Broken Wrist and Physiotherapy

MisterAlex

Hey guys,

Long time lurker, and very casual poster here. The depth of the advice in this forum is pretty impressive though, so i'd like to see if anyone has advice regarding recovering from a fractured wrist.

I broke my left wrist 6 weeks ago - I'll spare the details, but suffice it to say that it was a very painful experience. The cast comes off tomorrow (Or should, anyway, barring any stupid accidents between now and tomorrow)

I'm aware that this type of injury usually requires some physiotherapy, but since this isn't covered in Ontario, i'd rather not have to go out and pay for it. I've sought out a few websites ( This seems like the best I could find) and i'm pondering as to whether or not I should simply follow these exercices online, or if there's any risk I could screw my wrist any further by not going to a professional.

I'm hoping someone has had a simillar experience that could help guide this decision. Thanks in advance!

fuelish

I have fractured or sprained my wrist(s) multiple times. The exercises linked are the ones my PT used. You just need to be careful about the hurt that is good and the hurt that is bad. Some of the exercises are uncomfortable(painful if you are a wuss) esp. if they are stretching. Don't push it to hard, but don't do it so easy that there is no benefit. A therapist really helps because they make sure you are doing it right, and they push you hard enough to do some good. However if you have the will to do them and do them several times a day, you should be fine. Just pay attention to what your body is telling you and fork over the $$ for a PT if you don't get better or start getting worse.

LewieP's Mummy

Which bone have you broken? I broke my scaphoid bone in my right wrist on April 5th, my cast wil be on for another 3 weeks (9 in total) will come off on June 6th, and may go straight back on, as the scaphoid bone can heal poorly. I will be having physio after the cast is off, if you want, I'll let you know what I have to do, if its relevant to you - its free in the UK.

Could you not go for 1 session, though, just to make sure you've picked the correct exercises?

MisterAlex

I'm not sure exactly which bone was broken - The only thing they told me was that it was broken in four places, and that I broke it in a very important part of the wrist (I know, not much to go on, but I probably wouldn't have remembered if they'd told me which one it was anyway, hehe). It'd be interesting to know what exercises will be prescribed to you, LPM, so if you don't mind i'd appreciate that.

And I guess there's a fine line between hurting and not pushing it too hard, so I suppose I should probably go for one or two sessions just to get the right feel for it. It's a bit of a financial ouch for the unemployed-recent-graduate, but it's probably one of the better uses of money I can make. Thanks guys.

Blake T

Jesus, no.

Look do you think these guys spent multiple years at university just so they can look shit up online. I'm sure that you will do some if not all of those excersises you listed.

But what if you can't do a particular one and it fucks up your wrist forever? You post on a message board, do you really think you'll be able to rely up picking chicks for gratification?

Blake T

Oh great, you don't even know what bones you injured.

It's my wrist I'll do a wrist excersise.

I have minor tear in my Medial Miniscus, I do stretches I have never seen people do because of it. I can walk without pain because I visited a physio.

MisterAlex

haha.. Obviously, I have no previous experience with a broken wrist, so I was just fielding to see if there were standard "your-wrist-is-broken-so-you-must-do-this" type of exercises that really didn't warrant wasting piles of $ on PT. Good on you for being so passionate about their profession!

I'll go, i'll go.. If only once or twice, to learn the exercises. Thanks Blaket.

Tofystedeth

Yeah, I just broke my scaphoid, so it mostly gentle to less gentle stretching for me. Since you broke 4, I'd definitely seek a professional opinion.