Yes, broke bones suck! But... Broken wrists happen in all ages for a variety of reasons. Kids can break their wrist when having the time of their lives playing to with friends. In adults, we typically see wrist breaks (aka wrist fractures) after falling. Most commonly, when falling on an outstretched hand. This can cause a bone in your forearm (the radius- which abuts the wrist bones) to crack, this is referred to as a distal radius fracture.
So you were out playing volleyball in the backyard with your grandchild, you tripped over your dog or you fell on a hike...it happens! if you experience increased pain or swelling it’s important to go to the doctor to get xrays. If the doctor confirms a broken bone, they can consider casting the break or, if severe enough, they may suggest surgery.
Scenario One:
So you got lucky- you can avoid surgery and only need a cast! Go you! Typically a cast will stay on for about 6 weeks (give or take a week or two based on how quickly your body heals and how severe the break was) During this time it is super important to keep moving your fingers, elbow and shoulder as much as you can to prevent stiffness. When you come out of that cast you want everything else to feel good so you can focus on just the wrist- instead of having to worry about the whole arm. Open and close your fingers to a full fist and then open wide, spreading your fingers and making them as straight as your can. Reach your arm overhead, forward and behind your back. Bend and straighten that elbow. If your noticing swelling of your hand or fingers be sure to elevate your arm consistently throughout the day. Walking with your arm down by your side can worsening this swelling. Once the cast comes off you will slowly start to initiate motion. If the doctor removed the cast- they feel confident things are healed and you are safe to move! Start slow and get comfortable to movement. Check out our exercise guide to initiate this. Start with no weight, just moving as its most comfortable. To start, don't expect a huge range of motion, we just want to get the muscles firing- REMINDER: they haven't worked in 6 weeks! We are just trying to wake them up. Do exercises several times a day to help get the muscles firing and loosen stiff joints. After a week or two if your feeling more comfortable and powerful, try to hold a 1-2lb weight while you do them. Use your hand and wrist as you feel comfortable throughout the day! Initially heavy lifting will be hard, if it hurts stop, but try again in a week! You will be surprised how quickly things improve. As you get stronger respect your pain and take break as you need.
Scenario Two:
You had a pretty good fall and are now being signed up for surgery. Based on many factors including how you fell, your age, what bones you broke, your overall health ect. Will determine what type of surgery you have. In this post we are going to cover the basics, a plate and screws, which hold the broken bone in place to ensure it heals properly. This is referred to as a distal radius fracture with an open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF). In layman's terms, they open up your wrist, put in some nice hardware and close you back up. Every surgeon has different post-operative orders on what care and rehab after surgery looks like so make sure to ask! Generally they let things calm down after surgery for a few days. You stay in a big dressing after surgery until you follow up with the doctor or a hand therapist where they remove the dressing to look at your surgical site. At this point you may be provided a wrist brace or made a custom orthotic by a hand therapist to give you a little extra support. And then the most beautiful thing about surgery? You get to start moving your wrist almost immediately. A plate and screws hold everything where it needs to be so you can start gently moving your wrist and surrounding joints. The biggest precaution? No lifting anything! While we wait for bone to grow around those screws to really hold things tight, we don't want any additional weight or resistance on that wrist. Similar to a broken bone we would cast, it takes about 6 weeks for the bone to grow around the screws. So during this 6 week period the focus is on gaining motion! After this period ends you can start to progress to strengthening to get your hand and wrist back to your pre-injury level.
Regaining function after any injury, but especially one involving your wrist and hand is challenging. It can take several months to feel strong, coordinated and useful. IT'S OK! You will get there. Keep doing exercises, keep moving your hand and keep trying. Your body is amazing. Practice makes perfect- your brain is just figuring out how to control your wrist again.
Need a helping hand? In therapy we teach you exercises, stretch your wrist, control swelling, work on strength, address fine motor skills and offer adaptations to help get you back to living!
Baytide Health strives to write blogs that are easy for everyone to understand and feels like you're chatting with a friend. Learning and caring for your body should be easy, convenient….and enjoyable! Specifics questions or suggestions of topics? Send us a message! We write for you!
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