The Fibula

The Fibula

I recently broke my fibula by falling in the wrong position when I was climbing… it is very annoying and my whole leg is now paralysed so it can heal. It made me realise how useful this bone is. So, I chose to write an article about it so everyone can know why it is not a good idea to break their fibula.

What is it and where is it?

The fibula is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia. It is smaller than the tibia but connected to the top and bottom of the tibia. Its upper extremity is pretty small, and it is right below the knee joint. The fibula goes all the way to the ankle joint. 

 

Why is it useful?

The fibula does not really support any weight of the body but since it is connected to the knee and the ankle it helps being more stable and it has grooves that help multiply the strength of the knee ligaments.

Why you should not break your fibula:

I. It hurts

I think everyone knows this but breaking a bone hurts really bad. I nearly cried for two hours in the hospital when I did not have my plaster on yet and I was shaking from pain. If you are lucky maybe you will not suffer too much but in my case, the doctors gave me three different pain killers and none of them worked (HAHA). You can also develop some sort of PTSD (which I did) that works a bit like fantom pain (the pain you still have when you get amputated). For me, when I fell my knee dislocated so I have this weird sensation/pain in my knee that is repeated over and over.

II. It is annoying

Since the fibula is connected to the knee, to help it heal, you need to have your whole leg plastered and you cannot put your foot on the ground. The only way you can walk is by using a wheelchair (“walk”) or crutches. But a wheelchair is very cumbersome and a lot of places are not “disabled friendly” so you cannot go wherever you want and crutches are very tiring to use.

  

Even if you are not going outside, it is still exhausting at home: to sleep, you need to stay on your back with a pillow underneath your leg so you cannot move, to shower, you need to keep your plaster from getting wet, so you have to put a trash bag with duct tape to protect it. Since you cannot put your foot on the ground you have to sit in your shower but be careful, IT IS WET! To go to the toilets, you need to find a way to not fall when siting (I can assure you that it is very difficult). If you are in a wheelchair everything will be higher than it was before, you will not be able to it at your usual table! And the list goes on…

 

                                                                           (annoying innit?)

III. You will be bored (for a long time)

As I said, if you break your fibula your whole leg will be paralysed which definitely will not help you move… You will then have a limited number of activities you can do. No more sports, if you were planning to get your driver’s license, NON E POSSIBILE, so no more driving, if you are a musician, no more drums or no more playing the piano with pedals, no more tanning your whole body etc… You will need to find other activities like drawing or playing video games. I personally just want to climb again right now but I will not be able to for at least another TWO MONTHS because of HOW LONG FIXING THIS BONE IS! 

ÀL

NOW, AFTER ALL I SAID, IF YOU STILL WANT TO BEAK YOUR FIBULA HERE ARE THE ONLY TWO GOOD REASONS TO BREAK IT :

I. The 911 guys

You will probably be saved by some handsome, nice and strong guys that will carry you to the hospital like a princess!

 

II. The plaster

You will have a beautiful (and VERY BIG) plaster where all your friends can draw!

 

I hope that you liked my article and that you will not want to break your fibula (it is really not a good idea I promise), thank you for reading and stay safe! (Not like me)

 

                                                              (yes I feel like Jefferies right now)