Can't make a fist, straighten hand after wrist surgery 4 weeks ago
Posted , 67 users are following.
Hi,
Would appreciate to please hear of others experiences.
Five weeks ago fell and broke my wrist. Shattered a few bones. Had a cast for a few days until surgery -4 weeks ago. They put a plate in my wrist. Then they put a short cast for about 10 days. On the 21st of July my surgeon removed my cast and put a bandage. Obviously my hand is swollen and at a position like the image i uploaded.
A few days ago i started occupational therapy and was given an orthosis. The therapist told me that my hand is at a bad position.
She told me that i need to have the orthosis and arm slong pouch on at all times.
With the orthosis on it is straighter but when i take it off i have to force it not to fall. I still can't make a fist and can't bend my thumb on its own. My hand is swollen.
Today, my wrist and arm feel sore.
This is my dominant hand.
Is it ok that i still cant make a fist or move my thumb on its own? That my hand is bent? I am a computer programmer. How long till i will be able to type? In 3 weeks the therapist will start working on moving my wrist.
Thanks
5 likes, 249 replies
monica54 collie12
Posted
Hi there
Well ok 1/9/17 and now 7/1/18, movement improving through physio and exercise,however still can't make a full fist and very limited grip! Trying to lift 1kg hand weight few times a day to hopefully improve strength as a bit like limo lettuce at moment also limited use when keyboarding. Forearm and shoulder ache some days terribly. Take paracetamol and codeine twice a day for pain relief and see physio once a fortnight
Any further thoughts or suggestions to help increase flexibility and movement appreciated. Thank you x
brian34439 monica54
Posted
vincent_22825 collie12
Posted
dara_zrary collie12
Posted
I hope u are good by now
sophia_99575 dara_zrary
Posted
brenden22438 collie12
Posted
sophia_99575 brenden22438
Posted
Hello Brenden. I am so sorry you had that awful accident but it seems you have had excellent medical care and some very good advice about diet too. It is good to know that Vitamin C was recommended to you since most of us have not been told that by our doctors but take it any way just in case. Your doctors seem to be right up to date. I am pleased that you are healing well, you have youth on your side and will probably make a full recovery and put this behind you. I expect the shock of what happened could go through your mind for sometime, that seems to be what happens after a trauma so don't be surprised. I wish you a full and fast recovery and a happy future.
jim28062 collie12
Posted
hello fellow one-finger typists. yep, same story. only one hand works. normally, i'm pretty fast with two hands. when i try to go fast with one hand, i make lots of mistakes.
i fractured my left radius bone on january 31 (two months, plus a week). probably similar to others, i "stopped" a fall with my left hand on the rise of a step. i'm a big guy and there was a lot to stop. it had several cracks but apparently it was aligned ok and i didn't need any pins, screws, or metal junk. Doc didn't have to pull on it hardly at all (thankfully cause the little they did hurt bad).
i had a temp cast through a weekend, then ortho doc put a fiberglass one cast on. on the first weekend with temp cast, i had to attend a function in another city without my wife help dressing me. i wore brown (only slip on shoes I own and hopefully no one noticed the didn't go with my charcoal suit. I really surprised myself to be be able to tie my tie with one hand. the cast fit in my sleeve and i had the sling over it outside. going on stage to sing the national anthem, i was rumpled but the women tried to straighten me out.
weekly xrays yielded it was healing ok. it came off 3 weeks ago. it was a relief to scratch the itch. while the cast was on, my hand and especially fingers were swollen. they told me to keep it elevated but it was impossible to do, especially in bed at night. they gave me a flexible wrist support after the glass cast came but it was too tight and made the swelling worse so i haven't worn it.
I am now able to do some things like tie my shoes but my hand, sometimes, my whole arm aches. i've called the doc about this and they said it's "normal". i have another apt in a week. they said therapy might not be needed. i'v been moving it around and using my right hand to try and make the left fingers form a fist gently, which is supposed to help. .i've seen some improvement in what i can do but my fingers are still swollen. ice does nothing. tylenol dulls the ache a bit. at night, i take ibuproven PM and sleep the whole night.sometime i turn over and bend it the wrong way and it wakes me up fast but i can doze back off.
perhaps the worst, is waking up and two middle fingers hurt from being swollen and still all night. this lasts for about an hour. i've got so many things i want to be doing and i hope i get some strength and ability to use my left arm.
BTW, i'm 73 yrs old and wonder if other others oldies like me heal slower.
sophia_99575 jim28062
Posted
hello Jim, i guess you are still one fingered, i am told it is the sign of a high IQ, an exceptionally charismatic character and enormous charm, or the sign of a broken wrist ! your accident sounds awful and upsetting, how life changes in a split second hey? I fractured my left wrist about 9/10 months ago .i didnt have surgery and had no anaesthetic when my wrist was straightened by a PA. he seemed more nervous than I was so when my fingers slipped out of the straighteners he called it a day. hence my wrist is deformed & I developed CRPS. but I have had a lot of medical attention and am much improved although like elaine I cannot bend my wrist forward or backwards. they now put effort into alleviating pain and that is working. i don't think for 1 moment you will have as much trouble as I have because of my age (80).I admire you for carrying on with your commitment regardless of your pain and mismatched attire! you are doing well to be trying your laces so soon so I expect you will make a full recovery, i really hope so. have you tried cold water and hottish water alternative dips to reduce swelling? I still find a soft squishy ice packs helps me when my hand swells. if you hurt your wrist/hand in the night I guess that will cause swelling. I had 2 steroid injections to reduce swelling but I would avoid that if I were you. sooo painful.it is surprising how soon your strength comes back once you start to use the hand/wrist again. Yep.so many things planned to do but now it takes so much longer to just get dressed and manage the day with 1 hand. I expect you will improve every day since you seem to be doing so well already. an accident like this can cause anxiety and depression, watch out for that and get help if you suspect you are heading that way. I see you have heard from others on this forum with good advice. keep us informed. wishing you a speedy and complete recovery. best wishes, from sophia
sophia_99575
Posted
Hello Jim. I was unable to get on to this site for along time but am back now .I wonder how you are now & what you think of this Covid thing. I will wait to see if I have reached you before before writing more. All good wishes . Norma
linda01827 collie12
Posted
Jim,
Another oldster here - actually your exact age so I shouldn't say that.<G> Sounds like you're doing fine but you still have many months of healing. Swelling will be there for a while yet. I was dumbfounded it takes so long but 2 doctors and PT told me it takes a yr. to 18 months to get back to normal (or new normal.) I broke my wrist in 3 places last May. No surgery but first ortho ignored a break near the thumb, and between the cast and arthritis, my thumb was fused when the cast came off. Went to another hand ortho who was wonderful. He did surgery and put in 3 pins because bones crumbled. Pins came out 6 weeks post surgery. Wrist will still swell if I do something stupid (like I often do) and fingers are still stiff and somewhat sore, especially in the morning. But it's SO much better now that my thumb is functional. i would STRONGLY recommend you do PT. I didn't at first but finally gave in and it was extremely helpful. They can guide you re. what you are or are not ready to do. I'm nearing one year and my biggest problem is if I put pressure on my wrist and bend it at the same time. Probably won't ever be as strong as before, but I'm fine with this. (And I gave up my bicycle.)
BTW, at what type of event did your sing the National Anthem? I'm an amateur musician and my biggest fear was never again being able to reach an octave on the piano before getting my thumb fixed. Works fine for that now so I'm a happy camper.
Hang in there - this takes a lot of time and a LOT of patience. And please keep us posted on your progress.
Best,
Linda
rachel48805 linda01827
Posted
Hi Linda--I am very interested in your mention of reaching an octave on the piano. I am almost 4 months post-surgery for a broken wrist. I have a a plate and a bunch of screws in there, and am healing up fairly well. I can sometimes reach an octave now, but some chords are just too awkward and my hand won't do it. I have small hands anyway, so I'd have to get 100% of my reach back. Do you have that? How long did it take and how did it progress? I know our injuries were different, but we have this goal in common
And Jim, your injury was about 2 months after mine, and I can testify that it gets better. It just seems like a really long time at the time. The physical therapy has been very helpful for me--they can recommend exercises that are for your specific problems--it's not one size fits all. Plus massage and manipulating, and explanations and encouragement. And measuring progress.
Then again, I'm a youngster, only 67...lol.
linda01827 rachel48805
Posted
Hi Rachel,
I wouldn't say my "octave reach" is 100% but it's getting there (11 months since the fracture.) Depends on how fast I play octaves. I found that practicing the dreaded old scales helped with flexibility. As for chords, when I first started playing again after surgery, I got in the habit of using my index, middle, and pinky finger for many chords. Now I'm trying to break that habit and include the thumb but have found some habits aren't so easily broken. I also play accordion and that has been the toughest. Took 4 months post-surgery before I could even put the thing on. One incision was on the palm side of the thumb base - the worst possible place for accordion playing. Still a bit painful there but getting better all the time. Things aren't perfect and may never be, but I'm thrilled to have come this far. Of course, you being a youngster, (G), you may progress faster. Never would have believed a fracture can change things for so long. Hang in there and hopefully your reach will be 100% in time.
Please post again and let us know how you're progressing.
Best,
Linda
rachel48805 linda01827
Posted
Hi Linda--
Exactly, who'd have thought that the recover time for a fracture would be so long? I'm glad to hear that you're still improving. I am 4 months post-surgery tomorrow, and my hand is pretty functional but nothing like normal. Just graduated from PT this week too. I will follow your example and see if playing scales helps.
Pmhendrickd collie12
Posted
Hi,
In January, I had surgery on my hand to have basal joint reconstruction due to osteoarthritis at the base of my thumb. After surgery, I also developed CRPS. Unable to straighten out my fingers and bend my wrist either forward or backwards. As a professional photographer, I need my right hand to hold and release the shutter and this CRPS has turned into a nightmare! I've had a ganglion stellate nerve block as well as a supraclavicular nerve block both which have served to no avail. I've been taking 900mgs of Gabapentin for months and been going through Occupational Therapy for a good 8 weeks. To date, I've made very little improvement in the ability to close my hand forming a fist and my fingers are still not opening any further. What aggravates me the most is that the surgeon did not make me aware of the fact that CRPS is a serious possible complication of this type of surgery and that being diabetic the risk is ten fold. Although there are times when I feel that the lack of progress correlates to a no win situation, I remain as positive as possible in belief that time will ultimately turn things around and healing will take place. Never give up, think positive, and keep the faith that everything in life happens for a reason. Even though we might not understand the why, in the long run, there will be something that we take from this which we benefit from later in life.
sophia_99575 Pmhendrickd
Posted
hello. i am typing 1 handed because I cannot use my left hand properly since breaking my wrist last june, so no capitals I am afraid.
thankyou for your kind words regarding the positives of this rubbish situation, it is a shock to find how much it can change your life isn't it?
I am retired now so your situation sounds more aggravating than mine. your profession must depend greatly upon you having 2 fully functioning hands.
It sounds as if some of your present disability was caused by the cast as was mine. although I can make a puny sort of fist I have a frozen shoulder and my hand does not move back at all and only a fraction forward making it impossible to cut food with an ordinary knife.
as you may have read, i also developed crps. the tip of my ring finger burns most of the time and my wrist is hypersensitive too. I do desensitising exercises for that.
I guess if we had known the risks we would still have had to agree to having a cast wouldn't we?
my OT treatment has moved from finger exercises to attempts to re-educate the brain to deal differently with pain. they call it holistic.
I bought an I Pad so that I could do hand recognition exercises. I also rigged up a mirror box so as to trick the brain into thinking i had 2 normal hands.
there has also been some self hypnosis training in order to help relieve pain.
I am on 1800g of gabapentin per day and am trying to reduce that the moment.
i had a ganglion block which worked somewhat and I am thinking of repeating that. I read that some people need up to 10+ treatments before it worked fully!
i have found the TENS glove provided by the NHS very helpful with pain too. I get instant relief from pain when wearing the glove.
I am sorry none of your treatments have helped you yet. It is coming up to a year since my accident and must admit that I am better than I was but am not nearly as 'functional' as I was before the break.
i also feel reluctant to start new projects because of pain. I cant get near to water if wearing the TENS glove so that restricts house hold chores.
I hear that the more you use your hand the better recovery is, so you working should be an advantage.
people who break the wrist of their dominant hand make a better recovery than those who break the non dominant wrist/hand. so that suggests there is a large psychological element to all of this. your positive attitude will be helpful.
I have cried buckets and many other forum members admit to the same so don't feel alone if you get overwhelmed at times. my doctor says it is post traumatic pain syndrome.
sorry I have waffled on, just wanted to let you know there are people who understand, reading your email. you are not alone.
wishing you a speedy return to enjoying life again.
I am told that crps is more common in people who felt less confident with the care they received during and after the accident/surgery. I believe crps pain is aggravated by stress.
like you I believe some good will come out of this. some of the worse things that have happened to me have left me grateful for the outcome later on in my life. I wish that for you and every one in our situation.. I cant imagine ever being glad this happened though but who knows...