Fractured Wrist

[bah1491]

So, ive been in a short arm cast for 7 weeks now....pretty crappy. Wrecked at a race in springfield, Ohio about 9 weeks ago and after three weeks of it not feeling better, i decided to head to the doctor. I guess its a hard bone to heal, he said if its not healed in 12 weeks, i have to have a bone graph done.

I havnt been able to ride, so i figured i might as well work on my bike. i'll have to get some recent pictures, but i bought brand new Ohlins all the way around, ordered new white plastics, graphics kit, hood, seat cover, and numbers....

[bah1491]

just some old pictures....nothing recent

[bah1491]

heres a write up on the bone...quite depressing.....hard to heal

The scaphoid bone:
The scaphoid bone (also called the navicular bone) is one of eight carpal (wrist) bones. These small bones allow complex, yet delicate movements of the hand. The carpal bones fit between the forearm and hand bones. The scaphoid sits below the thumb, and is shaped something like a kidney bean.
Blood flow to the scaphoid:
The interesting thing about the scaphoid bone is that is has a retrograde blood supply. This means that the blood flow comes from a small vessel that enters the most distant part of the bone and flows back through the bone to give nutrition to the bone cells.

The pattern of blood supply in the scaphoid presents a problem when you sustain a scaphoid fracture. Because of the tenuous blood supply, a scaphoid fracture can sever this blood flow and stop the delivery of necessary oxygen and nutrients to the bone cells. When this occurs, healing can be slow, and the scaphoid fracture may not heal at all.

Symptoms of a scaphoid fracture:
The symptoms of a scaphoid fracture are pain on the thumb side of the wrist, swelling in that area, and difficulty gripping objects. Many patients are diagnosed with a wrist sprain, when in actuality they have a broken scaphoid bone. The diagnosis is difficult because x-rays taken right after the injury may show no abnormality. A scaphoid fracture that is not displaced may only show up on x-ray after healing has begun, which can be one to two weeks after the injury. Because of this, it is not uncommon to treat a wrist injury with immobilization (as though it were a scaphoid fracture) for a week or two and then repeat x-rays to see if the bone is broken. An MRI or bone scan is also a possible means to diagnose this injury, but usually not needed.

Problems with scaphoid fracture healing:
When a scaphoid fracture heals slowly (delayed union), or does not heal at all (non-union), the injury may remain painful, and deformity and arthritis of the bone may result. The risk of developing a non-union of the scaphoid depends most importantly on the location of the fracture in the bone. Other factors that can contribute to non-union are smoking, certain medications, and infections.

Treatment of scaphoid fractures:
There are two general approaches for treatment of a scaphoid fracture. Often, orthopedists will initially treat the injury in a cast to see if the fracture heals in a timely manner. So long as the scaphoid fracture is not badly displaced (out of position), this is an excellent approach. By obtaining repeat x-rays over several weeks and months, your doctor can look for signs of healing. Healing of this fracture usually takes 10 to 12 weeks. If it does not heal, surgery can be considered.

If the scaphoid fracture is displaced, the risk of nonunion is higher, and your doctor may recommend initial surgery to reposition the bones, and fix them into place. Or if the fracture does not heal with cast treatment (immobilization), surgery will be recommended. The surgery involves using either a screw or small pins to hold the bone together in the proper position. A bone graft may also be used to promote healing at the scaphoid fracture site. The surgical incision will be between two and five centimeters, depending on the dissection necessary to properly position the fracture and place bone graft (if needed). After surgery, a cast is used to immobilize the scaphoid bone and allow for healing.

:ermm: :ermm: :ermm:

[Gray33]

My wrist is screwed up to, but my doctor says its just tendonitis or something i am like dude u really need to check if its broke its sucks. I am goin back in 2 weeks and probly find out its fractured or something

when i broke my wrist riding as soon as I got a short cast i was back out there riding. just take an advil before you ride and your good to go lol. It healed up just fine but since I broke it it will hurt at times like when a storm is coming or when it gets cold sometimes. Maybe arthritis?

[Warnerade]

Originally posted by FoxHondaRider
when i broke my wrist riding as soon as I got a short cast i was back out there riding. just take an advil before you ride and your good to go lol. It healed up just fine but since I broke it it will hurt at times like when a storm is coming or when it gets cold sometimes. Maybe arthritis? your an idiot

bah...I broke my scaphoid in april and I'm still dickin with it. I ended up switching doctors over it because my previous one had no idea what to do for it...ask your physician to put you on a bone stimulator, it goes over your cast while you sleep to speed up the healing process

[bah1491]

so i should ask about a stimulator.....alrighty sir thank you much.....im afraid its not going to be healed, its nearly impossible o not use your fingers at all during the immobilization processs...

[Warnerade]

I went without a cast for 12 weeks because of my doctor..he just put me in a thumb spica splint. According to 5 sets of x -rays, a bone scan, CT scan and an MRI...it healed slowly but surely on its own. I got lucky..the bone didnt move out of place, it kidna just snapped off and stayed in position so the healing isnt as hard as a usual one.

Only ask for the bone stimulator if you got insurance, its about 5 grand just to rent it:ermm:

[trick250r]

been there... last summer I did the same thing only I had a full arm cast with my thumb spiked for 6 wks and a shorty for 4. Its amazing how that small of a bone can **** up your day. Luckily we thought it was just a sprain so it was about a week- week and a half beforei had it x-rayed. didn't dampen my spirits tho... I rigged up the throttleon the jet-ski so I could use my fingers and not my thumb. Cast cover didn't work so I had a new cast about every week haha. they said mine healed but every once in a while it hurts like a mother.

[bah1491]

i know they said i will have to wear a brace everytime i ride....but i go back to the doctor october 30th, so hopefully it will be healed...

I fractured my wrist and tore legments in it like 3 years ago and I still get a stabbing pain in it some times when I do push ups and I cant really take big jumps with my BMX bike any more cause it jars my right wrist to hard now. Theirs a weird qourter size lump under that wrist to tingles when I push on it and makes it look like my wrist is on side ways which it isn't and I cant bend my right hand up as far as the left one.

[400exrider99]

i broke the same bone in march and i have just a few weeks ago returned to work. i had a long arm cast for a month and 2 short arm casts over 6 weeks. then a brace for a few months. i lost my whole summer.

[660LE]

I broke mine 3 years ago, took the cast off in 7 days, raced in 9. BUMB ***** move by me. THere is still an incredible amount of pain everytime i ride now. I do wear a specalized brace. it sucks do what your DR tells you to do. I wish i did. My girlfriend is a physiothearapist and tells me i need surgery to get it to be properly healed.

[bah1491]

before i went to the doctor...i drove an hour to a track to ride, got their unloaded and rode two laps and had to leave it hurt so bad. the whole week prior to that it didnt hardly even hurt to do anything! but i hit a rhythm section and about cried..terrible shooting pains up my entire arm.....

[JR3]

Originally posted by bah1491
heres a write up on the bone...quite depressing.....hard to heal

The scaphoid bone:
The scaphoid bone (also called the navicular bone) is one of eight carpal (wrist) bones. These small bones allow complex, yet delicate movements of the hand. The carpal bones fit between the forearm and hand bones. The scaphoid sits below the thumb, and is shaped something like a kidney bean.
Blood flow to the scaphoid:
The interesting thing about the scaphoid bone is that is has a retrograde blood supply. This means that the blood flow comes from a small vessel that enters the most distant part of the bone and flows back through the bone to give nutrition to the bone cells.

The pattern of blood supply in the scaphoid presents a problem when you sustain a scaphoid fracture. Because of the tenuous blood supply, a scaphoid fracture can sever this blood flow and stop the delivery of necessary oxygen and nutrients to the bone cells. When this occurs, healing can be slow, and the scaphoid fracture may not heal at all.

Symptoms of a scaphoid fracture:
The symptoms of a scaphoid fracture are pain on the thumb side of the wrist, swelling in that area, and difficulty gripping objects. Many patients are diagnosed with a wrist sprain, when in actuality they have a broken scaphoid bone. The diagnosis is difficult because x-rays taken right after the injury may show no abnormality. A scaphoid fracture that is not displaced may only show up on x-ray after healing has begun, which can be one to two weeks after the injury. Because of this, it is not uncommon to treat a wrist injury with immobilization (as though it were a scaphoid fracture) for a week or two and then repeat x-rays to see if the bone is broken. An MRI or bone scan is also a possible means to diagnose this injury, but usually not needed.

Problems with scaphoid fracture healing:
When a scaphoid fracture heals slowly (delayed union), or does not heal at all (non-union), the injury may remain painful, and deformity and arthritis of the bone may result. The risk of developing a non-union of the scaphoid depends most importantly on the location of the fracture in the bone. Other factors that can contribute to non-union are smoking, certain medications, and infections.

Treatment of scaphoid fractures:
There are two general approaches for treatment of a scaphoid fracture. Often, orthopedists will initially treat the injury in a cast to see if the fracture heals in a timely manner. So long as the scaphoid fracture is not badly displaced (out of position), this is an excellent approach. By obtaining repeat x-rays over several weeks and months, your doctor can look for signs of healing. Healing of this fracture usually takes 10 to 12 weeks. If it does not heal, surgery can be considered.

If the scaphoid fracture is displaced, the risk of nonunion is higher, and your doctor may recommend initial surgery to reposition the bones, and fix them into place. Or if the fracture does not heal with cast treatment (immobilization), surgery will be recommended. The surgery involves using either a screw or small pins to hold the bone together in the proper position. A bone graft may also be used to promote healing at the scaphoid fracture site. The surgical incision will be between two and five centimeters, depending on the dissection necessary to properly position the fracture and place bone graft (if needed). After surgery, a cast is used to immobilize the scaphoid bone and allow for healing.

:ermm: :ermm: :ermm:

I feel your pain i broke mine in my right wrist. Full arm cast for 9 weeks still didnt fully heal. Doesnt bother unless i slam my wrist on something or really jar it somehow then u know that its still emssed up. they said the same thing to me that they were gonna have to bone graph but i said eff it. its been 3 years.

[400exrider99]

mines only been healed for about a month adn just doing the simplest thing will make it hurt alittle.