh after the trauma and surgery and, re-educate the muscle on what its job is. With the thigh being a large four muscle group, much of your work in the future will entail strengthening this group.

2: Gluteal Sets: This resembles the quadricep set, this time you will be squeezing your buttocks together and holding as well for a slow count of five. After surgery all these muscles are affected and need to be stimulated to respond again after anesthesia. Your gluteals or buttocks in other words are powerful muscles that get neglected but their proper strengthening are mandatory to walk properly again.

3: Lying Hip Flexion and Extension: You will be positioned in bed lying and asked to slowly bend your affected hip and knee together while sliding your heel on the bed. Now more then likely you will need help with this. Your therapist may either place their hand under your heel to assist with the movement or, place something down that will take away some of the resistance of the bed linens. completing this exercise for 10 reps at first is a good start also.

By starting with these three basic exercises you are on your way to a full recovery which will take hard work, determination and focus.

Once you get further along, the exercises get much more progressive. With hard work and time, you will overcome and good nutrition and rest will do wonders as well.