Recovering From a Broken Wrist

A broken wrist is a common injury with a variety of causes but it most often happens when someone puts their hand out to break a fall. Certain sports, like rollerskating and snowboarding, might put you more at risk but it’s possible to break your wrist in more everyday situations too.

 

If you’ve recently broken your wrist, you’ll probably be wondering how long your recovery will take and if there’s anything you can do to speed up the healing process. This article will cover expected recovery times, how you can help and the types of surgery that may be needed to treat your broken wrist.

Symptoms of a Broken Wrist

Sometimes, it can be obvious that a wrist is broken, for example, if a bone is protruding either beneath or through a break in the skin on your wrist. However, other symptoms that can indicate a broken wrist include:

 

• Bruising
• Intense pain that gets worse if you attempt to move your wrist or hand
• Inability to grip or squeeze things with your hand without pain
• General tenderness in your wrist area
• Swelling, warmth and redness around the area

How Long Does it Take to Recover From a Broken Wrist?

The NHS advises that it normally takes around 6-8 weeks to recover from a broken wrist, however, it can take longer depending on how badly damaged your wrist was and how well it is healing.

Things You Can Do to Speed Up Your Recovery

There are several things you can do to aid your wrist’s recovery.

Rest

This may sound obvious but many people try to do too much too soon. Don’t be tempted to return to work, school or everyday tasks before your doctor has advised as it’s easy to reinjure your wrist and set back your recovery even further.

 

 

Take regular pain relief

Staying on top of your pain with regular painkillers prevents it from building up and becoming unmanageable. It can also ease the swelling and give you a better range of movement, aiding your healing.

Elevate your wrist

Keeping your wrist elevated as much as possible, especially when you’re asleep at night, can help prevent further swelling and pain.

Ice your wrist

Putting ice on your wrist can help bring down swelling, however, make sure to wrap the ice in something suitable first (like a tea towel, for example) and only do it in short intervals of 5-10 minutes at a time.

Keep it moving

Your doctor should give you a leaflet containing special exercises to do during your recovery to keep your joints moving and aid your healing. It’s important to do these arm, hand and finger exercises so that they don’t become stiff and sore from not being used.

Surgery For a Broken Wrist

Certain types of fracture (or break) can cause a deformity or loss of function in your wrist, hand or arm. To prevent this, surgery may be needed to repair the wrist and ensure the bone heals in an optimum position.

 

A distal radius fracture is a type of break that often happens due to falling on an outstretched hand and can also happen in a car, bike or sports accident. If the broken bone is in a good position it’s sometimes possible to treat the break without surgery, however, if the break is considered ‘unstable’ and can’t be treated with a cast, then surgery will be required.

 

During the operation, a surgeon will be able to piece together your broken bone and insert plates or screws to keep the bone in place. As with any procedure, wrist surgery holds risks and potential complications, including infection, ongoing joint stiffness and arthritis. However, there are also risks to not carrying out wrist surgery on a severe break and you should discuss these with your doctor as part of the consent process. It’s normal to feel apprehensive about surgery but you can always speak with a legal expert for advice beforehand.