Wrist fracture

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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!!

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  • Posted

    Well, here I am. Now diagnosed with CRPS post distal radius fracture. I'm in a very dark place. I have NO supination or pronation and flexion/extension is very limited. I am 13 weeks post orif and plate/screw insertion. I cannot drive, I cannot work, I cannot totally self care as I find showering/bathing problematic and as for washing and drying my hair.... Forget it! I am waiting for talking therapies but each day seems such a struggle I just can't be bothered to fight anymore. At present I still attend physio weekly and the ortho consultant has referred me to a hand and wrist specialist before pain clinic to make sure nothing else can be done movement wise before the pain clinic, as pain at the moment isn't too bad as I already take gabapentin due to previous back problems. Anyway does anyone have any tips to share about trying to do things one handed?

    • Posted

      Hi vicky im sorry to hear this. im 8 wk post op distal radius plate and pins in right arm. been told ive got crps too now. My hand is starting to look deformed and I have no grip. :-( I cant drive and may never again. I have to set a whole day aside to wash/dry/style my hair now as its so exhausting and my good arm aches too. I have no tips...i wish I did. Just keep going....I live for my grandkids now but I have dark thoughts every day...it would be easy to give up. Im 57 and feel like my life's been taken away. xxx

    • Posted

      Sorry to hear you're struggling. I was there a year ago almost to the day and can look back now and be thankful that I got through it okay and you will too. However it was my left wrist and I'm right handed and I guess yours is your right. I didn't have CRPS although the doctor warned me that I might develop it if I kept holding my arm protectively and not moving it enough which was my natural instinct. My tip for hairdrying is to invest in a rotating hot air brush which was an absolute godsend to me. There is one called 'big hair' - you can do an internet search for it - can't mention brand names here but you'll find it. It was worth every penny!  It took me months to be able to cut food up without a lot of pain, about four months before I could even think about driving and then I had to change gear with two hands most of the time! I could walk to work thankfully and do my job in a reduced capacity athough it took me about four months to be able to type with both hands. I still have some movements which feel weird and some weakness in certain positions but that's mainly because the position of the bone is downward tilting slightly, but thankfully I get only a small amount of discomfort from time to time. My hand physio helped me a lot and I'm sure yours will too. In our cases time really is a healer and each day you are improving slightly, so believe that you will get your life back but just slower than you'd like. Good luck and take care

    • Posted

      You have my sympathy. I was 57 when I broke my distal radius and ulnar styloid almost a year ago to the day. I was diagnosed with osteopenia after that so perhaps it explains the damage I did when I fell. I have a plate and 8 screws after ORIF like you but was less badly off with a left wrist fracture when I'm right handed and thankfully I didn't develop CRPS. See my tip for Vicky for the hot brush which was my saviour when it came to drying my hair. I couldn't envisage a day when my wrist was going to be okay again in the first few months, but now I'd say it's about 95% recovered, except that the position of the radius isn't quite right and that made my healing slower than ususal. It won't ever be quite as good as it was, as I know when I try to lift up one of my cast iron saucepans - but generally it doesn't stop me from doing anything now. Good luck with your recovery - you will get your life back but all in the body's good time.

    • Posted

      I am 1 year outta surgery from my wrist, sorry to say I still hurt to this day.i had the pins and plate stuck in because of to much bone loss in my wrist, unfortunately my recovery isn't what I expected. I had a highly recommended orthopaedic surgeon and he is a great doctor but unfortunately for me I have degenerative bone joint and discs disease so I will suffer the rest of my life. Hopefully you have a great recovery, I have other health problems that factored into my recovery problems

    • Posted

      Thank you Sally.  I managed to drive round car park for 5 mins yesterday but was in agony afterwards so will leave it a while before trying again.  Its 10 wks post op now and I think my fingers are fused in this bent position now and its difficult to grip as theyre so stiff.   I was hoping to get another job typing but theres no chance of that now :.(  Im going for nerve conduction tests today so fingers crossed for a good result.  I will look for the hair brush....thanks for the tip. Take care x
    • Posted

      Dear Regina,

      I broke my wrist and the bone was displaced. I have some pain, but three finges still stiff.My doctor decided for surgery next month and even though it's my final decision, sometimes I think...should I ? It's not too paintful anymore, however I want so bad to get my hand improving with the time and not the way it is.

      It's amazing that I don't see many good results without surgery and with surgery!

      I still will try and take the risk!

      I 'm sad about your case and so many other like us. How in seconds I fell and I got this problem? Time never goes back!

      Only God can help us to be wise and give us directions!

      God bless you!

    • Posted

      I fitted a knob to my steering wheel and was driving the first week in plaster

      The finger stiffness and swollen joints is has been terrible, but the only way is to use the hand all the time and wear your compression glove when it swells keep forcing the fist clenching, stretching the fingers back, Force those palm scrapes use the fingers for small intricate tasks. Don't rely on your good hand!! I'm six weeks out of plaster and I'm 56 by the way . I've had my Best week this week as my palm is feeling more normal and I can clench my fist now! My grip is still poor but I can now lift a half full kettle.

      This is an awfully injury, and I've broken my other (left) wrist twice! A doddle compared to this! Please don't give up the only way is to keep at it work as hard as you can it seems to be the only way.

      I really does wear you down I know.

      My most painful position is putting my hands on my hips thumbs forward is just awful! What's yours??

    • Posted

      Unfortunately no I'm not. Much the same and now looking at further surgery as it seems a screw maybe interfering no with wrist movement. I still cannot supinate at all ( neutral only) and still have swelling and pain. So I've another op to look forward to with manipulation, steroid injections and removal of hardware. Still unable to work but am now driving locally ... until the next op that is. So fed up with it all!

  • Posted

    I would like to tell you to hang in there it does get better...as it does...though it's a slow process...it does move forward...I do understand your frustration though as I'm wheelchair bound from a previous SCI(spinal cord injury) T-9 incomplete...I also have had several spontaneous fractures one previous in the same wrist, three broken bones in my right foot and my L2-3 vertebrae in my spine all with out trauma just spontaneous fractures from Osteoporosis since my early 30's...also a SCI at C3-4 which was stabilized with a plate and screws...so I can really relate...having to manually operate a wheelchair with one arm in a cast is near impossible...it was already hard enough to do my daily tasks prior to this just being wheelchair bound...I have P.T. now twice a week and it's helping me stay strong and will have to continue with P.T. for my wrist when I'm done home therapy when my wrist is out of the cast...oh yay!! I can only say hang in there...I will if you will.😄

    • Posted

      May God bless you and help you in time of troubles!

       

  • Posted

    I broke my wrist 6 months ago and have the same problem with my wrist and my shoulder, also the swelling. I am doing all the pt and exercises at home along with ice and heat.  After all this time have you finally found relief?  If so, how and what finally solved the problem for you.

     

    • Posted

      Dear Nancy,

      I broke my wrist five months ago. No surgery. According with the first and the second opinion, after thefracture consolidated , woring with PT. I can do many things like open my hands, Fingers still stiff burt improved. I have full gripp with my two fingers. The others fingers help a little. Still some pain but bearable. Reading here the posts, I see that when you broke your wrist always hurts, always the problem never disa´ppeared.

      I wish you my best!

      Celita

  • Posted

    I broke my wrist 1 year ago and to this day I hurt so much. Some days are not so bad but other days the pain is unbearable. I called my orthopaedic surgeon many times about this pain and my hand keeps swelling up on me, my doctor said that this is just something I'll have to deal with for the rest of my life. But my age is a factor in my recovery too, I'm not sure of your age but after age 35 your body starts to slow down on the healing process by the age of 50 it's greatly slows down on the healing process, I can tell you that my doctor said I won't get much better I lost 40% use of my wrist/hand from the break. I hope that I have helped you some in knowing kinda what to expect

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