BLers or MBLers   People with Broken Legs

compound   break where a bone pierces the skin

Darth   The black plastic and Velcro boot many of us wear after a cast. It looks like something Darth Vader would wear, hence the nickname.

EBS   Electrical Bone Stimulator (Bone Stim) used to promote bone growth

EXFIX   External fixator

Fib   The smaller bone in your lower leg

Frankenstein boot   See Darth above

FWB   Full weight bearing

FX   Fracture

HW   Hardware

IM   Intra-Medullary (rod or nail)

Lizzy   Iliarov external fixator used for treatment of severe fractures.

MBL   My Broken Leg

Nail   Rod inserted inside a broken bone. Usually the tibia or femur.

NSAIDs   non steroidal anti-inflammatories

NWB   Non-weight Bearing

ORIF   Open reduction, internal, fixation (hardware i.e. plates, screws

OS   Orthopedic surgeon

PCP   Primary Care Physician

plateau   plateau is usually associated with tibia plateau

PT   Physical therapy or physical therapist

PTSD   Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

PWB   Partial weight bearing

ROM   Range of Motion

RSD   Reflex sympathetic dystrophy   A condition characterized by diffuse pain, swelling and limitation of movement that follows an injury such as a fracture in an arm or leg, The symptoms are way out of proportion to the injury and may linger long after the injury has healed.

spiral   spiral is a type of break

Syndo screw   syndesmosis screw (used when you tear or rupture the ligaments ligaments that hold the tib/fib together at the ankle -- usually removed at 12 to 18 weeks, if not bio-absorbable)

Tib   Tibia, the largest bone in your lower leg

TPF   Tibial plateau injury

WBAT   Weight Bearing As Tolerated

For more technical detail see the broken leg glossary by Dr Myles Clough MD, D.Phil., FRCSC. (Orthopaedic Surgeon, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada and Clinical Instructor, Department of Orthopaedics, University of British Columbia).