Wrist fracture

Hi, 

I just wanted to say that I am going through the same as you. This is slow stuff. I too have never broken anything (except a toe) -and am 62. My phisio also told me to massage my arm, in fact recommended doing it with therapy putty. (Don't know if you use that-like a rubbery version of kiddie clay you manipulate with your hand). I roll the stuff into a long roll and then roll it up and down my arm. 

At any rate I try to remind myself of the tiny positive steps I am making. Just last week I was able to peel an orange again. I'm sure you know what I am getting at. We will all get there right?

Hi Nina, 

It's so great to find others like you with the same injury and same issues. Like you this is my first ever break and has been a real learning curve....if anyone has just had this I do recommend a bra extender - they were great initially. The things you never think of!!  

Never heard of therapy putty but will look out for it. My only pain now is in my fingers when I first wake. I find if I massage the side of my hand and palm it fixes it real fast. The rest of the day it's fine. 

Are you lifting any weights yet?  I am really looking forward to seeing the hand therapist Wednesday and I hope that she can give me some idea when I can go back to work and also NORMAL things. Like cutting food for dinner...sewing....just normal. Don't you miss normal!! 

Yes we will get there but not as fast as we would like!!  Are you like me and afraid of falling again now. It's made me a little over-cautious. 

Hi Lea, we have similar experiences and I'm also 58. My fracture was 6 months ago and I also have a plate and 8 screws although no bone graft. Six months down the road I have managed to regain a reasonably good range of movement but it has taken time and lots of hand therapy. My radius was not set quite correctly and that has made my recovery slower and is probably responsible for my wrist and hand still being quite painful in certain positions. I started driving my manual geared car again after 4 months and still have to use two hands on some occasions to avoid certain changes of gear being too uncomfortable. I can't imagine a day when my wrist won't be painful but was told that it will take a year for it to reach its potential healed state. I have also been diagnosed with osteopenia.

Good luck with your recovery - you will get there but it just takes time.

Hello Sally. I was really comfused when my dr mentioned than I will be driving within 2-3 weeks after my surgery in January 4th! I had similar injury, left distal radius open reduction and had a plate + 6 screws.

Almost 8 weeks past that and although I have stiffness at times although I can use my hand fairly well. Flexing my wrist to any direction is limited and is especially painful in the center of the wrist when I touch it with shooting pain to the middle finger. My dr diagnosed that the plate is not sitting right on my bone so he wants to remove the plate and the 6 screws. It also feels very different when I use the hand for the exersises from my PT. For me it wlaso feels like it is in my way to bend it forward.

What is your experience with that? Does it feel and show like a foreign object?

Hi Kate, I suppose in theory you could drive after 2-3 weeks with a plate to hold the fracture in place, but the level of pain would definitely make it unlikely! I'm still getting a lot of pain when I do certain movements with my hand/wrist even now. I can't feel the plate at all - the pain I get isn't in that area but all up the outer side of my left wrist, hand and into the little finger - the ulnar side. My hand position on my wrist looks a bit weird because it drops down lower than it should normally sit and consequently my hand ligaments and tendons are what's causing the pain. A specialist hand surgeon gave me an independent second opinion on my surgical result and said that the plate should have been about 7mm further towards the radius joint to keep the broken section from tilting slightly downwards. The most difficult position for me is forward flexion - only about 65% I think but that's not due to the plate - more likely the misalignment. An x-ray will show if your plate is interfering with your movement which it shouldn't be doing if correctly placed. Good luck - it takes a lot of time to fix a broken wrist like ours.

Hi Sally, sorry I was away for a few days. Good to hear tha you have a reasonable range of movement now.  It sure is harder than I thought. I have just started seeing the hand therapist today who basically told me that the physio I had been seeing didn't know what they were doing. Bit of a shock. I have excellent range of movement the hand therapist said, it is just strength that I lack. Also I have to get the quadratus muscle in action as that was separated during the operation.

She gave me different exercises entirely, like throwing a dart exercise, with a stretchy band on a doorknob that you push against with your hand in the stretchy thing and also lifting a 1kg weight with it sitting dumbbell side down on a table. 

My hand stiffness in the morning is getting better, less stiff.  Apparently I can cut vegetables etc and the pain after is just due to disuse. 

I feel a bit annoyed at the physio with all the misinformation I was given and her obvious incompetence in dealing with my injury. I trust the hand specialist far more. Apparently I can do anything and even lift things so long as I don't lift with my hand in a fist downwards. 

I too have heard about the year it takes to completely get back to normal. 

I know you, like me, wouid surely miss normal. 

Good luck

Interesting to hear that you also have a similar downward tilt since your fracture. It was a bit more recent than mine which was end August 2015, and I'm still getting quite a bit of pain with certain positions/movement.You're absolutely right about risks to also consider if another surgical intervention could potentially improve things.  The consultant I saw for a second opinion also stressed this and would normally advise a more conservative approach rather than having a second surgery. I will wait until the one year anniversary to see if the pain is still causing me problems before I make any decisions.

Bad luck!  It sounds like you're well informed now about recovery and what to expect from reading posts here, I just wanted to reply to your question about the palm lumps. I have them - about 4 close together around the 'heart line' as a palmist would describe. My GP and hand specialist have both diagnosed it as Dupuytrens (post-traumatic). You can Google it and there are some people who need surgery to correct if it starts to pull the fingers but this doesn't happen to everyone so here's hoping we shall be lucky enough that it will just remain as lumps without affecting fingers. I wish you a good recovery and swift return to your gardening!

 

Hi Sally.  Thanks for your reply. That's what I thought the lumps were because, yes, the fingers have begun to curl slightly. And, I cannot yet fully curl those affected fingers inward to make a fist. The hand specialist appeared not to know what the lumps were (at least he did not respond when I mentioned Dupuytrens), but maybe he is just keeping mute for now because the last thing I need to do at this point is have surgery and immobilize my hand and fingers.  Possibly later.  At least I can weed one-handed   All the best to you as well.

HI SUSAN

I RECENTLY BROKE MY WRIST AND IT'S BEEN A CHALLENGE ADAPTING TO LIFE WITH ONE ARM AND THANKFULLY IT WAS NOT MY RIGHT ARM.

I'M AN AVID GARDENER AND

NOTICED MANY YEARS AGO A FEW LUMPS WITH THE MIDDLE FINGER OF MY HAND PULLING TOWARD THE PALM.  IT HAS NEVER CAUSED PAIN OR DISABILITY AND NEVER INTERFERRED WITH THE WEEDING OR HEAVY GARDEN WORK I HAVE BEEN DOING FOR 60 YEARS (I'M 84 NOW).

SINCE MY ACCIDENT I AM ABLE ONLY TO WEED.  NO CUTTING GRASS, NO LEAF BLOWER, NO RAKING, NO DIGGING.  NO FUN!

I WOULDN'T BE CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR FINGERS IF IT'S WHAT I HAVE.

Thanks, Nancy.  I believe I will have "some" return to those activities, but am preparing myself mentally for reduced ability. I LOVE to dig and move stuff around, so that would be a real loss. The first thing I did the morning after returning from ER was to engage some guys to mow and edge. 

THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT A NEWLY MOWN LAWN AND AN EDGED LANDSCAPE THAT IS SOUL SATISFYING.  THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE EVEN LEVEL OF GRASS AND THE IRREGULARITY OF  FLOWER AND BUSH IS ARTFUL.  CUTTING GRASS AND EDGING ARE IMMEDIATELY GRATIFYING VS WAITING FOR PLANTS TO GROW AND COME INTO BLOOM OR LEAF.

So true!  We are of the earth.  Enjoy your garden adventures, Nancy.

Susan, I broke my wrist Oct 23, 2015.. the day i will remember forever. I am an avid 63 year old tennis player and work out in the gym and i truly thought my life was over.  6 weeks of cast and i don't know how many weeks of jabbing ice pick pain in my wrist.  I was depressed and cried a LOT. In February it actually started to feel better and my gloom started to  lift.  I appreciate too finding this site and was a little better able to cope during the darkest of moments.  When I was sure I couldn't hurt my wrist and it was healed  I tried to go back to all my normal activities and finally the nerves and tendendons healed and all my worst fears went away..it hurt still but i figured it was worth it.  Keep the faith Susan..

Thanks, Gloria. Gloom and doom, "love" / Life 30!  I'm confident, too, that it will all work out.