I Recently Broke My Right Femur In A Fall. I Have Been To Rehab And Had Physical Therapy After I Got Home. And I Thought I Was Making Good Progress Getting Back To Normal.Is The Swelling Something I Should Be More Concerned About? The Heat?

Posted on Sun, 2 Sep 2018

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 2 Sep 2018 Answered on

Wed, 5 Apr 2023 Last reviewed on

Question : I recently broke my right femur in a fall. I have been to rehab and had physical therapy after I got home. And I thought I was making good progress getting back to normal. I thought it was just arthritis and have taken medication for that. However, since the break, most of the time my leg is swollen and hot to the touch. I have seen my doctor this week and now have a referral appointment to the orthopedic doctor who repaired the break. Is the swelling something I should be more concerned about? The heat?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Can be due to an infection or inflammation.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I have gone through your query and understand your health concerns ,the swelling and heat at the site of fracture after it has healed is worrisome. This can be related to infection or inflammation. You need to get an X-ray done and consult an orthopedician for a direct examination. The pain and swelling may not be related to arthritis.
You can upload the X-ray images here also for a better evaluation.

Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar