The combination of both ibuprofen plus acetaminophen is much more effective than either one alone the medical term for this is synergistic. If pain is severe, patients may need to take a prescription strength medication, often a narcotic, for a few days.
Discuss these options with your doctor. Casts and splints must be kept dry, so use a plastic bag over your arm while you are showering. If you do get it wet, it will not dry very easily you can try to use a hair dryer on the cool setting. There are no real "waterproof" casts, but there are some options available that have their pluses and minuses. Discuss this with your doctor. Most surgical incisions must be kept clean and dry for five days or until the sutures stitches are removed, whichever occurs later.
Everyone wants to know, "Can I return to all my former activities, and when? Most patients do return to all their former activities, but what will happen in your case depends on the nature of your injury, the kind of treatment you and your surgeon decide upon, and how your body responds to the treatment.
You will need to discuss your case with your doctor for the specifics of your case, but some generalizations can be made. Most patients will start physical therapy, if their doctor feels it is needed, within a few days to weeks after surgery, or right after the last cast is taken off. Most patients will be able to resume light activities such as swimming or working out the lower body in the gym within a month or two after the cast is taken off, or after surgery.
Most patients can resume vigorous physical activities, such as skiing or football, between three and six months after the injury. Almost all patients will have some stiffness in the wrist, which will generally diminish in the month or two after the cast is taken off or after surgery, and will continue to improve for at least two years.
You should expect your recovery to take at least a year. You will still feel some pain with vigorous activities for about that long. Some residual stiffness or ache is to be expected for two years or possibly permanently, especially for high energy injuries such as motorcycle crashes, etc.
However, the good news is that the stiffness is usually minor and may not affect the overall function of the arm. Remember, these are general guidelines and may not apply to you and your fracture. Ask your doctor for specifics in your case. Your doctor knows that returning to activities is important to you. Finally, osteoporosis is a factor in as many as , wrist fractures.
It has been suggested that people who suffer a wrist fracture may need to be screened for osteoporosis, especially if they have other risk factors. Ask your doctor if you need to be screened or treated for osteoporosis. Information provided by the American Society for Surgery of the Hand.
Distal Radius Fracture Colles Fracture. You may need a second cast if you have a complex break. For the first few days following a break, elevate your wrist above your heart to ease pain and swelling.
Icing may also be recommended. We usually advise sessions of minutes every two to three hours for the first two to three days. Over-the-counter painkillers can manage your pain. Our doctors at Maryland Orthopedic Specialists recommend hand physical therapy , usually in the later stages of wrist fracture healing.
Stretching and strengthening exercises can help restore range of motion and function. We can schedule those appointments for you. In most cases, these conservative healing methods are enough.
Surgery may involve the insertion of pins, screws, plates, or other devices to hold your bones in place to heal. In fact, recent large-scale randomized clinical studies suggest improved functional and clinical outcomes for selected fractures when compared with more invasive surgical techniques. Using the technique of augmented external fixation , the fixator see Figures 9 and 10 is generally applied in conjunction with percutaneous pins and bone graft to directly support the broken fracture fragments and reduce the need for traction to be applied by the fixator device.
This allows the wrist to be placed in a comfortable position and the fingers to be used for resumption of lightweight daily activities almost immediately after surgery. When the wounds are healed in 10 to 12 days, patients are allowed to shower and get the wounds wet, provided they keep the pin sites cleaned regularly.
New biologic agents which enhance bone healing hold much promise in treating fractures when used along with one of the treatments mentioned above. On the near horizon, researchers, scientists, and clinicians expect biologic agents to augment the bone healing process to such a degree that a four-week recovery period may be realized for distal radius fractures, substantially shortening the current 6 to 8 week outlook.
This may enhance the future applicability of some of the percutaneous methods of fracture treatment. Periodically, clinical trials of new agents are being tested by Dr. Wolfe and his colleagues at Hospital for Special Surgery and elsewhere throughout the country. The rule for bone healing in general is to expect a six-week period to ensure proper bone strength. After that, it is generally advised to include an additional week or two of support in a removal plastic splint.
A stable fracture may be treated with a combination of casting and splinting throughout this healing period. In most cases, a patient who has undergone internal fixation surgery for a distal radius fracture may begin gentle wrist range of motion within 1 to 2 weeks of surgery, after which time a removable splint is used to support the hand.
The external frame and pins are usually removed sequentially, beginning 3 to 6 weeks after surgery, followed by a few additional weeks of removable splint wear. Fractures of the distal radius are very common, and are treated using either casting or surgical techniques such as internal and external fixation.
There are nearly as many ways to treat a distal radius fracture as there are distal radius fractures. In other words, there is no one treatment that is effective for all types of fractures.
Each fracture requires individual treatment customized to deal with the specific characteristics of the fracture. What is a distal radius fracture? Diagnosing distal radius fractures of the wrist: Proper imaging and the Fernandez classification Treatment for distal radius fractures: Closed reduction, casting, surgery, fixation and biologics Postoperative recovery An individualized treatment plan for distal radius fractures What is a distal radius fracture? There are two common variants of distal radius fractures that are characterized by the direction of forces applied to the wrist during a fall: Colles' fractures, the most common type of distal radius fractures, which occur when falling on an outstretched hand, where the hand is extended backward on the wrist, and Smith fractures, which are caused by the opposite mechanism, that is, when the hand is flexed forward under the wrist.
Diagnosing distal radius fractures of the wrist: Proper imaging and the Fernandez classification A proper diagnosis begins with proper imaging, including initial and follow-up X-rays and possible advanced 3D imaging. The Fernandez Classification Distal radius fractures, initially classified using one of several anatomic classification schemes that described the number of fracture fragments or disrupted joint surfaces, are increasingly classified by specialists according to the mechanism of injury that caused the break.
Fernandez, MD, based on the direction and degree of force applied to the radius in the fall: Bending : While Colles dorsal fractures are caused by a "bending" of the bone when the hand is extended backward on the wrist, see Figure 1.
Smith volar fractures are caused by "bending" in the opposite direction, with the hand flexed forward under the wrist. A Colles fracture of the distal radius. Figure 2. A Smith fracture of the distal radius. Figures 9 and
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