Broken arm - pain and recovery time

[Ruth W]

I fell of Xc schooling 4 weeks ago and broke my ulna and radius, I had them both plated the day after. I have had fairly good movement since the day after the op (not far off normal movement and range), if anything the hospital and physio have just told me to be careful not to overdo it as my movement is so good. I'm trying hard not to do too much and horse is lame so thankfully Riding isn't even an option.
This week though, my arm is aching far more, all the way up to my shoulder and just feels very heavy and can still often feel very hot. Has anyone had similar and is this normal? Any advice welcome 😊

 

[SpringArising]

I broke just below the Surgical Neck (very upper arm) after one of mine ran through a fence with me on board rolleyes3 and although it was a while ago I do remember it ached A LOT rather than giving me actual pain, if you see what I mean.

I think it spasmed a couple of times too, which was painful.

Hope you feel better soon!

 

[Ruth W]

Thanks, it is more aching than pain which is weird, I discovered earlier this week I can't last a day without painkillers yet! Only on paracetamol but they clearly take the edge off more than I realised!

 

[ester]

Re. the hot... is it possible you might have some infection?

 

[windand rain]

Do you have a pot on it if so the aching all the way up your arm is likely because you are using muscles you are not used to doing and carrying the extra weight. So are doing too much with it on and hanging down. Is it hot to you or hot and red to touch. if it feels hot to you it is likely the healing process if it is hot and angry to look at get it checke for infection

 

[Dave's Mam]

Do you have a pot on it if so the aching all the way up your arm is likely because you are using muscles you are not used to doing and carrying the extra weight. So are doing too much with it on and hanging down. Is it hot to you or hot and red to touch. if it feels hot to you it is likely the healing process if it is hot and angry to look at get it checke for infection

If it feels hot to you, but not hot to touch, it's probably all the mending activity going on, like W & R said above.

 

[ycbm]

Mine, same break, did the same at four weeks. Very hot feeling, and more pain than previously. I think it must be something to do with the joining together of the bone? Any orthopedics people around?

 

[Abi90]

Not arm but collar bone. Broke it 3 weeks ago and it now hurts more than it did when I broke it and I have a permanent dull ache that paracetamol just doesn't do anything for

 

[shirl62]

Hubby has said not normal to feel hot ( upper limb orthopaedic surgeon )...best to get checked out...

Shirl

 

[Ruth W]

Hubby has said not normal to feel hot ( upper limb orthopaedic surgeon )...best to get checked out...

Shirl

Thanks, I'll ring the hospital and try to get an earlier appt ☹️

 

[Ruth W]

Mine, same break, did the same at four weeks. Very hot feeling, and more pain than previously. I think it must be something to do with the joining together of the bone? Any orthopedics people around?

I'm hoping it's just the healing, aching is definitely worse, and up to my upper arm / shoulder. Will ring physio and hospital tomorrow to try and go back this week, thankfully have healthcare via work so makes life easier ��

 

[cobsarefab]

I broke my humorous just below the shoulder it aches for about two weeks and then it was healed after 8 weeks. The doctor told me it was ok to ride 12 weeks after the break happened. It felt hot only the next day and I think you should maybe ask your doctor about that as I know other people who've broken their arms and they've not experienced heat after about the second day after the break.

 

[Wimbles]

I broke my humerus into a few bits last August, complicated by some coming through the skin. It was plated and pinned but I had to have 7 months off riding. A year on I don't have pain as such but it still aches quite a bit and is quite a bit weaker than my other arm still. For a long time there was considerable heat around the site of the injury and my consultant said that this was normal.

Hope you're back on board soon.

 

[Casey76]

I did the other end of my arm and fractured the distal end of the radius (throwing in a rather spectacular dislocation of the bone too!)

I was plated 9 hours after the accident, and had my first physio session 4 hours after surgery. I was discharged with strict instructions not to pick anything up weighing more than 250g. I had physio twice a week for 19 weeks in total and I had the plate removed after 6 months (rather than the 12-18 that the surgeon recommended due to nerve pain, as the plate was irritating something on the inside).

I don't remember taking many painkillers at all, but I lived with an icepack attached to my wrist for a good couple of weeks to dull the aching. The injury site remained warm(er than usual) for several weeks, and I put it down to the inflammation of the tissue/healing that was going on.

I couldn't drive for ages as it was too painful to turn my wrist over without using my elbow, so consequently I didn't ride for about 8 weeks. I couldn't pick a foot out for ages! that was one of the things which got me!

I do have to say though, it has been almost 10 years since I did that, and even now, the injury site aches like mad at certain times, especially if I've been doing a lot of heavy lifting.

 

[Ruth W]

Wow Casey76, it sounds like you did a good job! I (thank god!) seemed to have turned a corner, the aching has really reduced yesterday and it feels far less uncomfortable, my arm was feeling slightly alien up until yesterday but seems to have changed. I put the arc Equine on (have been almost living in it for the last 4 or 5 days), not sure if that's made the difference. It I really feel a massive change with today versus how it felt at the weekend. Fingers crossed, although no point in too swift a recovery....lame horse now ☹️. Thanks for your help

 

[Casey76]

Wow Casey76, it sounds like you did a good job!

Haha, I wish I still had the xrays! The end of the bone which snapped off was twisted 90 degrees to where it should have been (it was torsion/torque which snapped the bone after I grabbed the front of the saddle with my left hand and then came off over the right shoulder)

They got the consultant surgeon out of bed to do the surgery after they made it perfectly clear to me that just putting a cast on, or even using key wires wouldn't fix this as the dislocation was too bad. I refused to have a GA, so they did it under a regional block, which was the most bizarre experience, as I could feel the vibration of the screws going into the bone. After wards, before the block wore off, my arm was like a bizarre piece of meat stuck to me. It felt very hot in comparison to the rest of me, and it didn't feel real at all.

I was determined that I wasn't going to stay in hospital though, and got myself dressed (including bra!) and was waiting for the Dr to come and do rounds. I was discharged at 11am, having been admitted at about midnight.

That's Swiss efficiency for you.

 

[Ruth W]

I completely agree with the piece of meat comment, only in the last two days has my arm started to feel like it belongs to me! I had a week off work (office based job at least) and worked part time from home as soon as I got out of hospital, thought I was tough but you win! Must stop injuring myself ��!