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  1. #1
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    Broken wrist-- regaining mobility

    Fell of my road bike 6 weeks ago and broke my ulnar styloid, got Bennett's fracture/gamekeeper's thumb, and a radial head fracture at the elbow. Cast came off yesterday. I'm super stiff all over from being in a thumb spica cast for 6 weeks but especially in severe pain with supination and pronation movements-- can prob only rotate 20 degrees in that plane and that hurts tremendously. The pain seems worst over the ulnar styloid. Was hoping to bike in the Colorado trail race in August so pretty bummed right now.

    Anyone had a similar injury? What was your recovery like? I'm doing PT daily, just feeling pretty hopeless that I'll be doing a serious mountain bike ride in 5-6 weeks
    Last edited by couloirman; 06-19-2014 at 11:30 AM.

  2. #2
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    not the same injury, but I had a righteous wrist sprain, with a small chipped bone, similar mechanism of injury but more alcohol related. I was in a brace for a month, and it was a full two months before i got to ~80% mobility, and another two before i was mostly pain-free. It still gets pissed doing weightlifting in 'rack position' like front squats and cleans, but i use the cheapo neoprene wrap which helps some. Other than PT and the typical NSAIDs, etc, i'm personally not aware of any shortcuts. HGH injections?

    good luck dude-----
    Something about the wrinkle in your forehead tells me there's a fit about to get thrown
    And I never hear a single word you say when you tell me not to have my fun
    It's the same old shit that I ain't gonna take off anyone.
    and I never had a shortage of people tryin' to warn me about the dangers I pose to myself.

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  3. #3
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    if it was a road bike race, I'd say you'd be fine.... but a mountain bike race is a whole other beast...

    A few years ago I broke my scaphoid and ulna, dislocated then both as well, and crushed the majority of my carpus. When my cast came off, I had basically 0 percent movement (nerve damage). Learning to use the hand again was relatively quick. I don't totally remember, but I feel like after a few weeks, I had basic finger motion, but my hand was still REEEAAALLLL tight.

    I'm assuming this is where you are at now.

    From here, talk about it with your PT. The problem for me was, my wrist was sort of getting strong to be able to push shit/carry stuff, but once I grabbed something too heavy or jolted. it would just hurt like hell, and my progress would take a serious step backwards. Riding the bike I'm sure will be fine in that time frame, but the concern is more big bumps/hits or a crash. If your pt thinks it can take that kind of abuse, go for it, but I assume it won't be able to.

    Can't you wear the cast for the race? or too limiting regard if holding the bars?

  4. #4
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    Broke my wrist and had plate and screws put in--they're still there 3 yrs later--but you really should get occupational therapy after the cast comes off. I'm not sure what the distinction is between OT and PT but they will get you back on track sooner with the right exercises. I had about 6 weeks of OT 2x per week, and they pushed me harder than I would have pushed myself. It still took about 6-8 months before it felt strong again. The scar bothered me for longer. Good luck.
    "timberridge is terminally vapid" -- a fortune cookie in Yueyang

  5. #5
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    Thanks guys. Yeah, probably pretty hopeless to think the CTR is reasonable in August especially since I won't be able to train too hard until then. Am debating getting a wrist brace like the CTI OTS to see if I can get back to biking sooner. Anyone have experience using these?

  6. #6
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    [editorial comment: you may not to train on the bike for a while but can do a ton of cardio and leg strength training, plus that increased blood flow can help the healing...]
    Something about the wrinkle in your forehead tells me there's a fit about to get thrown
    And I never hear a single word you say when you tell me not to have my fun
    It's the same old shit that I ain't gonna take off anyone.
    and I never had a shortage of people tryin' to warn me about the dangers I pose to myself.

    Patterson Hood of the DBT's

  7. #7
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    You are in Cambridge right? Go talk to John Pallof, PT at MBSC in Woburn. He deals with athletes and is used to trying to get people back in action.

    Sent from my VS980 4G using TGR Forums

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by couloirman View Post
    Thanks guys. Yeah, probably pretty hopeless to think the CTR is reasonable in August especially since I won't be able to train too hard until then. Am debating getting a wrist brace like the CTI OTS to see if I can get back to biking sooner. Anyone have experience using these?
    I wore a soft cast similar to your link when I did this
    Click image for larger version. 

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    when I started back on MTB rides about three weeks before my doc "released me" for exercise. Clumsy as fuck - the brace positions your wrist in a straight line to the elbow than a normal riding position (wrist bent in two planes). Shifting, braking and hard cornering became real adventures. Road riding was even clumsier.

    OTOH, I did learn to NOT to extend my arm during unplanned dismounts, and it seemed to make the process of breaking up adhesions go a little faster compared to earlier DRFs.

    YMMV. Good luck

  9. #9
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    OT vs PT.... the basic explanation I got was OT generally deals with permanent disabilities. e.g. when you will never have 100% use again, and how to adapt. PT is recovery to get you functional again and hopefully back to 100% or as close to.

  10. #10
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    Thumb mobility coming back nicely but wow supination is slow to come back. Made almost no progress yet. Almost feels like there is an actual mechanical block to motion in there despite the x rays being fine and only a small non displaced ulnar styloid fracture. Lots of little pings of pain with daily activities. Amazing how stiff you get after 6 weeks in a cast.

  11. #11
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    Been doing my own PT exercises since I got out of the cast, but day 1 of in the office PT starts now. Exactly one month until my plane ticket to CO to ride the CT. Hope it's enough time. Still super painful to put weight on that hand. If i tried to do a push up right now my wrist feels like it would die
    Last edited by couloirman; 07-01-2014 at 06:23 AM.

  12. #12
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    WOW! Moist heating pad and a hammer got my supination/pronation back almost to normal in a single session today. Still have a bit of pain, but I think I can make it to Colorado for my ride! Time to strengthen my grip, get back in the weight room for some good ol' fashioned leg day, and crush some interval sprints. Things are looking up

  13. #13
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    Hammer? I hope youre joking.
    I am in a cast now and I will start pt in a couple of weeks.

    Sent from my SCH-I500 using TGR Forums

  14. #14
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    Hahaha. You just hold the hammer as a weighted lever that stretches you. No one hits you with the hammer, I swear

    What happened to you? What did you break?
    Last edited by couloirman; 07-04-2014 at 07:09 AM.

  15. #15
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    Hey y'all

    This seemed to be the only thread i could find that spoke of wrist guards. Currently 14 days in cast for a pretty good Coles fracture. No surgery required, luckily, but counting down the days until i get the cast off. I figured i should start thinking of getting a wrist guard because I'm hoping to log in a few more days before the boarding season is out. The guard linked earlier in this thread seems really awesome, but a bit on the pricey side. Does anyone know of any other decent, maybe more economical wrist guards out there?

    Thanks!
    27° 18°

  16. #16
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    Just have your Ortho fit you with a removable cast and do it ASAP. It will protect your wrist far better than any OTS splint, and it's not as bulky so you will be more likely to be able to get a glove over it. I hated the hard cast but felt like I could wear the removable one indefinitely.

  17. #17
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    How much are you willing to spend?

    These are insanely nice if you get the molded correctly for maybe $150: http://www.djoglobal.com/products/br...eld_brand%3A18
    Quote Originally Posted by iceman View Post
    This is kinda like the goose that laid the golden egg, but shittier.

  18. #18
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    Hey thanks, those look really good.

    I've found some 30$ models at a local pharmacy. The packaging says they offer support for injuries such as sprains, but don't say anything about fractures so that sketches me out a bit.

    The djo braces you linked specifically say they are for wrist fractures. So that's reassuring.

    I think I'm gonna look around town to see if they are places that sell more high end models than the pharmacy jobs. Kind of torn between not wanting to cheap out vs keeping in mind that I'm not a pro athlete with intentions of entering a mountain bike race. That leads me to think the 80-100$ CDN range might be appropriate?
    27° 18°

  19. #19
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    Thanks Boarddad, definitely gonna ask my ortho for a recommendation.
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  20. #20
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    This post cast guide is helpful and put my mind at ease about the pain and swelling.

    http://www.ouh.nhs.uk/patient-guide/...21210wrist.pdf

    The exercises in the guide are pretty standard.

    I have a physio assessment coming up and I wonder if they are just going to make me do these exercises and charge me $ 120 a session or if there will be more in-depth treatment. I've never done physio before?

    I found a decent wrist guard for 50$ CDN at an orthopedics store.
    27° 18°

  21. #21
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    So my wife just broke her wrist, Radius and Ulna, from falling about 7 feet onto concrete. Ortho says that she won't need surgery, but will be in a cast (well, three types of casts, I guess) for 6-8 weeks, but thinks the long-term prognosis is good since it was just bone and doesn't need surgery.

    Any advice from people here? Things to work on while in the cast?

    Her sports are waterskiing and rock climbing, so she needs to be able to pull with that arm.

    X-Ray from before they set the fracture:

  22. #22
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    I would definitely recommend doing some physio sessions once the cast is off. I broke mine back in January, pretty standard typical Colle's fracture of the distal radius. Cast was off after 5 weeks (just one cast). The bone was healed up but my arm had lost about 2/3 of it's strength (could crush 99lbs of pressure with my good hand and only about 32lbs with the hand of the healed broken wrist).

    The lack of mobility and the sight of my skinny looking monged arm was a little unsettling after the cast came off, but 5 or 6 one hour physio sessions went a long way. My physiotherapist seemed pretty encouraged by a quick recovery on my end and he credited it to me following his recommended exercises and doing hot yoga daily. I really tired to work through the pain and pushed myself hard to get my mobility and strength back. I can say now, 9 months after it happened, my wrist is still a little achy and cracks a lot, and it looks a little abnormal (to me at least) but i feel like I've regained just about all of my strength and mobility, and they are improving daily and the achyness is fading. I'm pretty much feeling back to normal. One of the things I noticed by about month 6 of recovery and doing yoga was that my shoulder was a little messed up and out of whack, but that uncomfortable feeling is also starting to fade and things are feeling more and more aligned.

    So i guess, the point is: As the pain fades and while the cast is still on, move as much as you can not to loose strength, Once it's off get some physio for sure!, try to do daily exercise to stretch, increase mobility and strengthen. I recommend daily hot yoga as the heat gets the blood flowing and will help to loosen things up (at least it worked for me). Also, and most important, tons of doja for the pain.

    Here's a photo of my break after 3 weeks in the cast:
    Last edited by danmelon; 09-22-2015 at 03:43 PM.
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