Can't make a fist, straighten hand after wrist surgery 4 weeks ago

My radius fracture was a comminuted fracture (pieces). I to have screws (9) and an anatomical plate.  I'm 14 weeks healing since the surgery. Fingers and wrist very stiff and am in therapy, painful therapy! Wonder how you broke your radius? I broke both my radius and ulna when I punched out a trucks taillight while going 45 MPH (72 KM) on my motorcycle. The driver of the truck performed an illegal lane change between large barrels to avoid a stop sign! Either that or he did it on purpose, perfectly timed!  I'm really depressed!

My injury was result of domestic violence. So yes it's very depressing. Do the physical therapy. It will hurt a lot. I'm almost 7 months. Still not healed right. I didn't pick the right surgeon initially. I still can't make a fist but it closes. I had external pins which apparently aren't common and cause more issues later on. My hand still hurts every day. Good luck with your healing. It's a long process.

Oh that is very stressful, the situation sounds dreadful that you were in. Mine happened in our garden, my husband was replacing garden decking, and the old planks were lying in a part of te garden where I was pruning. I hadn't degociated it properly when stepping over it. I have reached the age of 68 without breaking a limb. It does take time to heal. My husband broke his arm, in a road accident, he was in his 40's he had plate and screws, he has them still in and they dont cause him any problems now. So there is a light in tunnel eventually. 

Maureen 

Hello. I also have a comminuted wrist fracture due to fall at home. My stich es removed today. Please tell me your experience. Can you move your wrist? When was splint removed completely and PT started? Have you got functionality back?

Wish you speedy recovery. Thanks. Harshita

Hi, my stitches are due out Wednesday. How is your wrist feeling since you had yours removed? I feel anxious because physio will start within a few days after but Im determined to work at it.

It is such a relief to be able to ask people who have gone through similar. Good luck on your recovery.

Just thought I would give some update. I went to see physio last week, he put me through some paces, pushing me to stretch my hand, using my good hand to work it harder. One of them was the on on the internet, arm and palm flat on table, then moving arm forward so hand is not resting on the table, but using good hand to support the palm, then raising just the palm from wrist upward, also using good hand to push just teeny bit more. Then hand and arm same position, but moving hand downward pointing fingers to floor. I was given five different excersises, I have to do twice a day, each of the excersises I do five times. I can now make a fist, I can bend my thumb, and it doesn't hurt just slight ache. I can touch all fingers with thumb but the little finger goes into a spasm. I can hold a plate with some biscuits on, not a mug of coffee yet. The scar is free of stitches, most of them melted, this morning I used a tissue to wipe away last two tiny bits. I am using Bio Oil on the scar and rest of arm in the morning, lots of massaging, the palm too, that was a bit painful at first. Flesshy area under thumb bit numb so massaging that lots too. I bought a freezer pack for some of the pain, while exercising, bought from Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dynamik-Products-Migraine-Cooling-Headache/dp/B01N9BY2MS/ref=sr_1_12_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1506364219&sr=8-12&keywords=dynamik+ice+pack

wraps around the wrist nicely.

Maureen

That is good to hear tbh. I too did those exercises after my 1st op to have plate & screws put in. They did help but I reached a point where no amount of exercise enabled me to move my wrist or digits to the point my physio said she could do no more. That is when she referred me back to my surgeon to consider plate removal.

I am a bit weary for when I start the physio simply because my bones may be weaker since the screws were removed.

I shall have more insight on Wed' but ready to do what is necessary tbh.

Thanks for the link btw...I was constantly surfing the net for any info regarding my break & how to help myself.

Be interesting to know how others felt when starting physio after plate removal.....

Sounds like you're making excellent progress, congrats!  I'm experiencing very limited range of motion with regard to wrist flexion and extension buy I've not been as dedicated as I should with regard to my physio.  I forget whether you have a plate and screws, do you?  You do sound like you're doing better and it's a week shy of 4 months for me. I get very down sometimes.  Best wishes with you're full recovery!

Having a day off the physio excersises today, made my hand ache lots yesterday. Yes I get depressed with it all too, yes I had plate and screws, my husband still has his, for his broken wrist he was on a moped, went through back window of a stationary car. He had just returned from a long hall flight tbe day before. His wrist very flexible, he shows off with his flexible wrist. He says it just takes time. His break was over 20 years ago. I'm sure we will all get there.

Maureen

Twenty years?  I haven't twenty years as I'm 69!  I can make a fist if I work at it, but the next morning I wake up and my hand is frozen in a claw position, no fist possible until I work stretching those tendons and it's painful!  Funny the day of the accident I felt great, jumped on my MC and had clear sailing, no car in front of me or behind me then a guy jumped in front of me to avoid a stop sign and boom a 72 KM collision with a truck then I smashed into the asphalt with a 600 pound bike on top of me.  Six fractures, one of them comminuted, and a bloody head injury and my world is turned upside down.  No upside from this whatsoever!  My heart has been acting fluttery since the collision and I'm nauseous daily.  I wish I had never regained consciousness!

Oh Im so sorry you feel that way, I too work hard on my wrist only to find its worse the next day. But if I dnt work at it, it feels less painful, but no effort put into stretching the tendons. It is so ruddy frustrating to say the least.

At this precise moment Im feeling yuk today with palpitations too. So fed up of feeling out of sorts but so greatful when I have a good day.

I do fully understand where you are coming from.

I often ask myself 'why' but its happened & only myself with the help of the physio can try & sort it.

Do keep up with all physio because every little movement you can do is an improvement, although it doesnt always seem that way.

After 11 months, Ive nearly given in but I know I have to push to get near better.

You will get there x

Oh dear, that truly was a horrid accident. You must have been very fit, to be riding a bike like that at 69. My husband is now 70 so yes, he was fairly young when breaking his wrist. My mother in law broke the big bone in her leg at 99, she lived till 103 she died of old age. She was doing her physio, I had never broken a bone before, I realise the pain she went through the operations she had. You will get there I'm sure, just takes time. My sister who is 75 broke her wrist last year, she had a clean break though, she has a bit of numbness still. I am taking a vit/mineral called Ostiocare should help with bone healing. Also Glucosimine Sulphate, that was given to American athletes (early 90's or late 80's) when they had injuries. English Olypian Wilkie (David I think) brought the Glucosimine back to this country to make it available.

Maureen 

George,      Many of us here understand how down you can get from these fractures.  I never realized how much they impact a person's life until it happened to me.  My communited wrist fracture seemed to heal well; now I'm dealing with surgery required by a cast that was too tight on a second fracture.  Prior to surgery PT was helping even though it was slow progress.  8 more days and I get pins out and am free of casts - 5 months from the day this started!  I cannot wait!  I am determined to get back to near normal and not let this define me.  It's OK to get down; I have at times but I don't want to stay there.  YOU CAN DO THIS and we're all here to support you.  In the meantime, have you had a general checkup?   I hadn't in 10 years and was surprised to learn there are a few other things going on not related to the fracture.   I'm 73 and still have stuff to do so not giving up yet.  Hang in there and talk to us when you feel the need.  We can learn from each other on this journey.

Best to you,

Linda

   

I could not have said it better Linda, we have all been there, come through & gone there again.

I recently had a general check up because I was worried how I was feeling so often... bloods, diabetes etc, all ok.

Guess Im just anxious & that can weigh heavy on the mind & body.

You are so right, there is light at the end of the tunnel though some take longer than others.

Hang on in there George, I know where ur coming from & any advice we can offer is free lol...

What do you mean by "with palpitations too"?  I've developed an irregular heartbeat, I experience it as a flutter.  Is that what you are referring to?

Maureen, yes I WAS fit. Lifted weights and was quite strong and a bit muscular but that's all gone now.  I lost my bike and I miss it terribly but I'm afraid my riding days are over, had a good run though, almost 50 years!  Must admit I was looking at a 2017 black/chrome Triumph Bonneville, gorgeous.  We shall see...

Linda,  I'm going to get an EKG and an MRI of my lower back (foot numbness) and we'll go from there.  If the heart fluttery feeling would leave me and I could be nausea free I'd feel better, plus the numbness has gotten worse. Something is going on, just don't know what!  I wonder what happens to innards when you hit the asphalt ;that hard?

George,  So glad you are going for further tests.  You obviously hit the pavement harder with move severe injuries than me (I only hit pavement from a bicycle).  I haven't noticed a fluttery feeling but have developed a heart murmur I never had before.  Of course it may mean nothing and have absolutely no connection but it is interesting to see that several folks have mentioned similar issues.  So definitely get those innards checked out.<G>

And if you have your eye on a new bike, that's one more goal to shoot for.

Keep us posted on your progress; it may not be as fast as you like, but you CAN beat this.  We're a tough generation and no stinkin' accident is going to defeat us!

Hang in there!

Linda

Linda,

Thanks for the encouraging words.  I felt tough as late as 5:45 PM PST on June 4th, 2017 but haven't felt tough since. I feel vulnerable, weak and old, and I'm starting to feel like a crybaby.  I have always ridden defensively but never saw this coming. Damn!  I'm hanging in there cause I don't have an acceptable choice.

George,

I guarantee you we've all felt those same feelings at times (and may again); just don't let those feelings win.  My issues started on May 4 so a month earlier than you.  It will be 5 months to the day when I am free of pins and cast.  Other than someone who has been there, I knew nobody would understand those down times but believe me, I've had them.  So much of this is a total surprise as nobody mentions all the "side effects" than come with fractures.  You are not vulnerable, weak, or old, and certainly not a crybaby.  This just changes so many things but we can't let those changes become permanent.  You've probably read John Greenleaf Whittier's poem but it's words to live by.   DON'T QUIT!  I'm going to post it separately as this post is getting a tad lengthy.

Hang in there!  You're tough enough to do it.

To all on this journey......................

DON'T QUIT      by John Greenleaf Whittier                            

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,

When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high

And you want to smile but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is strange with its twists and turns

As every one of us sometimes learns

And many a failure comes about

When he might have won had he stuck it out;

Don't give up though the pace seems slow -

You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out -

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell just how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far;

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit -

It's when things seem worst that you must not quit!

 

Thank You.  That was very sweet and kind.  I had not read John Greenleaf Whittier's poem but I have now and I'm glad I did!  Best wishes to you...

Thank you! That was uplifting for sure.

Hi, yes, some of the time I get palpitations but I have noticed a flutter. My heart races for a few secs then it feels as if it stops for a sec or two. So much so I went to my doctors for a check up. All was ok, they put it down to anxiety, which is quite possible.

I have to think positive if I am to move on. I do worry a lot so I can be my own worse enemy.

Good luck with your recovery, the accident has certainly has changed my life but I am determined not to give in...as hard as it can be some days.

Love your positivity Linda, just what I need. We do not know how others feel until other people comment & it helps no ends...

hi gmory.  I hope you are feeling much better since your post 3 months ago.  I am still typing 1 handed so no capitals, how do you manage to type so well.?

I notice your concern about nausea and fluttery heart. I was sent for check up with cardiologist who says fluttering heart most probably due to stress as is the nausea. I notice when my hand starts to hurt even a little bit my heart speeds up and gets  irregular and I feel nauseous.  once I take a pain pill it all settles down.  I am on norco...l  try to take no more that 2 per day, i believe if I was calmer I would need less pain meds . I probably need some relaxation/anti anxiety therapy. I will see what they offer. i have a referral to pain management too. from reading these threads it is obvious we are not alone although it feels like it sometimes doesn't it?.  the cardiologist  says he is sure I will look back on this one day and get back to enjoying life. I pray that applies to all of us.  lots of people seem to find gabapentin helpful, i  haven't been offered it yet have you?  like you I am in more pain the more I exercise my wrist and needed morphine after 1 work out.   i dread exercising now due to pain but try to make myselfdo some each day, i arrange it so that I can take a pain pill when I start.  our youngest son took up motor biking again once his children grew up, the group called themselves something like 'the old  codgers' or something. they toured Europe,  he gave up a few years ago, got it out of his system I think. 

take care and keep in touch.

Sophia,

For me it is now 7 months since the "accident" and I'm doing better with pain management (nothing more than Ibuprofen), I work out strenuously with weights twice a week and now experience little or no post-workout pain.  I would be careful with meds as something I saw TV advertised two years ago is now TV advertised for a class action suit!  But we all present with different sets of circumstances when our travails begin.  I will always believe that I will never be as robust as I was and I think the way I feel generally now is primafacie evidence of that reality, heart flutter gone but I have a sense my heart is weaker.  Best wishes to you and your continued recovery!

Regards...George

P.S. I  bought a replacement bike and I feel a bit more complete!

 I am so pleased to hear that you are doing so well, I believe you broke your wrist a month or so before me.(June 2017). you have done very well to be lifting weights again, I am still nervous about picking anything heavy up for fear of starting pain.   it is reassuring that you can do hand exercises now with no pain.   thanks for warning me  about the  pain pills,  Norco is prescribed for me by my American doctor here in UK. I would be afraid that over the counter pills would not be strong enough although in America Cocodomol is illegal apart from on prescription. perhaps my Cocodomol pills would be ok. that was my usual pain pill for normal aches and pains.  was that ad. about class action pain meds in the usa  or uk?  which med. was it do you remember? our american docs. here in UK are very conservative, I think they would be careful but  I will ask tomorrow. I understand you feeling you are not as strong as you were but your progress now seems to suggest otherwise, unless your doc. says different I suspect you will regain full strength, a few months with no exercise is bound to make you feel less fit and strong at first.  you look set to make a complete recovery.

glad you got another bike, travel safely and thank you for your response.  best wishes.

 

Sophia,

Multiple prescription meds are now the subject of class action suits, always look at contraindications. I would suggest you take none!  There are still tasks I can't do with my left hand/arm (like holding a cast iron skillet) and my left arm from shoulder to wrist is smaller than my right arm and that's sad as I repeatedly injured my right arm in my youth and my left arm had been the stronger of the two, oh well.  I'm fighting through pain and have come back quite a bit but not where I want to be.  Still lack movement in left wrist and pain does remain just not as noticeable.  Fight on!

Regards...George

Sophia,

I wanted to share with you what m personal trainer (big muscular guy who lost his father to a motorcycle accident) he told me "life just keeps trying to kill you and you have to fight back until it does".  That's what I'm doing...

George...

Wow I should check my typing:

Sophia,

I wanted to share with you what my personal trainer said to me (big muscular guy who lost his father to a motorcycle accident) he said "life just keeps trying to kill you and you have to fight back until it does".  That's what I'm doing...

George...

 

Hi

Nearly 4 months since my op and plate and pins ,I have some movement back in forth however still have very stiff fingers and still can't make a full fist and cannot really grip anything. Can anyone offer some advice/reassurance. I'm trying to lift 1kg hand weight few times a day and squishing or attempting to squeeze a gel ball a few times a day. Thank you in advance x

Monica,

It's 7 months post op for me and I still can't make a tight fist nor can I lift heavy things like a cast iron skillet with my left hand and it's stiff.  I think you're doing the right things but perhaps not enough.  Hang in there, assuming the surgery was solid and I'm sure you've seen the xrays,  I suspect you'll be doing as well as I (assuming I'm doing well by lifting reasonably heavy weights, 106 pounds on tricep pull downs, 65 pound curls, pull ups of my 205 pounds, tricep benches with 140 pounds, working on the arms mainly).  I'm 69 and still not where I was and wonder if I ever will be but I'm night and day from where I was immediately following the accident.  Hang in there and if the pain allows and your health allows work harder!

George...

Regards...George

Hi gmorey

Thank you for replying. Yep consultant was happy that bones had knitted and both same length -distal radius fracture. Physio tomorrow so see how it goes. Tryjng 2kg hand weight later in week. Doing shoulder stretches as very stiff nd restricted movement still. You sound as if you're doing well. I'm 54 and hoping to be back to work within the next month, this has certainly took 100%longer than I ever expected nd stir crazy that I still haven't got strength in hand/arm/wrist to drive,though again I'm sure it again is a matter of time x thank you x

Monica,

It's a horrible injury.  I broke my leg and ankle as well and that was nothing compared to shattering the radius, NOTHING!  There were times I despaired but my personal trainer helped me through the toughest moment.  Hang in there and you'll get there!  My personal trainer said the following; "life just keeps trying to kill you but you must keep fighting back until it does!"

George...

Gmirey You've been in the wars broken leg and ankle gracious. Here's to a good recovery for you. Yep broke wrist is horrid and I'm fed up with it, loosing sleep through discomfort and trying to get comfortable. Also chipped bone in ankle at same time as broke wrist so that has now decided to play up 🙄

thanks for the encouragement. your personal trainer is so right  i guess that as you say our brain does eventually adjust to all the changes. big adjustment though isn't it?  all good wishes for your continued recovery.

Sophia,

This adjustment, having been forced on us, is most unwelcome!  What an experience!

George...