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..and it’s cant happen soon enough....!!
I shattered my left wrist in a tasty BPW crash 5 1/2 weeks ago... was initially in a back slab, then put into a fibreglass cast (racing blue) 4 weeks ago.
The thing is WRECKED....! I’ve been Zwifting, hill walking, spent 10 days in HOT HOT Greece where I swam in the sea and pool..had an ‘arm condom’ on but it still leaked a bit..
I honestly wish my left arm was longer.... this thing HONKS!!
The skin on my palm is all thick and flaky, and I dread to think what whithered, pale (especially as I’m tanned all over now!!), smelly, skin flake covered mess is under this stinky old thing...
The only thing I can imagine this experience being similar to is putting my arm into a long sock filled with soft butter, then putting a bin bag over that, and letting it stew for a few days... YUK!!
HOPEFULLY they won’t need to put a new cast on again, then it’ll just be weeks of physio and rehab...
Got myself a wrist brace for a bit... got a few gentle MTB rides planned with the OH for 3 weeks time... will aim to strengthen and improve mobility by then...
I’ll update on the stench as the degloving occurs....!
DrP
will aim to strengthen and improve mobility by then…
swap hands at 99
Yir a Ductor jist dae it yirsel.
When water hits your withered, pale and super black hairy arm it will feel really soapy as the skin starts to come off.
Use a rough towel to help the sloughing of skin, wash again and repeat with the rough towel.
I think you might be a bit optimistic about riding within 3 weeks
a Ductor
Quack!
I have a flesh tunnel in my ear. I imagine it smells like that if it hasn't been cleaned for a couple of days. But worse. A lot worse.
I have a flesh tunnel in my ear.
Is it just me or is that terminology a bit weird? Like, ears could be made from something else? "Yeah, I've got a flesh tunnel in my left ear and a cabbage tunnel in my right..."
(Not criticising, I just find language fascinating.)
then it’ll just be weeks of physio and rehab…
Or the person who takes your cast off gives you a sheet of paper and says do this, do that.
3 weeks is very too optimistic.
Or the person who takes your cast off gives you a sheet of paper and says do this, do that.
The person who takes your cast off won't do that, you'll just get told you are being referred and an appointment will come through the post.
Then someone will give you a piece of paper with do this, do that
Is it just me or is that terminology a bit weird? Like, ears could be made from something else? “Yeah, I’ve got a flesh tunnel in my left ear and a cabbage tunnel in my right…”
It's in the lobe, so I suppose it could be a meat hole.
It's not higher up, so it's not a cartilage cave.
<Googles "flesh tunnel">
Bleeeuuuuurrrrgggghhhh :o)
I had a cast on my ankle for that really hot summer - 2018 I think? Towards the end the smell was unreal, I had to keep spraying it with fabreeze. Best feeling in the world when the air hits your skin as they take it off.
Wait till you see how much movement you’ve lost. Three weeks just about got mine moving again. Six months Of physio got it back to good flexion. Mine was a comminuted fracture in three planes Through the joint surface with a volar plate and two operations. I’m still surprised when I look at the increase in width of my wrist. My surgeon was surprised I had recovered so much movement.
Hands together In prayer and see what angle you have with wrists as you lift the elbows. Back of hands together and point down... Then progress from there. Reverse hands on edge of the desk and move forwards to load them was a killer.
Had a cast on my wrist for only two weeks - oh my what a mess - I was turbo'ing. Even after that short time it was pongy, and my skin was wrecked.
Mine was a comminuted fracture in three planes Through the joint surface with a volar plate and two operations.
ditto..bar the operations....
I'm going to pay for physio, tbh... a handout of some exercises is a baseline, but i'm willing to chuck a few quid in to get better.
Also, I've been practicing 'mind physio' - the idea of visualizing the wrist movement, even when it's in a cast... keeps the brain side of the process active, even if you can't move the actual wrist. Read about it; it's meant to really work!
anyway, 3 hours and counting..
DrP.
If it’s comminuted, then you should check the movement carefully as it returns. Mine was so far off normal that I’d never have been able to bend my wrist down without the op! I went private after my first three-week fracture clinic, where I was told that the joint plane was at the wrong angle and would need an operation. The operation was done two days later. The alternative was to wait and see then have an operation, which would have interferes with my race season!
I have 75 degrees downward flexion now compared to 90 for the good wrist. Both flex 90 degrees upwards. There is a kink in my wrist from above. And it tells the weather. It’s my dominant hand, but I learned to do things like mouse use with my other.
Good luck. Do the exercises.
Not sure you'll be able to ride your bike just yet.
When riding an mtb, one doesn't realise how much strength is needed through the hand to the shoulder. Also the amount of movement we use through our arms is considerable. Not just your legs.
When I broke my arm, it was months not weeks before I could ride. The reverberation when going over flattish trails wasn't pleasant.
Good luck and hopefully it'll be just a bad memory soon.
Loving all the medical advice being given to our STW's own GP 🙂
Edit - and yes of course, GPs can't know all there is to know about wrist fractures, but still, makes me chuckle
When water hits your withered, pale and super black hairy arm it will feel really soapy as the skin starts to come off.
Use a rough towel to help the sloughing of skin, wash again and repeat with the rough towe
But so satisfying. Oh, and buy one of these: https://powerballs.com/ Made an enormous difference in a short time for me.
On the bright side you also get back all the things you lost* down the cast when the itching became unbearable at about week three.
* table knife. Oops.
Well...had the clinic on Tuesday, and they took off the cast and I had the XR...
because my wrist was in such a flexed position in the cast (see photo), when they took it off it felt super weird.. really weak.
I couldn't even lay my arm down flat on the X-Ray table...
My poor old hand was so weak and feeble looking, and my bicep and wrist have become really skinny!
The surgeon advised no cycling for 3-4 weeks, and no 'extreme' mountain biking for a few months. Hmm..I'd cycled to the hospital! I figured he meant "don't fall off or it'll break again with ease".
I strapped the wrist up, and went back to work... Any form of bending was so tight and painful..eek..
Roll on 3 days later.. it's still a bit sore, but i can dorsiflex about 45 degrees (was previous minus 5 degrees!) and palmarflex about 70 degrees..
I'm in a lot less pain than I thought, can type and generally do light activities with the wrist, so I'm feeling positive.
I feel I've lost so much upper body strength from injury and under use. I've a bit of a plan in place to gradually build up range of motion and strength again, but it's going to be a slow recovery I think!
I reckon I'll get back into lane swimming just to improve motion in a non impact way.
Still planning on a light XC ride with teh OH in a few weeks time - will take the FS rather than the rigid bike!! TBH, I'm more likely to fall down the stairs at work, than I am fall off on a gravel ride!
DrP