How painful is breaking a leg?

Francis McM

We all probably know a few people who broke their leg at one stage or another, and they say it was extremely painful. In the Irish News newspaper the other day it was reported that a MP (from a well known party) broke their leg when she fell down a stairs in Leinster house,Dublin, but was able to drive home and walk on it, but who got €10,000 in compensation.

Anyone I know who had a broken leg said it was severely painful and could not walk on it, so how painful is it?

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/sinn-fein-mep-hopeful-michelle-gildernew-got-10000-payout-from-houses-of-the-oireachtas-after-breaking-her-leg-in-fall/a1562540107.html

Eoinbmw

Depends on type and where it is a "broken leg" is very vague!

ELM327

I broke my arm when I was younger and sprained my ankle. The arm was not painful but the sprain was awful. Generally bone breaks are not as bad as other injuries. With some notable exceptions, I'm lead to believe breaking a collarbone is awful.

zell12

I'm lead to believe breaking a collarbone is awful.

Yes, yes it is.

MarkR

You can have an open fracture, where the bone is protruding through the skin, or maybe a hairline fracture. Seen the first one at a blood donation clinic. Gross. 🤢

Francis McM

I googled it up and it said "A broken leg (leg fracture) will be severely painful and may be swollen or bruised. You usually will not be able to walk on it."  I suppose €10,000 compensation is not too bad if there were handrails a person could or should have been holding on to going down the stairs, but maybe she was and still tripped.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058335207/how-painful-is-breaking-a-leg

??Spam story?? Why was there an MP in Leinster House? Were they visiting from across the Irish Sea or from up north?

Why would they get €10K, if true maybe just a twisted ankle?

Francis McM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121738341#Comment_121738341

No, not spam story, other newspapers have it besides the Irish News eg

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/sinn-fein-mep-hopeful-michelle-gildernew-got-10000-payout-from-houses-of-the-oireachtas-after-breaking-her-leg-in-fall/a1562540107.html

Ray Palmer

I broke my wrist and never knew. Went to get my hand xrayed for a hand issue I was having. When speaking to the doctor they ask when I broke my wrist and I told them I didn't. He showed me the x-ray and said I certainly did a few years ago. Had to think back and I remember falling and hurting my wrist but it never felt that bad so I never went to a doctor. No issues with my wrist at all but a friend broke his wrist and went to the hospital and still gives him issues 15 years later.

Really depends on how bad the break is as hairline fractures are breaks as well

rob316

Tore my MCL and ACL 5 years ago, I couldn't breathe the pain was so bad. You can actually hear the pop when it happens.

Fell off my bike when I was a teenager, broke arm in 3 places. I got back on my bike and cycled home, the shock settled and then the pain came.

pgj2015

I broke my fibula years ago during a Gaelic football match, played on for 10 minutes because I thought I had just sprained something, it wasnt really that sore, and it was around 2 days later that a physio told me she thought it was broke.

pgj2015

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121738237#Comment_121738237

I broke mine twice, once as a kid of around 6 and later as an adult around 21, not that bad at all.

PARlance

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121738237#Comment_121738237

Second that! I broke my collarbone will visiting my cousin in Dublin as a kid. Spent a day and night in agony before they decided to throw me on the train home. It's not fun carrying a suitcase on a train with a broken collarbone. Spent another day and night in agony before my parents decided a trip to A&E might be worthwhile.

Different times these days!

Snapped my achilles tendon a few years ago! That was even more painfull. Blacked out from that pain of that, thought someone had landed on my leg (playing football) and broken it. Turns out that I had just jumped and landed without anyone making any contact with me.

I would take breaking a bone over ligament damage any day.

dulpit

I broke my collarbone in 5th class playing football. Went back to class and it was only a while later that someone alerted the teacher that I was crying 😐️

I don't remember the pain being too bad once I was in a sling, just really awkward.

I sprained/fractured my wrist failing to catch a basketball in secondary school, now that was pain.

FrancieBrady

You can break your neck without noticing it.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2005/jun/16/health.society

It's a bit of a 'how long is a piece of string' OP.

Francis McM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121738852#Comment_121738852

That person you refer to with the broken neck (as a result of parachuting out of a burning plane) was a different type of injury, as it says in the article "broken necks can be hard to spot because often they are so subtle". And the article did say his " spine must have partially healed itself while he was in a German prison, locked in a tiny cell and unable to move for long periods."

I suppose in this case, if someone trips or loses their balance and the break is small or it's just a crack, they may not feel much pain or even realise that they've broken a bone, and so were able to drive home. A colleague broke a leg once and they could not put any weight on it at all, never mind dream of driving a car, so every injury is different. Anyway, always be careful on stairs. Nobody is suggesting that there should be instructions on stairs on how to use them, but you can never be too careful.

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121738981#Comment_121738981

And the person in your OP's injuries were severe enough to require strapping when she went to get medical help.

People have different pain thresholds and people experience bone breaks in different ways.

I.E. There is no simple answer.

artanevilla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121738242#Comment_121738242

Could they not find a vein?

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058335207/how-painful-is-breaking-a-leg

It entirely depends on the type of the break and of course adrenaline.

I knew a 65 year old that climbed Lugnaquilla with a broken leg and then walked on to Donard where he caught the 65 bus back to Dublin. By then the adrenaline was running thin and they had to call an ambulance to take him to the hospital, it took about two months before he was out and about again.

cj maxx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121738341#Comment_121738341

I missed that

iwillhtfu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121738217#Comment_121738217

I broke my collarbone in two places and I've had more painful bruises. Other than the bones crunching about I'd say I could've went home and not to A&E. In saying that I've dislocated the shoulder on that side a dozen times so could be the nerves are just fecked on that side.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121738415#Comment_121738415

OK, would have been useful to name the person in the OP. Frankly I'm disgusted, where does personal responsibility come into this? I can't see any reason why the Houses of the Oireachtas here would be liable for her carelessness?

And the example given to the public by claiming compensation for ones own carelessness, is she fit to be a public representative?

glen123

A friend of mine broke her ankle during a company xmas party. It was painful all right but she was able to stand and walk (which made it worse, I would imagine) so stayed at the party until the very end and probably even danced a bit considering the fact that when she woke up in the morning at home and tried to get out of bed, she fainted - such was the pain at that stage.

The end result was surgery and two months in a cast.

I think when one gets injured, one gets adrenaline rush which raises pain tolerance significantly for a period of time.

Francis McM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121739302#Comment_121739302

OK, point taken I have gone back and edited the OP.

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121739302#Comment_121739302

Who decides that Furze?

SEPT 23 1989

Any of the leg breaks I have witnessed you certainly wouldn’t be driving after it

lying on the ground screaming until the ambulance arrives would be more the style

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121738237#Comment_121738237

Try a collar bone and a few ribs on the same side for pain 😁

endacl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121738242#Comment_121738242

Is that how they get the donated blood out?!?

TinyMuffin

Broke my leg and ankle on same leg when something fell on me 20 years ago. Didn’t know what happened and stood up to walk and leg went 90 degrees and tripped me. Lay there till help came. Leg swelled up and boot had to be cut off me. Got pin put in, 17 days in hospital and 6 weeks of a holiday. Happy days. Never claimed anything. Was fairly sore.

canihelp

I broke my leg in two places just above the ankle 6 months ago; the foot was facing one way and my leg another; I guarantee I could not walk on it. 3 hours of surgery, 14 pins and 2 plates, in a cast for 3 months. It depends on how bad the break is. It was absolute agony for 3 weeks, I still have flashbacks

banie01

A "break" can be anything from a hairline fracture to an open compound fracture. On the topic of how painful a broken leg, no personal experience of a leg break (yet). I have broken my left foot twice and both times I treated it as a sprain for a few days before seeking medical assistance. Sore, but bearable.

I have broken my shoulder, painful. Fractured my thumb, along with torn ligaments and a fractured volar plate, very painful, but? I thought it was just quite a bad sprain with a dislocation. I'd relocated it myself and spent 5 weeks hoping it would improve before seeing my GP. He sent me to hospital, they thought bad sprain too until they x-rayed it.

12 weeks in plaster, no improvement then had to get surgery to fuse the thumb MCP joint. Thanks to my thinking the original industry wasn't too sore? It took over 6 months to get sorted and thanks to thumb fusion surgery? I can now only give 1½ thumbs up🤷‍♂️

PhoneMain

I broke a bone in my leg, my fibula playing a rugby game. It was sore but I drove home after didn't need casting etc

Francis McM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121739445#Comment_121739445

That is what I experienced too.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121739302#Comment_121739302

I wonder how dangerous the stairs in Leinster house are? Anyone got any photos of the stairs?

The building was erected in 1745. If say the stairs are used 1000 times a day, on average, say 365,000 times a year, that means the stairs have been used over a hundred million times? That is over 100,000,000 times.

Was this politician the first person to fall or trip on the steps there? The first person to get compensation?

o1s1n

I broke both the tib and fib in my lower leg in one go about 15 years ago. Both a clean snap. It was so shocking an injury I don't think I actually felt any pain in the moment.

What was more painful was having a screw removed from one of the plates they had to install in my lower leg under local anasthetic.

The screw was threaded into the bone in my leg. Every turn of the screw was agony. I had to have them inject anaesthetic directly into the bone and even that didn't really help.

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121739811#Comment_121739811

I wonder how dangerous the stairs in Leinster house are? Anyone got any photos of the stairs?

😎

fatherted1969

Broke my back in 2 places in 2007, had a month of physio and a further 2 weeks before it was xrayed and fractures identified. It can happen

GavPJ

All at different stages but I've broken:

Left arm.

Left leg.

Right hip.

Left collar bone.

Left shoulder.

Right wrist.

Have to say the hip, wrist and collar bone were the worst. And because

I didn't bother with physio I am in agony some days. All give me terrible problems.

Reaching for a mug from a cupboard can be like someone stabbing you in the shoulder.

Barely able to lift things with my right wrist most days. Writing can be a struggle.

Walking can be difficult some days. I used to do a bit of running to keep the weight

down and keep the mind in good shape. This is out of the question until I get a hip

replacement.

Francis McM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121739976#Comment_121739976

I'm sure the stairs in Leinster house are a lot safer than those stairs in your photo. In the 279 years since they were made, how many times have the Leinster House stairs been used ( 100,000,000 ?? ) and is the politician from your party (well, the one you made over 50,000 posts for) the first person to fall down them and get a claim? What are the odds of that?

If the stairs in Leinster house were / are dangerous, should there, in the interests of safety.not be a supervisor beside them, to ensure they are used safely and properly? (In the interests of political balance, I seem to remember another politician who fell off a swing claiming there should have been a supervisor looking after them?)

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121739436#Comment_121739436

The public I guess Francie, smell of Swing Gate off this: https://www.independent.ie/news/maria-bailey-breaks-silence-to-criticise-leo-varadkars-handling-of-swing-gate-controversy/42304441.html

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121740174#Comment_121740174

Come on Francis, you are the investigator here, intrepidly setting out to prove a case.

Don't be asking me to prove it. You are making the case, the onus is on you.

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121740189#Comment_121740189

The public, having read this story when first published back in 2012 have elected her as an MP and an MLA since. She has now decided to run as an MEP and suddenly the exact same story, no new info, from 12 years ago, appears again.

Pauliedragon

When I saw this thread it reminded me of the David Busst broken leg playing for Coventry V United. I remember Schmeichel running off the pitch in horror.

Emblematic

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121738341#Comment_121738341

From up north. She was MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone when the accident happened, attending an Oireachtas committee meeting in Leinster House.

thehairygrape

I broke an opponents leg in a soccer match many years ago. Perfectly legal tackle. Didn’t hurt a bit.

GavPJ

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121740247#Comment_121740247

I feel sick every time I think of that!

Francis McM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121740242#Comment_121740242

It was not the exact same story in 2012 because (according to the report in the paper) she was paid a €10,000 settlement through the State Claims Agency in 2019. That is 7 years later that 2012 by my maths?

Do you think that if the stairs are that dangerous in Leinster house, then in the interests of public safety should there not be a supervisor beside them, in order to ensure they are used safely and properly?

After all, another politician claimed she fell off a swing once because there was no supervisor?

Pauliedragon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121740380#Comment_121740380

Horrendous. That's why there was no way I was putting up any links.

thehairygrape

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121740453#Comment_121740453

Please don’t. Horrible. I think Denis Irwin actually tackled him (legally).

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121740398#Comment_121740398

The stairs didn't cause her fall, a metal grating caused the fall.

The story that she was seeking damages was fully reported in 2012.

FCTwenteBenson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121740247#Comment_121740247

Eduardo's leg break v Birmingham City was also a pretty gruesome one, you could see the outline of shattered bone sticking out through through his sock.

Francis McM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121740509#Comment_121740509

Was the metal grating there since Leinster House was built, almost 300 years ago? If say 1000 trips a day are taken on the stairs ( 1000 uses a day by everyone there, which is not an unreasonable assumption ), there must have been 100 million uses of the stairs since it was built?

Was she the first to trip / fall and get compensation? If it was a regular occurrence, do you think there should be a supervisor at the stairs, surely? To explain how to use it, to maybe hold on to the handrail if unsure? To ensure proper health and safety footwear worn? To provide first aid in case of falls?

After all, another politician claimed she fell off a swing once because there was no supervisor, and was entitled to compensation?