broken arm - screws and plate :-(

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GermanyJo

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Hi
wondering if anyone on here has experience of recovering from a break which involved screws and plates ?
during what was a good jumping lesson 10 days ago, failed miserably to stay on my youngster during a high jinks bucking session (frozen fields.. no turn out for 2 weeks sort of high jinks.. think you all know what I mean).
anyway .. managed to go splat against the wall of the indoor school and shatter my humerus which then needed and op .. 13 screws and a plate later i am sat at home with the expectation that I cannot ride for 12 weeks :-( ...

one of the doctors has been telling me I should give up riding (!) ... the surgeon I only spoke to briefly .. have an appointment with him next week .. he was slightly more down to earth, but did mention that with the plate still in , this would be a bit risky, esp if I managed to fall on the same arm again (I am clearly going to try to avoid that !)

just wondering if any of you comp guys had a similar injury and if you took it careful when the metal work was still in .. ie no XC country, or no jumping .. I have been told the plate may be able to come out after a year ...

am feeling horribly sorry for myself as was just getting to grips with the new boy and now have to sit and watch other people ride him ... I am lucky in that the ex owner is doing most of the riding and she is very good so not that i need to worry about his development .. but even so ... 12 weeks seems like a very long time at the moment :-(
 
Ouch, sorry to hear about your injury.

I've got a lot of metal and screws in my collarbone and shoulder now after a nightmare break.

Worst part was the lovely NHS left it for 10 weeks before deciding I needed an emergency operation to plate it and in that 10 weeks I have done pretty awful damage to my muscles and ligaments and have lots of scar tissue over my back from it being so out of place.

I was back riding again about 6 days after my operation to plate it- mainly because it instantly felt so much better once plated.
I wore my body protector and P2 jacket for the first month or so.

I got bucked off about 6 weeks after my op (with my body protector on) and it was fine.

Got signed off by the hospital about 3 months after the op; unfortunately I can't have my plates out as the last x-ray showed that the bone hasn't regenerated enough to hold itself together :(

My consultant assured me that my metalwork is now as strong as original bone but obviously if I land on it hard enough to break normal bone, the metal work will be damaged and due to all of the screws it will make quite a big mess.

I felt a bit windy about riding my very big and athletic horse for a few months and was permanently in my body protector but gradually got my nerve back and now am happy to ride/jump/hack in just a t-shirt (and jods! ;)

Last point, if you can, I would recommend going private for physio etc as the NHS were pretty horrendous in this respect- 2 weeks after op they were telling me to strengthen arm by lifting newspapers; I had driven to hospital and was already back at work fulltime by then!
Private was much better and gave me really good exercises to do and were interested in what I needed in terms of mobility and strength whereas NHS seemed to only care enough that I could move enough to discharge me.
Only strength loss I have now is pushing something above me or lifting things down from high shelves.
 
Hi,
Firstly I wanted to say sorry to hear about your accident. I came off at an event last September and broke my arm which required an op, although mine only had to be K-wired and the wires came out after 5 weeks.
However, my friend was kicked by a horse a few years ago which broke her arm . It was repaired using a plate and screws. I think the hospital did tell her that she must not break it again!:( However she went back to eventing and show jumping and all has been fine. I remember her being relieved the first time she fell off post op as she had been dreading falling off and damaging it. (No damage done).
 
Sorry to hear of your accident.

I too have lots of metal work holding my left arm together after a bad fall. I was only in plaster for about two weeks as the surgeon said that the metal work would make the bone even stronger and I have never had it removed.

I never rode for 2 years afterwards but that was more to do with how I felt about horses at the time rather than not being physically able to do it as had only broken my collarbone 3 months before doing my arm.

Of course that never lasted and back eventing quite happily.First time I fell off afterwards people thought I was weird as jumped straight up onto my feet in joy that I hadn't broken anything!

My only real problem now is that sometimes I can really feel it if I have been tanked with round cross country and have to support it with a brace. I have rebroken it since after being hit by a car when out hacking but removed the plaster after 12 hours of it being put on and continued riding with the brace.

I echo Millitiger's comments about the physio and ensure you get a good one if the NHS service is rubbish. I was very lucky as even though my NHS physio felt like a torture queen she ensured that my arm was back in full working order as I had a lot of nerve damage also and had to retrain my hand to work properly and I had about 6 months of twice weekly sessions.

Take the initial time out to allow it to heal as that is when the problems start and before you know it the 12 weeks will fly by and you will be back on board.
 
millitiger

wow ... that sounds like not much fun ! .. I am quite lucky in that I am in Germany at the moment so have a bit more faith in the health system here .. the physio I have at the moment is good .. and they are pleased with the movment I have already .. apparently there was a big worry about my elbow
I am also a bit worried that I am going to be 'windy' when I get back to riding again, but like you mention, I figure I will just need to work through that and hopefully will improve :-)

at the end of the day, my attitude re the 'no more riding ever' .. is that I could have a car accident/ fall over on the street and mess the arm again , I am not going to be able to wrap myself in cotton wool for the rest of my life
 
FlyingCoo

that is really encouraging to hear, I have a hard plastic shield thing at the moment that i need to wear .... mainly because the x rays they took the day of the accident did not show the real extent of the damage, so they were a bit shocked when they saw how bad it really was when they opened me up .. should have really had 2 plates , but did not have one long enough prepared (!) .. so they put a few extra screws in

I think I will know more after my meeting with the surgeon on Monday re long term prognosis, think I am more worried about how my head will deal with it , don't want to have to turn into a dressage diva :-)
 
GermanyJo said:
I think I will know more after my meeting with the surgeon on Monday re long term prognosis, think I am more worried about how my head will deal with it , don't want to have to turn into a dressage diva :-)
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You will know yourself when the time comes how your head deals with it. Just try and not over think about it just now as trust me demons grow in your head:D. When you do decide to go back jumping just take it steady and work with someone you trust and who will not just say "pah all you did was fall off"

As I said before after my jumping accident I walked away and said nope not for me but continued to groom for my brother and until one day said stuff this always being on my own feet and just jumped back on and decided to just point the horse at some fences and as they say the rest is history!

Good Luck with the healing :)
 
I am fighting off the demons at the moment .. good thing is they knocked me out to get me into the ambulance and put my arm back in the right direction . .. so alot of it is a blur .. the problem is the other people telling me how awful it looked, but have already told everyone to shut up about that :-)

is really encouraging to hear Flyingcoo .. thanks :-)
 
GermanyJo said:
I am fighting off the demons at the moment .. good thing is they knocked me out to get me into the ambulance and put my arm back in the right direction . .. so alot of it is a blur .. the problem is the other people telling me how awful it looked, but have already told everyone to shut up about that :-)

is really encouraging to hear Flyingcoo .. thanks :-)
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Ah yes sometimes friends bless them just like to let on too much information. I had a rotational fall 2 years ago in the XC warm up over a 2 ft log and never thought much about it as just jumped back on then proceeded to go clear XC.(Please note if I had known what had actually happened I wouldn't have got back on but all happened so quickly and sure there was some concussion involved!)

However, my friend witnessed it all and even had to retire XC as she felt so ill after watching me and then kept giving me a full account of my fall and how X,Y & Z could have happened and kept going on about it. Needless to say I then took a few XC wobbles after that until I had to give myself a slap!!:D
 
Sorry about your arm, My story is very similar to Flying Coo's except i didnt have a break from riding afterwards and tried to carry on with the same horse and eventually eroded my confidence away to nothing, I rarely jump nowadays! However reading stories about people with similar breaks, not being plated, i feel extremely lucky that they gave me more metal than i could ever need Lol! I had the whole never ride again, seems to be a standard hospital warning off, I had serious nerve damage and they had to reroute the nerve round the back of the plate, which slowed things down for me slightly, but as others have said, Do as much physio as you can, swimming three times a week helped mine no end, I was back on in 6weeks fell off again at 10 weeks , landed on my feet, jumped for joy, then had a reality check and tried to be a bit more sensible :o

Im a couple of years on, and apart from a huge scar i dont often remember i have an arm full of metal, lol, It sometimes twinges if ive been doing too much! Try to take things easy and dont feel pressured into doing too much if you dont feel like it. I had a massive phobia about being disabled and about not being able to do what i used to, but tbh i just had to adjust to what i was capable of and not beat myself up about it :o Good luck and i hope it heals quickly x
 
I broke my collarbone near the shoulder and at first the doc said that they would have to use a removable plate. I was operated on three days after the break happened and ended up with a permanent plate held in by eight screws. It happened five months ago and I returned to gentle hacks after 8 weeks and having lessons at 12 weeks. I've more or less forgotten it's there and although I can see a bump where the plate ends it's not causing me any discomfort. :)
They did say that it could be removed if it caused me problems but so far so good.

If your bone is set properly I can't see why you can't carry on as before. I think doctors err on the side if caution. They probably get fed up pinning horse riders back together.
 
TrasaM - I think you have hit the nail on the head with the doctors ..is a bit like when I worked at a vet clinic.... you only see the lame horses and problems .. but you are only seeing the tip of the iceberg .. doctors only see the accidents and not the hundreds of riders who are not breaking themselves every day :-)
 
Hi I have a plate and screws in my radius after having a bone tumour removed an a couple of inches of bone graft added in. That was in 2010. Its a permanent plate. Echo previous comment on getting a good physio even if that means bypassing nhs. I have pretty much full function back and no worries about riding jumping competing, xc etc. That arm is the strongest but of my body now! Pain in the arse as it sometimes sets off metal detectors at airports.
 
Mine doesn't apply to an arm, but I had a horse related accident 2 years ago which amongst other things smashed my jaw which still requires further surgery to get it something like functioning again. I asked my surgeon what would happen if I broke it again, bearing in mind it's had 6 op's on it to date and he said you can't go through life avoiding things just in case, so his view was try not to take any stupid risks, but just get on with it as best as you can!
 
I have plates and screws in my collar bone (since 99), Leg / ankle (since 2007) and hip (since 2011). Too be honest my mobility not quite the same as joints but I always understood if anything they would be stronger! I really wouldn't worry about it long term.
 
I had a clean break of my distal humerus, cracked elbow, spiral fracture and my radial nerve was trapped by the broken bones. I had a 10cm plate and screws and my plate curves round the top of my elbow.

I was advised to wait a minimum of five months before i returned to riding but I chose to ride 4 weeks after my op which was undoubtably too early. My arm was very weak and if I'd have fallen off I could have caused irreparable damage.

Pain wise I managed pretty well, until my op the pain was very bad because the nerve was between the bones (they hadn't realised). After the op I stayed in hospital for 6 days then the day I left I got a hospital bug and couldn't keep anything down which meant no pain killers. When I got better I decided I'd managed without so I chose to take none and felt fine.

I had a great recovery, when I went back at 10 weeks I was discharged. My surgeon wouldn't believe it was so quick he checked my records because he thought I was wrong. Im not sure what helped but I took calcium, didn't drink alcohol or use ibruprofen (both may slow healing). For 2 weeks I did nothing at all to allow the screws time to bed in. Then I did lots of physio (lots of air piano!!), and I used the arm as much as I could.

As far as riding with a plate. You'll only break your arm if you would have broken it anyway, the only difference is you will most likely break either side of of the plate. Because of nerve complications they don't want to remove mine so I'm stuck with it.

Long term effects for me (but im only 8 months post op)have been a slightly weaker arm, it swells when I do too much, it hurts if I bang it or someone grabs it, I use my left hand now for heavy lifting and sometimes my scar stings. I think I lost 6 degrees straightening but none bending

Good luck
 
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I fractured my humerus mid-shaft, it was plated and screwed (only 7 screws I think, I feel very inadequate). I started riding again a few months later (really can't remember how long I gave it) with doctors' warnings ringing in my ears, trying to ride defensively, and rode like crap, fell off more times than I care to remember! Then thought "stuff it" and just put it totally out of my mind, and was fine again (eventing at N level back then). Had plate removed after about a year on dr's advice, never given me a problem since.
Good luck with your recovery.
 
It was ten years ago but I broke my arm and dislocated my elbow, and had a plate and six screws inserted. I was very lucky. I was only in cast for ten days and was given permission to start riding a week after that as long as I was careful. I think I started jumping about 6 weeks after the break. I still have the metal work in.


More recently (23rd November), I had my tibial plateau plated and was told I was looking at 12 weeks before even thinking about sitting on a horse again. I managed nine and a half and I was tacking up for my riders using one crutch to hobble around the yard on :o
I've been on twice since the break and I've only managed one round of the arena in sitting trot on each rein. I don't want to push it and end up injuring myself again. I've found the muscle wastage to be a problem though.
I was told that my plate may have to come out but it isn't causing any issues so I'm going to leave it in.

Good luck with your recovery. :)
 
Kerilli
after hearing about Sarah_janes metalwork, I am feeling very very indequate :-)

I am hoping my plate will also come out .. did you have much time out after the op to remove the plate ?
It definately sounds like as long as everything heals ok and just need to make sure my head is in order ... I do wish doctors would try not to be soooo over dramatic with these things
 
I think the plate removal was the really easy part, the scar itself was sore and I think I was told to give it a bit of time for the screw-holes to fill in with bone to strengthen it completely (a doctor will probably now tell me that's rubbish, but I think that's what they said, it was ages ago!) and I'm sure I rode again that week.
It is definitely as strong as it was pre-injury, it's my left arm and I'm left handed so I'd definitely notice. So, don't despair. Btw, in case physio doesn't tell you in time for you to try it (as happened with me!), don't try hanging from anything by your hands to test its strength etc. ;) ;) I got very told off...
It feels exactly the same as the other one for all normal things, the only thing is that I can't fold it up behind my back the same as the other... with my right arm, I can fold it so my forearm is vertical along my spine, fingers touching neck, kind of thing, but with the one that had the op, it's about 4" off that position for some reason, maybe muscle damage or something, and won't go further. But that's a fairly unusual thing to ask it to do!
 
kerilli said:
Btw, in case physio doesn't tell you in time for you to try it (as happened with me!), don't try hanging from anything by your hands to test its strength etc. ;) ;) I got very told off...
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Needed to laugh at that :-) ... at the moment holding a coffee cup is too much weight for it, but will bear in mind in a week or 2 that I should not do any 'hanging tests' :-)
 
goodness and there was me at home feeling sorry for myself having trapped nerves in my back and neck and no riding for 2 weeks, feeling very inadaquat :(

My friend had to have a her arm pinned back together last year, pins are still in place but she is back riding infact doctor said it was fine infact I think it was at her final check up prob about 10 weeks after the op and the doctor told her to just crack on with it, he was irish, as she was at no greater risk of injury than if she hadn't had the pins in. She has been out huntng this year and been fine.

Wishing you a speedy recovery.
 
I had my radius and ulna plated in 2004 and they've never come out. Until this year they've never caused any problems, I was always told that if I do break that arm again it would break around the metal as that was stronger. It is always a bit in the back of my mind as it was an open fracture so a bit of a bloody mess and I wasn't allowed to ride for 6 months and being 13 parents had final say, but it's certainly not stopped me doing anything :)
 
I am currently out of action with a complicated tibial fracture in an Ilizarov frame (external fixator - feel free to google it). The injury was sustained in a very undramatic hunting accident at the end of September 2012. As a nurse I fully understand why Drs will advise no riding or a long break but in the end only you can take responsibility for your actions once you have heard and balanced the advice given. My priority is back to driving once frame is off and I will be riding as soon as I have sufficient knee movement. The key is always lots of physio. If your physio is an NHS one make sure they really understand just how much mobility you need, in my experience this works but again you need to do the work in between visits.
 
This is me eventing with a splint on:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IaGqwoQlnmA/SKRiSIVBUDI/AAAAAAAAAQs/36DxWZIQPDQ/s320/George080810.jpg



OK it's an Eskadron brushing boot :D The hospital would not give me a splint and I needed it to protect the scar.


This is why:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IaGqwoQlnmA/SOs9oeu25FI/AAAAAAAAAYw/njxsiDMamkw/s320/ARM3WR.jpg

The doc told me it would be serious if I ever broke it again, but what's the option - never ride again? Never cross a road again? Never leave the house again?
 
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