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Broken Wrist Recovery

post #1 of 12
1/3/10 at 4:27pm
Thread Starter 
I broke my wrist 8 weeks ago yesterday and was in a cast for 7 and a half weeks. I got my cast off on the 31st and the x-ray came back excellent. I do not have full movement b/c the tendons are still so tight and sore. The doctor said that stiffness in the joint is expected and hand exercises would help.

My question is, what are some good exercises I can do?
Has anyone else broken a wrist? What did you do? How long were you stiff in the joint?
Any help would be great; this is my first (knock on wood its my last) broken bone and know nothing about the recovery process.
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post #2 of 12
1/3/10 at 4:36pm
I broke my radius bone not too long ago and I required surgery, so it's probably going to be a bit more severe for me than it will be for you, but hopefully, you recover quickly and without trouble. Because my wrist was immobilized as well, I had to rehab it to get full motion back.

What I basically did was bend my wrist as far as I could (you have to endure the pain) whenever I could to try to regain movement. Your wrist has basically five major movements, up, down, left, right, and in a circle. Push the movements with your other hand to try to push it as far as you can and keep doing it further and further until you regain full motion. I took my cast off two months ago and I still feel some pain in the extremes of the motions, and cannot spread my thumb fully in certain positions, but this is probably because I had to cut into the muscle for my surgery.

Best of luck in your rehab!
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post #3 of 12
1/3/10 at 4:40pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you, I appreciate your help! Another question? How long 'til you could support your weight on it? I want to get back to working out but I cannot do push-ups, meaning I prob. cannot bench either. Any exercise help?
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post #4 of 12
1/3/10 at 7:54pm
You should wait at least a month before you try putting your body weight on it. You don't want to risk injuring it further. I waited about a month before I returned to intense exercise. The key is to keep stressing it slightly until you can move it freely. Baby steps, not leaps Anyway, the best way to know when you're ready is to get into push-up formation and seeing if you can put your body weight on it. It'll probably take longer to start using weights, but if it doesn't hurt, I don't see why you can't do pushups.
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post #5 of 12
1/3/10 at 8:31pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah thats the most frustrating part, being patient!
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post #6 of 12
1/3/10 at 9:17pm
Try great wrist rehab sites like spankwire.
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post #7 of 12
1/3/10 at 9:24pm
^I prefer me@spin.com

Just write out the @ as "at."
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post #8 of 12
1/3/10 at 9:50pm
When I was 18 I had a compound fracture of my radius and ulna when my skates were kicked out after a faceoff...required 2 plates and 12 screws to put it all back together...I was basically out of hockey for an entire year (included any weight bearing activity). I'm sure surgical procedures are leaps and bounds better now than they were in 95 but i remember taking a few weeks of wrist movement exercises to get my wrist area back to where it should have been...
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post #9 of 12
1/3/10 at 9:59pm
To the OP, I broke my dominant hand wrist in five places back in 1996. I didn't require surgery, but was casted above the elbow for 10 weeks. I found it essential to engage in physical therapy. There, they can establish a baseline of the strength and range of motion in your wrist and forearm. Then, they will give you specific exercises and tools (bands, putty, etc.) to get your function back. You will then follow up with the therapist to see how far you have progressed and what you need to work on more. That outside motivation can be very powerful as well. Ask your doctor who he/she recommends - in fact, I'm surprised there wasn't a recommendation in the first place.
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post #10 of 12
1/3/10 at 10:12pm
Thread Starter 
yeah i wasn't recommended any physical therapy...what are some of the exercises that you were given that i can do at home until i can get back in to see the orthopedist?



Quote:
Originally Posted by why View Post
Try great wrist rehab sites like spankwire.
and while it feels great to clear the snorkel now and then, it hardly does anything for improving my range of motion....or does it?? LOL
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post #11 of 12
1/4/10 at 1:12am
You should purchase a Theraband along with hand putty. The Theraband will allow you to create resistance so you can strengthen your extrinsic hand and wrist muscles while reestablishing your range of motion. The hand putty, which comes in different resistances, helps reestablish your gripping strength.

I can't explain the exercises, you really need to call the orthopedist and get a referral to P.T.
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post #12 of 12
2/24/10 at 3:17pm
You need guidance from a physical therapist who specializes in hands and wrists.
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