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I fractured my ulna 6 weeks ago. Got the cast off yesterday.

Posted , 4 users are following.

shashi001
shashi001

When I do the exercises suggested by my physio, I can do all them with nearly full range of motion with a little pain at the end positions but I can't rotate my wrist fully. I can rotate it only by 90°. Also I experience a little pain at the feature during these exercises.

1 like, 11 replies

11 Replies

  • miriam_25079
    miriam_25079 shashi001

    Posted

    You're very fortunate you can do all you say you're doing. I gather you're a lot younger than me~~I'm 74 years old and the younger you are the quicker you heal 😊 Don't worry about what you're not able to do just as long as you're making progress. It took me 3 plus months to do what you're doing and I still have some pain especially when the temperature drops. You have A LOT of nerves and ligaments that need to heal. I was told by my doctor and others it can take up to 2 years before you get full recovery. Although I have nerve pain at times I'm thankful I've recovered as much as I have. Be patient and be thankful you can do what you're doing. You'll get there 😊
    • shashi001
      shashi001 miriam_25079

      Posted

      Yes ma'am, you are right. I am 24 years old and I used to workout regularly before the accident, so may be, that too, is helping me in recovery.

      It was an open fracture, there is a rod and a screw inside. I know that when forearm is rotated, ulna doesn't move, it is a radius that do all the work. But I am still afraid that I might break it if I tried too hard to rotate my forearm.

    • miriam_25079
      miriam_25079 shashi001

      Posted

      Just take it easy don't push it that's all I say. You're doing good.
  • Sally4Edgar
    Sally4Edgar shashi001

    Posted

    You're doing very well to get that amount of movement so soon after open reduction.  I'm 4 months down the road after a radius and ulna open reduction. I'm having weekly physio and still have a way to go to get the palm of my hand facing upwards, let alone flexion and extension. You may need another month or two before you can regain that full rotation but you will get there.
    • shashi001
      shashi001 Sally4Edgar

      Posted

      Hello Sally4Edgar, how are you now? Yeah, I am doing really well. The pain has substantially decreased now and I got full motion at wrist except rotation but it has increased too.
  • anthony10903
    anthony10903 shashi001

    Posted

    I broke left ulna in accident .compound fracture. now plated with screws never removed.At first there was pain as you described.even when I turned car steering wheel.I was feeling nervous about this but it eventually went away.I could soon lift weights and started out slowly.actually now it developed to be much thicker and denser at the fracture. can see this on x-ray.so this pain you feel will signal body to continue repair.these movements are neccessary to encourage further strengthening.
    • shashi001
      shashi001 anthony10903

      Posted

      Okay. Sir, will you please answer some questions?

      1. How old are you and how much time did it take for you to get normal?

      2. You said the pain will encourage the repairing and strengthening. I can say that I am not in pain anymore. Does that mean it has stopped healing? Is it possible? Cause I can say from the last X-ray there is still a lot to heal.

      3. By lifting weights, did you mean you started to workout in gym? Cause I can't weight to go back to gym. And everybody around me is discouraging me. They're saying you can't lift heavy weights again. Ever. But I am gonna try it anyway. Cause according to my information bones get stronger and denser after recovery, so their shouldn't be any problem.

    • anthony10903
      anthony10903 shashi001

      Posted

      I was 35 yrs old.Also any light stress of weight will begin to give bone ensity but as you progress your resistance you will probably experience slight sharp pain each time you increase ,So do it gradually.The term is called progressive weight bearing .but do it on doctors advice because with me my doctor waited until he was happy with what he saw on x-ray before he put to physio do do progressive weight bearing.sometimes they wait and see if the break was bad enough they may want no mobility cause a bone graft may be neccessary for fusion.This was he case with my femur.so I believe no pain means you can inrease activity .do not lift heavy immediatly .It will continue to heal better ,actually stronger at the break point.At the gym start with a weight you can do 12-15 times .dont go heavy for quite awhile.and yes it will get better and better.just dont go beyond the slight pain barrier
    • anthony10903
      anthony10903 shashi001

      Posted

      With my femur a few yrs after the accident I was back to work and started doing light squats at gym. Before my leg showed fusion and recovery but noqww where the break was ,it was incredible.It was much thicker than the rest of the bone.I was vey happy .and so encouraged thart I joined boxing and began running and jumping.At first hitting the bag hurt my arm but it adjusted and soon didnt hurt,when I sparred it hurt to block punches with that arm .But soon this was better as well.I began to then do triathlon,learning to swim properly.I was told I would have hard time to walk the rest of my life but I also now was running Half Marathon and in 2014 I won my age group for triathlon.The sky is the limit.Only if professional medical advice based on your x-ray says to not lift weights.If so try swimming.
    • shashi001
      shashi001 anthony10903

      Posted

      Thank you very much, sir. That's really helpful and encouraging. Thank you.
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