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Broke my wrist on June 26th - whats the likely recovery period?

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Broke my wrist on June 26th - whats the likely recovery period?
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flag humoroususername
Posted: Jul 5, 2011 at 0:22 Quote
Hi i broke my wrist just over a week ago and im sickened as i came to whistler for the summer to improve and this obviously seriously hampering that plan.

I broke my distal radius and the doctor said it would take 6 weeks initially. Now ive had one follow up xray and he said it seems to be healing well. I asked him if i could have the cast off sooner and he said possibly but, as doctors tend to be, he was vague.

I have no pain in my arm unless i go to grab something quickly without thinking or that and that appears to be muscle pain in the forearm and not the actual break. But during the day i dont take any painkillers and aside from my wrist feeling a bit weak i feel good. I can clench a fist as much as the cast will let me and it doesnt hurt. What is the soonest i could realistically hope to be back on my bike? Any tips for recovery.

I also lost my job because of the inury so applying for a job with a cast doesnt look good. Being injured is a massive pain in the arse.
flag dher0521
Posted: Jul 5, 2011 at 0:34 Quote
hate to say this but I broke the same bone and it took like 8 weeks too heal to the point were I could ride again. Its a very brittle bone and at least for me it never healed well.
flag dher0521
Posted: Jul 5, 2011 at 0:36 Quote
and tips wise DONT use it alot. It needs to be immoblelized to heal correctly. Like I said it is a trickey bone to heal since it dosent have that good of blood flow compaired to other bones. Just take it slow.
flag JayTom20
Posted: Jul 5, 2011 at 1:46 Quote
ive broke my wrist a few times, the 1st time it only took 4 weeks to completely heal, but was not able use it until week after the plaster was removed. the last time i did it, i was in plaster for 10 weeks and it was almost 2 weeks before i was able to use it properly again.

there are things that could help it to heal quicker, plenty of calcium and vitmin d (vitamin d helps to break down the calcium so your body can use it). some sports people use compression chambers that deep sea divers use, i don't know why this works but it has been proven to work. last thing i can think of is that if you smoke, quit for a while and your recovery time will come down
flag w-e-w
Posted: Jul 5, 2011 at 1:58 Quote
Hey.. that sucks that you broke your wrist.. it's a bummer, but first things first is that you have to heal properly. That has to be your priority, no matter how much it sucks. As mentioned, the scaphoid is a very tricky bone and you don't want to mess with the healing process.. google scaphoid fracture and you'll read all kinds of horror stories about surgeries, screws, etc. Some people battle to heal this bone for over a year and never quite get is proper again.

I'm currently healing from a scaphoid fracture myself. It happened 6 or 7 weeks ago now.. I still can't do much with it in the gym, but it is recovering. I don't have the opportunity to ride right now anyways, but I hope to be on the bike for August. My fracture was 'non-displaced' and all the joint surfaces are in tact, which is a god-sent, because if it's displaced, that's when the real complications kick-in.

My fracture is very slight and it was only diagnosed 1-month after the injury (thought it was a sprain and didn't get x-rays initially). because the fracture is only slight and it is healing well, i'm not in a cast (although i am taping and had a splint for a bit) the doc said i can do whatever i want up to my own pain threshold.. BUT.. avoid any impact... i.e. a bike crash could be a big set-back.

Personally, i wouldn't risk it.. take the doc's advice.. if you don't like the doc, get a second opinion. If you do get out early to ride.. don't be foolish and crash again.. just take is easy.. if you don't trust yourself to not 'push it' at whistler, keep the bike in the garage.

The other thing i've been doing is 'making the best of it' and working on all kinds of fitness weaknesses in the gym.. i.e. core and flexibility. Get into a good physiotherapist as soon as you can too, if you can.
flag jonnyqt
Posted: Jul 5, 2011 at 2:05 Quote
I Broke mine last august . Nearly had to get plate's and shit but it wasn't that bad still was back on the SS for some distance riding within 5 weeks and DH 4 after that . It hurt's a bit but take it easy and have support for it and don't crash on it ..
flag humoroususername
Posted: Jul 5, 2011 at 2:47 Quote
w-e-w wrote:
Hey.. that sucks that you broke your wrist.. it's a bummer, but first things first is that you have to heal properly. That has to be your priority, no matter how much it sucks. As mentioned, the scaphoid is a very tricky bone and you don't want to mess with the healing process.. google scaphoid fracture and you'll read all kinds of horror stories about surgeries, screws, etc. Some people battle to heal this bone for over a year and never quite get is proper again.

I'm currently healing from a scaphoid fracture myself. It happened 6 or 7 weeks ago now.. I still can't do much with it in the gym, but it is recovering. I don't have the opportunity to ride right now anyways, but I hope to be on the bike for August. My fracture was 'non-displaced' and all the joint surfaces are in tact, which is a god-sent, because if it's displaced, that's when the real complications kick-in.

My fracture is very slight and it was only diagnosed 1-month after the injury (thought it was a sprain and didn't get x-rays initially). because the fracture is only slight and it is healing well, i'm not in a cast (although i am taping and had a splint for a bit) the doc said i can do whatever i want up to my own pain threshold.. BUT.. avoid any impact... i.e. a bike crash could be a big set-back.

Personally, i wouldn't risk it.. take the doc's advice.. if you don't like the doc, get a second opinion. If you do get out early to ride.. don't be foolish and crash again.. just take is easy.. if you don't trust yourself to not 'push it' at whistler, keep the bike in the garage.

The other thing i've been doing is 'making the best of it' and working on all kinds of fitness weaknesses in the gym.. i.e. core and flexibility. Get into a good physiotherapist as soon as you can too, if you can.

Mine was displaced unfortunately but the doctor was very happy with how she was able to manipulate it back into position. On the x-rays a week after the crash the first doc said he thought it had slipped a bit but a few days later another doctor looked and said he doesnt think it has slipped at all. So much conflicting into from everyone, even doctors.

You're right about being able to read horror stories on Google. I think im going to stop looking there. People always write about things more when its bad so im sure there's loads of people who heal soon and you never hear about it. The only thing that is making me optimistic at the moment is that i dont have any pain which must be a good thing, right?
flag w-e-w
Posted: Jul 5, 2011 at 3:27 Quote
samsemtex wrote:
Mine was displaced unfortunately but the doctor was very happy with how she was able to manipulate it back into position. On the x-rays a week after the crash the first doc said he thought it had slipped a bit but a few days later another doctor looked and said he doesnt think it has slipped at all. So much conflicting into from everyone, even doctors.

You're right about being able to read horror stories on Google. I think im going to stop looking there. People always write about things more when its bad so im sure there's loads of people who heal soon and you never hear about it. The only thing that is making me optimistic at the moment is that i dont have any pain which must be a good thing, right?

If your fracture was displaced then even more important for you to focus on healing first, then riding.
flag dher0521
Posted: Jul 5, 2011 at 23:26 Quote
samsemtex wrote:
w-e-w wrote:
Hey.. that sucks that you broke your wrist.. it's a bummer, but first things first is that you have to heal properly. That has to be your priority, no matter how much it sucks. As mentioned, the scaphoid is a very tricky bone and you don't want to mess with the healing process.. google scaphoid fracture and you'll read all kinds of horror stories about surgeries, screws, etc. Some people battle to heal this bone for over a year and never quite get is proper again.

I'm currently healing from a scaphoid fracture myself. It happened 6 or 7 weeks ago now.. I still can't do much with it in the gym, but it is recovering. I don't have the opportunity to ride right now anyways, but I hope to be on the bike for August. My fracture was 'non-displaced' and all the joint surfaces are in tact, which is a god-sent, because if it's displaced, that's when the real complications kick-in.

My fracture is very slight and it was only diagnosed 1-month after the injury (thought it was a sprain and didn't get x-rays initially). because the fracture is only slight and it is healing well, i'm not in a cast (although i am taping and had a splint for a bit) the doc said i can do whatever i want up to my own pain threshold.. BUT.. avoid any impact... i.e. a bike crash could be a big set-back.

Personally, i wouldn't risk it.. take the doc's advice.. if you don't like the doc, get a second opinion. If you do get out early to ride.. don't be foolish and crash again.. just take is easy.. if you don't trust yourself to not 'push it' at whistler, keep the bike in the garage.

The other thing i've been doing is 'making the best of it' and working on all kinds of fitness weaknesses in the gym.. i.e. core and flexibility. Get into a good physiotherapist as soon as you can too, if you can.

Mine was displaced unfortunately but the doctor was very happy with how she was able to manipulate it back into position. On the x-rays a week after the crash the first doc said he thought it had slipped a bit but a few days later another doctor looked and said he doesnt think it has slipped at all. So much conflicting into from everyone, even doctors.

You're right about being able to read horror stories on Google. I think im going to stop looking there. People always write about things more when its bad so im sure there's loads of people who heal soon and you never hear about it. The only thing that is making me optimistic at the moment is that i dont have any pain which must be a good thing, right?
I dident even know mine was broken till like 2 weeks after. I found out when I tryed to pick up a book and i had a sharp pain. no pain doesnt always mean no break.
flag humoroususername
Posted: Jul 6, 2011 at 1:41 Quote
Positive vibes my friend, please!
flag humoroususername
Posted: Jul 6, 2011 at 14:55 Quote
Ah, you can all completely disregard my initial post. I did not break my scaphoid! Its my distal radius that i fractured. Apparently this is not a complicated fracture at all unless it slips.


So....has anyone broken this?
flag funkymonkey144
Posted: Jul 6, 2011 at 15:05 Quote
I did distal radius and ulna 2nd May and I'm just now starting to feel the strength for gentle riding.
Some pics of my x-rays and stuff on my profile under 'crash'.
flag humoroususername
Posted: Jul 6, 2011 at 21:05 Quote
Just looked at your photos there. Your's was a lot worse than mine. Looks like it was horrifically painful. I didnt need an operation so im hoping it doesnt need one. Did you have to have an operation?
flag dher0521
Posted: Jul 6, 2011 at 22:48 Quote
samsemtex wrote:
Ah, you can all completely disregard my initial post. I did not break my scaphoid! Its my distal radius that i fractured. Apparently this is not a complicated fracture at all unless it slips.


So....has anyone broken this?
your lucky! scaphoids like never heal! now you should be chilling and ready to ride pretty quick.
flag funkymonkey144
Posted: Jul 6, 2011 at 23:57 Quote
Yup had it re-aligned under general anesthetic, apparently its a 'good' (if you can put it that way) place to break if you're young as the bone there is still new and growing anyway. You should be able to ride in 7-8 weeks, but it could be a few months before its comfortable.
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