I fell and broke my wrist seven weeks ago. It was a collies fracture but with two breaks. It was put
Into plaster for five weeks. I am now two weeks out of the plaster and I can't believe how horridly
painful it is! I am doing the exercises religiously and am trying not to overuse it. The worst pain
comes from the little finger side and not near the thumb. Where the fractures were is uncomfortable but the other side of my hand is worse. That side was black and blue when the plaster came off and pretty badly swollen. Some, but not all of the swelling has receded.
Anyone else had this experience? Not sure if I should return to the surgeon or, if it's pretty normal,
stop whining!!
Hi Jan...I fell in the garden April Fools' day! (no comment!) Distal radius fracture right wrist (am right handed of course...) In plaster 6 weeks, discussion about whether or not to put in metal plate but Dr decided against it. The fall was backwards and heavy and I was 'lucky' the damage wasn't worse.
I am experiencing very similar pain to you. The pain on the little finger side comes from the fracture being right across my wrist, damaging the ulna as well. The pain is bad, yes, and the limitation in movement too. I feel that it will never be the same again and the Dr warned me to expect 18 months to 2 years before any real functionality returned. I'm 82, so this is a tad depressing. I was given a splint after the plaster was removed, but find it irritates my skin and is uncomfortable to use...I prefer the relief that a scarf/sling gives me after I have been using my wrist for a while. Paracetamol helps but after 2 hours the pain is back. I was given no physio and no exercises so have had to devise my own, along with what other people have told me of their experiences. I've been referred now by my GP for a DEXA scan to check the bone density in spine and hip, and am hoping I may get some pain control advice at the Ortheopaedic.
I would say to anyone thinking about using a herbal treatment for damaged bones (eg;comfrey ointment) to speak to their GP or Pharmacist first as there are contra-indications for some people, as I found out after using it and then looking for info. on the relevant websites.
Good luck with your progress.
Gosh, that sounds much worse than mine! I used the exercises that I found on the internet and did them daily. I have been told that the reason for the pain and swelling on the pinky side is because the ligaments have been torn and that will take months to sort out! I know longer feel a need for the pain killers, but sometime it hurst quite badly.
Positive thoughts. Jan
Hi Jan...talking to my niece who is a nursing Sister in USA, she advised me to keep the wrist warm at all times in order to ease the arthritis, which is apparently fairly inevitable following a wrist fracture, and which i actually already have badly. Warmth is a comfort and I find it soothing to heat a hottie and rest my arm across it at times. Cheers.
Thank you for that. At present I live in Sri Lanka so not so much of an issue. Will be on my return visits to Scotland however!! Thank you.
Hi i'm a 14 year old.
4 weeks ago i went sparring and i punched my oppenent . 10mins later i had some really bad pain in my hand and it started to swell. When i returned home my mum saw how swollen it was and took me into A&E , where i got xray and realised i had fractured my scaphoid. I had a appointment 3 weeks after that and i went back to the hospital and they had said the bone had moved and i would need an operation. Today i got a phonecall saying that i will need to keep my cast on for 3 weeks and see how i get on?
Should i be worried
No sweetheart. It might be kinda painful but the cast should ensure that the bone heals properly. You may need to accept that there will be no more sparring for a while. Listen to the doctors and do as they say....no matter how frustrating!
Thanks i shall let you know how things go 3 weeks from now.
Hi Jan
I have a colles fracture with 3 breaks and have had a cast on for 4 weeks. Your symptoms with your fingers sound similar to those that I am getting wearing my cast. I'm wondering if you experienced similar pain while in your cast and if you continued to receive pain during the final weeks before the cast was removed?
Did you return to your surgeon in the end and was this confirmed as part of your recovery process from the fracture? How are you getting on now, hopefully, you have made good progress and feeling much better?
Kind regards
I caught my foot on a metal bar jutting out from the base of a partition at work three weeks ago on Halloween. I went down on my left arm and broke the Radius bone. I like you have a Collies fracture. I have been on 2codiene and 2 paracetamol every four hours until 2 days ago when I reduced the dosage to morning and night. Obviously big mistake and back on 4 hourly now. Can't believe the pain, also burning/stinging/numbness down edge of thumb round to top. Fingers very swollen, I thought it would have gone down a bit by now, it seems to be worse! I returned to my GP for these concerns but he seemed to think all was ok. So I will have to wait now another 3weeks to see the consultant and the cast to come off. How are you doing now? Hate not being able to drive, work etc. etc.
Hi Rosie, I'm due to go for a Dexa scan in 2 wks (I'm 65) & hospital advised taking Calcium with vitamin D, this helps with bone healing & formation.
I do hope things have improved for you as it's been a while now, for me I'm in my 5th week of cast & movement is extremely limited. I'm afraid us older folk do take longer to heal.
I just found this thread and have found all the comments very helpful. I fractured my right distal radius just over 4 weeks ago, falling in the snow. I saw the consultant a couple of weeks ago for him to check the position and decide that I do not require surgery. I mentioned that I was experiencing a lot of pain, but he didn't seem interested. My hand and fingers are swollen and useless, and I am still having a considerable amount of discomfort but I am reassured to read this is not unusual. I too, at 61, have been referred for a DEXA scan. I would be very interested to hear your experiences once the cast was removed.
Hi Linda, what I realised eventually was that the cast itself causes quite a bit of pain and when that's combined with the fracture and the soft tissue damage, it's not surprising that it hurts, a lot. The critical thing is to move your fingers and hand as much as possible. It will help prevent complications and make everything much easier when the cast is removed. It's very likely you'll feel pain when the cast comes off - for me it shot right up again, but the good thing is that it does start to ease off after a couple of weeks, especially if you exercise the wrist regularly. Ice has been one of my saviours; it helps numb the pain and reduce inflammation. The other saviour was my physical therapist; if I could have my time over I would have started with him when I was still in a cast. And finally, don't feel bad about taking pain meds - you can't exercise if it's too painful and exercise is essential for recovery.
Thank you for all the helpful comments. It's is now almost 11 months and I am still experiencing discomfort in my wrist. The ligament side. I have managed to get back to yoga and pilates but archery is totally out of the question! I can almost see the ligaments swelling again.
it doesn't stop me functioning but it's very frustrating that after such a long time it's still
not back to normal.
The he other interesting thing is that I have developed hard lumps in the palm of my hand!! Great huh! Apparently, there is no explanation but that this happens when there is wrist or hand trauma.
anyone else had that experience?
So my cast came off on Wednesday after 5 weeks 5 days. My hand and fingers have been swollen and the pain has been terrible so was rather frightened of having cast removed. X-ray showed fracture has healed but I was in agony after the cast was removed and a wrist support put on. Consultant says it I serve pain and I need drugs to sort out the pain before I can work on the movement. So I have given in and have got amitriptylene. Took the first tablet last night, slept well and it might just be coincidence but I have less pain today. It looks a very strange shape and I am just trying to move it as much as I can to try to start the process before I go to physio.
I'm a little ahead of you, Linda, my cast has been off for not quite 2 weeks. My consultant said to wear the support during the day when active but take off when sitting watching tv in the evening & wean off over the month. However, I only kept it on for a day or so as I found it was constricting & making my hand swell even more. Gradually, over the following week & a half the swelling is going down & hand / fingers are looking more normal, this also makes it easier to do finger exercises & work on clenching a fist etc. Each day I am noticing small improvements & I feel sure you will find the same will be your experience too.
Oh my word, thanks for this thread!!
I felland broke my wrist in two places just over three weeks ago and have had a metal plate inserted.
When I left hospital I only had a splint as opposed to full cast and even the splint was uncomfortable.
Four days ago the splint was removed and the pain is excruciating. Sharp pangs of pain shoot up my arm on the thumb side. I was getting really worried but reading about all your experiences has calmed me down.
I am now wearing a hand guard during the day and remove it at night as it is very restrictive.
I too have to have the Dexa Scan as I am 62 years old.
As for excercises.... I try but boy it hurts. Patience is a virtue
Hi Sue
Like you I was very grateful to find this thread. It is great that you didn't have a full cast - I'm sure that will help over the longer term. But now the thing is to try to wean yourself off the hand guard as quickly as possible as it will restrict your movement. As long as your wrist is immobile, it will be that much harder to get the swelling down, and the swelling adds to pain and, in turn, immobility. I tried a few things to help with the pain and there are lots of helpful suggestions on this thread. Painkillers, heat, ice, will all help and for about a week I took sleeping tablets (for the first time in my life) which enabled me to get a vaguely decent night's sleep. I've previously recommended an analgesic cream that worked extremely well, but you might have to order it from France - let me know if you'd like the details. The more exercise you can do, the better. I started with a soft orthopaedic ball and any time you can spend with a physiotherapist will be well worth it.
Hang in there - it's hard to believe but in even a couple of weeks you'll be feeling a lot better. It's been nearly 4 months since my break and I have almost complete use of my wrist - the flexibility is good and I'm just working on improving weight bearing, which is slower but continues to improve.
Hi, I was surprised to see so many people on here in such a short space of time asking the same questions around the various types of wrist fractures you guys have suffered, primarily around after care and pain. Hopefully this will give you all some hope. I am a 46 year old male, classified as fit for my age (i do quite a lot of sport and football etc) but suffered what the doctors called a major trauma fracture to my wrist and ulna. Mine was suffered when I punch a punch bag showing off literally as hard a punch as I could muster. My wrist fractured into 10 pieces and the force of the punch then made my fist travel underneath my forearm bones which snapped them in two place around 2 to 3 inches up my arm travelling away from my wrist. This happened on 06/02/2015 so getting on for 4 months ago now. The operation consisted of them removing bone fragments from my wrist which were replaced with I a titanium butress plate (Looks like a letter T or T-Bar) and a titanium bar screwed into my broken ulna bone. I have a 7 inch scar down the inside or my right arm. I was in a cast for 7 weeks then a wrist brace to wear for protection. I have all the sypmtoms mentioned on here, such as the stinging pains, skin irritation (mine feels like its been burnt at times) numbness on the palm, extreme painful and stiff movement of the wrist etc but even I have hope. I have been told I may only get 50% of normal movement back.... ever and that it may take 2 years to reach 50% but I have faced this head on and challenged what the doctors have said. I stopped taking pain killers as it was affecting my appetite and only now take them if absolutely necessary but if you rest your arm on a pillow for 30 minutes the pain should go, so don't take meds if you can help it. I've seen a specialist sports injury doctor who has given my some exercises to do and whilst they hurt like mad I have been doing them now for 4 weeks and I am already up to around 40% of movement. So now, when I naturally move my hand say 20% of movement to brush my teeth for example, now pain.. because I have pushed through that barrier so to speak. The obvious and most natural thing to do when you feel pain in your wrist is to stop, don't move it anymore but unless you stretch the nerves and tendons beyond where they want to now sit, your recovery back to anything like normal movement will take much more time and cause longer periods of pain. SO, I guess what I am saying is, push your stretches beyond the point where it starts to hurt by say 10% each time and before you know it you will have better movement with less pain. I've still got a long way to go, but over the past 4 weeks I have become more positive in my mind knowing that I am not going to let this injury affect me for as long as the Dr's may suggest. Positive thinking and aggressive stretches is the way I am going to go and hopefully will work for me. A great exercise is to rest your forearm on a table edge with your wrist hanging approx 2 inches past the edge of the table, then relax your wrist. The weight of it should naturally allow it to drop an inch or two towards the ground. It will hurt. Then, with your fingers as straight as they can go, try to bend your wrist further towards the ground and hold it there for 20 seconds. Repeat this 3 times and try to do twice a day and sometimes with your fingers straight but spread apart and it will wake up the nerves and muscles in your foream and will expand the tendons in your wrist. Most people think they might break their wrist again if they push the stretches too far but that is not the case. The stiffness comes from the white tissues around your broken bone(s) area being enflamed, so just push past that and you will be left with left pain afterwards. Good luck everyone, I will report back here in a month or two to let you know how I am getting on. If you want a full list of the exercises I am doing, email me if you can (not sure if you can on here) and I will gladly share with you. Rik
Hi.
I also broke my wrist was told in Torquay that it was my radius and ulnar. Came off an electric bike when it literally threw me off going up a hill reared bavkwatds. Torquay plastered it. Came home to Colchester but they never got my records from torquay. Saw a Dr that said it was broken in more than 4 places put a cast on at a really funny angle
Did say he would see me in 3 weeks but when I queried it agreed to see me the following week. Following week ignored everything I said and told me I would only get 60 -70 percent movement back. I said I had broken more than a dozen bones and that it didn't feel right and wanted a hand specialist. I had dislocated and broken my finger a few years ago that was operated on and is doing well. I then saw someone at broomfield my gp referred me who are the specialist hand hospital by then it was 3 weeks after I'd broken it and was told that seeing as the breaks were healing she thought I was better off to now leave it to set for another 3 weeks she did change the angle of the cast. Still no onr has looked at the original crays. More than 4 weeks later my hand is still really painful swollen fingers and burning hot all the way up my arm and lots of bruising at elbow. I am very worried that when it comes off it won't be any good but how many times should you push to go back. I was diagnosed with osteo penia in 2009 beginning of osteoporosis and should have had a scan last year but it wasn't done. I did have one yesterday but 2 doctors have already told me that my wrist wouldn't have shattered as it did if I didn't have osteoporosis.
I have tore the ligaments in my wrist before and from reading your threads it looks like this is quite common with wrist breaks. I had an excellent physio and had to use hot and cold buckets and strict exercises I didn't break anything that time though.
I have another 2 weeks before I see the fracture.clinic should I wait when it feels so wrong. I use a stick and need my wrist to be able to use my stick. Will it ever be able to take my weight.