# Broken wrist



## scottland (Jan 8, 2008)

So I'll start this one with a little advice. If the thought even crosses your mind, that you might have a broken wrist, do yourself a favor and have it x-rayed.

I took a nasty spill about 2 months ago, and didn't think much of it. I just thought it was a sprain like the other 5,000 sprains I've had in my life. It was swollen pretty bad the next day, but got better over the course of a week to the point i had about 80% range of motion, and little pain.

But it never got any better than that. So I thought, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have it checked out, since it's been about 8 weeks or so. Sure enough, broken navicular(scaphoid) in my wrist. It's gonna need a screw put in it, and then a cast for a couple months. So, if you sprain a wrist bad enough where you even, maybe, possibly, think that it could be fractured, have it x-rayed.


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## snowvols (Apr 16, 2008)

That sucks hopefully the surgery will go good.


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## nzboardlife (Mar 25, 2008)

Last night i went over on my ankle whilst drunk and clubbing... i've broken this ankle twice and its swelled up pretty bad but i can walk on it, and this is not the first time this is happened since i last broke it and i usually only get 80% range once this process is over but im way to scared to get it checked with the season about to start :|


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2008)

My buddy broke his wrist this season, clean break. Went off a ledge and landed on a semi-kicker. He took off his glove and his hand was backwards.


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2008)

^^^ aww I did not need to know that :O I couldn't imagine the pain that he was in.


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2008)

@scotland
the SAME EXACT THING HAPPENED TO ME! i landed on my wrist and at the time of the injury i was more concerned about my thumb, cus tht one hurt like a bitch, but not that its been a couple months, this happened on new years eve, i'm at the 80% thing and it hurts if i twist it at a certain angle. same thing with my ankle. cept the doctors said that one was just a really bad sprain.
maybe i should go and get it checked out.... ]:?


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2008)

That sucks men, sorry to hear that. Men I had so many broken bones that I can't even count them over 12 or so, don't remember. I think my bones are really brittle, although this was in my teens mostly. I feel your pain, hopefully your surgery goes well and the recovery is fast. When is the surgery scheduled for? I have been lucky enough to avoid surgery in every break I had :dunno:.


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2008)

You know that you don't have a navicular bone in the hand? It's the scaphoid. Incidentally, interesting point here is that scaphoid fractures often don't show up initially on x-ray. What we tend to do is splint the wrist and bring the person back to a fracture clinic to have further x-rays if we have any suspicion of a scaphoid fracture. Suspicion usually arises from tenderness in the 'anatomical snuff box' which is the area lying between the two obvious tendons to the thumb on the back of your hand (seen when you push your thumb out to the side). There we go, lesson for today over!!!! ;-)


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## scottland (Jan 8, 2008)

I got referred to a hand/wrist specialist from the orthopedic surgeon I went to. That appointment is Monday. I don't mind the surgery part so much, it's the extended period of time in a cast that I'm not looking forward to


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## Guest (Apr 18, 2008)

scottland said:


> I got referred to a hand/wrist specialist from the orthopedic surgeon I went to. That appointment is Monday. I don't mind the surgery part so much, it's the extended period of time in a cast that I'm not looking forward to


Cast are not bad, look at it this was you have the whole summer to recover. The only thing I hate about casts are how itchy they get. Good luck


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## sedition (Feb 8, 2007)

I did that. Same Bone, too. Only mine was "broken 9 to 12 months ago." Had a cast for 6-months. Yeah. If you think it broke, goto the Dr.Man.


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## Guest (Apr 18, 2008)

Other problem with a scaphoid fracture is avascular necrosis... i.e. the bone's blood supply stops. That makes it much more complicated if not picked up acutely, versus a normal distal radius/ulna fracture. I assume that's why you ended up with a cast for 6 months.


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## sedition (Feb 8, 2007)

Bobafett said:


> Other problem with a scaphoid fracture is avascular necrosis... i.e. the bone's blood supply stops. That makes it much more complicated if not picked up acutely, versus a normal distal radius/ulna fracture. I assume that's why you ended up with a cast for 6 months.


They told me they did NOT want to do surgery, and would only do so as a last resort. Hence, they said "lets cast it for a long time and see what it does on it's own." It heeled.


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## Guest (Apr 18, 2008)

Yeah, sedition, not being orthopaedic myself, but having worked in the A&E (ER dept) previously, I cannot recall what surgery they exactly do on a scaphoid. All the people I saw with a fractured scaphoid just had a cast. Glad yours healed.


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## scottland (Jan 8, 2008)

Bobafett said:


> Yeah, sedition, not being orthopaedic myself, but having worked in the A&E (ER dept) previously, I cannot recall what surgery they exactly do on a scaphoid. All the people I saw with a fractured scaphoid just had a cast. Glad yours healed.


I don't know the technical name for it, but for me, they are going to put a screw through the entire scaphoid to hold it together, and then cast it so it heals.


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## Catman (Mar 16, 2008)

I think I did something like this to my left wrist.It has been over 4 months and I still can't move it full range of motion. I can't tell if it a bad sprain or if it's broken. 

Maybe if I explain where it is one of you guys could shed some light on it for me.If you look at your left hand palm facing down look at the wrist bone that sticks out on the outer side now put your thumb on that bump and slide about a thumbs width forward and BAM right there is acute pain!! So what do you guys think? How long can a bone be broken and still mend anyway?


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## Guest (Apr 19, 2008)

Haha, Catman. Hmmm, did you punch someone/something to get that? Would be doing you a disservice to try and diagnose you over the internet. See your doctor. But fractures close to where you are saying is sore are 'boxer's fracture' i.e. 5th metacarpal if you want to get technical. Everyone tells you that they did it when the fell but then they own up to punching someone later on!


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## Catman (Mar 16, 2008)

Bobafett,

No punching but but I had a hard fall one time.

Well I went to the Dr. today and I had two fractures in my left wrist and a floating piece of bone.The chip is what is causing the pain.

So I want to thank you guys for making me realize that I needed to be seen.After a few shots I should be back to normal he says.


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## Guest (Apr 23, 2008)

Glad you got seen, Catman. What fractures did you have?


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## scottland (Jan 8, 2008)

My surgery was this afternoon. A titanium screw, a cast, and 45 minutes later i was done.


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## Guest (Apr 25, 2008)

And managing to type too... glad it went well.


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## Guest (Apr 25, 2008)

scottland said:


> My surgery was this afternoon. A titanium screw, a cast, and 45 minutes later i was done.


Cool, glad to see you're ok. Now the tedious part arrives the waiting game.


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## Guest (May 13, 2008)

Ok. Instead of being a noob and opening a thread about this I'll just ask here. What other injuries apart from broken wrists have you guys had? Seems fairly bloody common!! Do any of you find wrist guards help at all? You could probably tell by now I'm not a snowboarder.

I've got a bit of a bad back - my lowest disc, the L5,is bulging a bit which causes a bit of hassle bending over for prolonged periods of time, as well as sitting (good encouragement to get off my fat arse). Does anyone else have bad backs but continue to snowboard?


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## Guest (May 13, 2008)

Christafa said:


> Ok. Instead of being a noob and opening a thread about this I'll just ask here. What other injuries apart from broken wrists have you guys had? Seems fairly bloody common!! Do any of you find wrist guards help at all? You could probably tell by now I'm not a snowboarder.
> 
> I've got a bit of a bad back - my lowest disc, the L5,is bulging a bit which causes a bit of hassle bending over for prolonged periods of time, as well as sitting (good encouragement to get off my fat arse). Does anyone else have bad backs but continue to snowboard?


Injuries: anything can happen broken knees, tail bones, elbows and anything else you can think off can brake. Face injuries are not as common but they do happen as well. I believe that every border knows their limit and when you push it, something is odd to happen.

Wrist guards: they should work wonderful, I personally used to use them while extreme roller blading and they saved my wrist plenty of times. I have not seen anyone in the mountain with them, maybe it's because people want to avoid bulk in their gear as much as possible. I used to use a butt protector while boarding but stopped, it kind of limited my mobility and made my ass look huge .

About the back: Personally I have a bad back, but not as bad as yours sounds. I hit the chiropractor about once a month to keep everything in place, he does a great job at it. I know some boarders that have bad backs, they tend to take more breaks than usual to give their backs so time to rest. I think most snowboarders that have been bitten by the riding bug won't let an injury stop them from ridding, they will just ride to a lesser extent than before, to protect their body from further damage.

Why are you asking this questions? do you plan to join the sport?


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## Guest (May 13, 2008)

snowboarding is bad on your knees more than anything. long term at least. when you're riding you're in a kinda semi-squatting position and your knees are bent at angles other than straight in front of you, which puts a lot of stress on em. broken bones are most common in the wrist becuase when people fall they naturally put their hands out to catch themself. this is bad. eventually you can learn to go with the fall and kinda roll, which is nice cause you can keep your momentum and get back up without completely stopping. ass bone injuries happen also. i could see it being hard on your back. after my first two days or so i havn't had much more than bruises, soreness, and whiplash. if you take it easy you can make it out with little to no serious injury. bobafett i think is a doctor, hopefully he'll see this and chime in.


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## Guest (May 13, 2008)

About wrist gaurds, I use them. Last year was the first year I have used them and my wrists thanked me. RED makes some nice ones that fit under my gloves and are very comfortable. I think they're about $25 and worth every penny.


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## Guest (May 13, 2008)

Simply^Ride said:


> Injuries etc.
> 
> About the back: Personally I have a bad back, but not as bad as yours sounds. I hit the chiropractor about once a month to keep everything in place, he does a great job at it. I know some boarders that have bad backs, they tend to take more breaks than usual to give their backs so time to rest. I think most snowboarders that have been bitten by the riding bug won't let an injury stop them from ridding, they will just ride to a lesser extent than before, to protect their body from further damage.
> 
> Why are you asking this questions? do you plan to join the sport?


Yes I am thinking of joining the sport in about 12 months. Seems like a long way away but it's something I'm working myself towards as a goal. 

My back has been pretty good in the past, gradually only having to visit my chiropractor once every 2 or 3 months, but recently it's gotten worse due to my weight. But with my goal insight that should come off in the next 10 to 12 months right, right? :laugh:

It seems that most injuries I'm hearing are involved in jumps, and I have no intentions on doing that on my first go out in the snow. I'm sure people have broken their wrists from simply cruising and taking a fast fall and putting their hands out.

Thanks for the response SimplyRide.


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## Guest (May 13, 2008)

^^^^^ No problem. Just try the sport out see how it feels, don't push the limit and work on what you think you can do better without injuring yourself. You have to try the sport it really something amazing, once the bug bites you, you will want more and more and more :laugh:

If you mind me asking how old are you? Remember you are never too old to try new things.


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## Guest (May 14, 2008)

Simply^Ride said:


> ^^^^^ No problem. Just try the sport out see how it feels, don't push the limit and work on what you think you can do better without injuring yourself. You have to try the sport it really something amazing, once the bug bites you, you will want more and more and more :laugh:
> 
> If you mind me asking how old are you? Remember you are never too old to try new things.


I'm only 21 actually. I hurt my back from a combination of breaststroke swimming and a manual labour job which had a lot of lifting. Sucks a bit.

I went skiing before I had all my injuries and that was really awesome, but because I was heavy I couldn't do much more than that horrible 'snow-plough' manouver.

Snowboarding has taken my fancy much more. Pretty jealous of the guys who snowboard more frequently than just on a short holiday. Damn you .


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## Guest (May 14, 2008)

^^^^ I only get about 10 days worth of riding a season, it's expensive to travel from Florida to snowy destinations. It's cool that you decided to join the sport, right on. 

Feel free to ask questions, most members here are pretty cool about it.


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## Guest (May 28, 2008)

Scottland,

How long is the recovery time?

I broke my scaphoid playing hoops in February. I didn't see the doc for over 6 weeks. It hurt like the dickens when I fell on it snowboarding. And chopping wood. And throwing a baseball. 

I am in a cast now and surgery is a possibility.

Why did they use the screw vs a bone graft?

Any info you could give me would be fantastic.

TIA


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## scottland (Jan 8, 2008)

I figured I would follow up on this one as it's been a few months.

My surgery was in late April, my doc decided to go the internal fixation(screw) route, as he felt it would give me the best chance of healing 100%. After the surgery, I spent the next 6 weeks in a hard cast.

Then following the cast, I was given a soft splint to wear(which i didn't) for the next month. That pretty much leads us up to right now. I have about 75-80 of the range of motion I had, and my doc told me to start using my wrist for just about everything except weights and contact sports. It doesn't hurt at all anymore, but it's still somewhat stiff when i try to flex it all way. But I hear that's just from being stuck in a cast for so long. Long term prognosis is just fine.

On the bright side, I became really, really ambidextrous


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## Guest (Jul 18, 2008)

Dude I hear you!!! If you take a bad spill go get it xrayed. I am still nursing an ankle I thought was sprained and I am going on 7 months now. I thought it was a bad sprain as well I got most of my motion back within the first week and then I started riding again. (Bad idea) It was just sore after riding so I didnt think anything of it.....well in may I went to the Dr. because it was still bothering me and go some xrays.....we found 2 hairline fractures in my ankle  It still has not healed completely and they are talking about surgery.... no fun maybe even a season off


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