this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2026
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[–] naught101@lemmy.world 36 points 2 days ago (6 children)

Is it not a problem to have part of your fibula missing? Can you operate without it?

[–] SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zone 39 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

It's not an issue, and pretty easily as it's not a major weight bearing structure. It mostly functions as an attachment point for various muscles and as A part of the articulation of the ankle joint. Part of it is commonly harvested for use as a bone graft.

The most commonly harvested area starts right at the top of where the missing section begins, so I suspect this post may be bullshit.

[–] ouRKaoS@lemmy.today 14 points 2 days ago (1 children)

You're fine until the Bluetooth disconnects.

[–] HurricaneLiz@lemmy.world 0 points 2 days ago

The comments on this thread are gold 😂💜

[–] kieron115@startrek.website 17 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I don't think we'd have lasted long as a species without a little bit of "redundancy".

[–] Aeao@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago (4 children)

I don’t know horses get pretty screwed when they break a leg even with the best medical technology at the owners disposal.

[–] T156@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago (1 children)

To be fair to horses, their legs are fingers, which doesn't help the problem.

[–] ChogChog@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I’m imagining sports would be a lot more brutal if once a player got injured, they send out “the vet” onto the field to destroy them if they got any broken fingers or toes.

[–] Aeao@lemmy.world 0 points 2 days ago

I’m fine with that

[–] LH0ezVT@sh.itjust.works 8 points 2 days ago

On the internet, nobody knows you are a horse

[–] Murse@slrpnk.net 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Is that like non-functional doomed, or like we can't use them for sport any more so we opt to kill them doomed? I've heard the spiel about horses breaking a leg before, but I'm not actually sure what it's supposed to imply.

[–] LaunchesKayaks@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It's doomed as in they'll die with most bad leg injuries. Horses cant support themselves on 3 legs. They're just too big. There was a foal with 3 legs that lived for a couple years and made its round on social media, but it was eventually put down because it just grew too large. Poor thing should have been put down immediately because the life it lived was of terrible quality despite getting specialized care.

I've seen a few horses get put down for a bad leg injury. Almost had to put down my childhood mare after she fucked up her leg in a fence. She made a full recovery, but it took almost a year for it to heal. Her leg got caught in the wire fence and it got shredded to the bone. It was awful, but she was able to stand on it enough to keep herself upright and all that, so we decided to try to get it healed and were miraculously successful

[–] Murse@slrpnk.net 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

That's actually weirdly comforting. I always thought it was a comment on how quick humans are to just dispose of our companions once they start needing care.

And on that note, excellent work for NOT doing that and taking care of your hooved friend! ^_^

[–] LaunchesKayaks@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

I mean there are pretty ruthless horse people, but not many are like that. Everyone I know goes above and beyond for their horses. My mare was considered a lost cause by many when I met her two years ago. I spent those two years rehabbing her and becoming her bestie and now she's in incredible shape physically and mentally. 10/10 worth the effort. I'll probably only get a couple more years with her because she's very old, but she living an exceptionally wonderful life now and that's all that matters to me. I want her to have the best old age she can. She's had a hard life and deserves to live out the rest of her days in comfort and happiness

[–] Murse@slrpnk.net 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

To be clear, othopedics is not my area of expertise,

edit - ortho specialty chimed in. Sounds like it's responsible for much less than I understood - see the next comment in the chain.

~~so grain of salt, but to my understanding, it's basically the radius bone, but of the leg. Aim your toes forward in the normal anatomical position; now rotate your entire foot to the left or right. That's your fibula working. Without it, very limited rotation; but otherwise you can still walk and function mostly normally, just a bit impaired.~~

~~I have no idea how 'chunk missing in the middle' plays into that. Guessing you'd still have some rotation, but without a secure anchor point, it wouldn't be great.~~

[–] TranscendentalEmpire@lemmy.today 6 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Aim your toes forward in the normal anatomical position; now rotate your entire foot to the left or right. That's your fibula working. Without it, very limited rotation; but otherwise you can still walk and function mostly normally, just a bit impaired

Eh.... I do specialize in orthopedics and rehabilitation. You can still do all these things without a fully functional fibula, just to a reduced degree. The fibula only contributes to a few degrees of range of motion in the lower limb, we are talking about millimeters. It can be noticeable given enough time or a high enough level of vigorous activity. Most people would live a fairly active lifestyle without noticing this kind of damage to the fibula.

[–] Zagorath@quokk.au 1 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

It can be noticeable given enough time or a high enough level of vigorous activity.

So are we talking this would impact you if you're an elite athlete, but not an advanced amateur? Or is it more that it'll impact sports where changing direction quickly matters (like any football or court sport) but not more steady ones (like cycling or running)?

[–] TranscendentalEmpire@lemmy.today 2 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

You'd probably notice it more if you were doing sports with a lot of lateral movements, pivoting, and changing direction. Not so much with something like cycling. You might notice over time it if you were doing something like marathons as it does help absorb some ground force reaction on heel strike.

[–] Zagorath@quokk.au 1 points 1 hour ago

Fascinating. Thanks for sharing!

[–] drosophila@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

So you wouldn't notice it unless you're a ballerina or something like that?

You'd probably eventually notice just after a long time if you are fairly active, even a loss of rom of a couple degrees adds up over time. You would probably notice a lot faster if you were an athlete, just because the issues would compound faster and you're more connected to your body.

[–] Murse@slrpnk.net 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

we are talking about millimeters

No shit? I would have guessed at least like 15 degrees of rotation. I think I took the radius comparison a bit too literal.

[–] TranscendentalEmpire@lemmy.today 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The radius moves a lot more than the fibula, which makes sense considering the need for moderate rigidity for weight bearing. The fibula only moves around a degree in internal and external rotation and less than a degree in the sagital tilting.

If you think about the rom in the ankle compared to the wrist it makes a bit more sense.

[–] Murse@slrpnk.net 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yeah I wasn't thinking ankle at all. And even here and now, I'm trying to rotate my own leg while keeping the ankle rigid, and... yea it doesn't go very far. Never really appreciated just how large a role the ankle plays there.

[–] TranscendentalEmpire@lemmy.today 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yeah, it's the only weight bearing compound triplanar joint in the body. So it's a lot more complex than something like the ball and socket joint of your hip. That's why ankle and foot surgeries face a lot more complications and need for revisions compared to most other orthopedic operations.

[–] Murse@slrpnk.net 1 points 2 days ago

I got in on a total ankle replacement once!

I recall the rep referring to the sizers as "lollipop butts" ...and not much else, lol.

[–] DeadDigger@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 days ago

It basically depends why it's missing. In general it is not a problem if it is removed after an injury but it can lead to knee problems. However if you have a trauma that warrants a removal you will have very likely knee problems anyway.

If you are missing part of it from birth it is a big problem, because it is usually a sign of Fibular hemimelia and then you will most likely get an amputation

[–] myyass@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

Muscle contractions and spasms will be indistinguishable between pain or pleasure. Just kidding, it will hellish if you get dehydrated and get muscle spasms. You don't need it. Source, got a rod myself.