broken arm - screws and plate :-(

[Piglit]

Oh dear...I do feel your pain...mostly because as I write this I am recovering from my second operation on my arm 5 days ago. 2 years ago I got kicked in my arm. I didn't think it was so bad so I left it...8days later it still hurt so I went to hospital and found out it was broken. They put me in a cast for a week then when I went back told me the likelihood of it knitting was highly unlikely due to the nature of the break and they recommended surgery to fix a plate. I went ahead with it...

BUT...it came to light soon after that a screw was sticking out of my arm, and I had a few issues with it. Over the last 12 months it's got progressively worse with chronic inflammation and nerve damage to the point where I was in massive pain. On Tuesday I finally had my second operation to remove the plate because luckily my bone had knitted well but I'm now faced with 6weeks out of the saddle and I've had a crap week recovery wise being really sick.

I must say while it never occurred to me at the time I think it really hit me confidence in a way I wouldn't admit. I sold my horses and took a year out and in my head it was because I wanted to focus on training and only in the last 3 months have I returned to riding again. I'm really buzzing with enthusiasm and passion to get going but with this damned operation.

 

[Elsbells]

I'd like to awaken this old thread and ask how everyone, if your still here on the forum of course) have progressed, how long it has taken in total and how have things changed if at all in your riding lives?

I fell a week ago and at 56 I've broken my radius and several wrist bones. I also have 2 open wounds which advocated an immediate flush, debride and a plate and pin operation. My wrist is in a splint now and I've had the dressings changed every other day. After 3 full nights in hospital on strong painkillers and introvenous antibiotics I'm now home and the practicalities of life, home, a husband with MS and my pony in livery, I have a few worries and need to plan if that's possible.

An update on how you all survived would be extremely useful to me right now and much appreciated.

 

[Fire sign]

Yes, I was catapulted off a young horse 10 months ago , badly breaking my collar bone and puncturing a lung. I was in hospital for a week waiting for the lung to reflate and then had the collarbone reset with a plate and screws.

There was a lot of pain and I was very frightened and shocked

I was 57,had never had a serious accident and thought I was invincible

When I came home I felt weak and wobbly and then frustrated because I needed help with even the simplest tasks. I could barely dress myself or wash my own hair and had a horse who needed 3 heavy soaked haynets tying up and lifting every day My husband is not horsy but I had good friends who really rallied round .

The first time I walked slowly to the yard ( half a mile ) I felt so weak and wobbly that all I could do was sit down and drink coffee and then someone had to give me a lift home in a car.

I must admit I felt devastated !

But slowly and surely I got better

We invented a gadget to help me lift the haynets

I mucked out on my hands and knees with rubber gloves because I was too weak to lift a shavings fork !

After 5 weeks I bought a ginormous body protector and got back on my horse.

This was not the one that bucked me off but my tried and tested horse of a lifetime

Then I walked slowly around the yard twice and got off ....

And in the following months I found that some of the things I had previously found easy were now a challenge . My naughty horse had to learn to stand still at a mounting block because I was too weak to clamber on..

She had to lead nicely to the field because my shoulder couldn't tolerate leaping and plunging at the end of the lead rope .

I absolutely could not afford to fall off because i had to protect the mending bones and this made me a rotten rider , the horse detected my caution and she really played me up. Had a "challenging "winter but we had some lessons with a really good instructor who made me forget about my injury and get on with riding.

Horse returned to her former good behaviour and we recommenced hacking out and schooling

Yesterday we managed to get round the Somerford Park Farm ride on our own

We trotted and cantered and hurtled over 4 or 5 of the tiniest jumps at speed and cantered down the track in a state of great excitement ! It wasn't the most stylish riding I must admit and there was some up undignified hauling of the reins to get us back to a place of safety but I was so delighted

I may never be the rider I was but this is enough for me !

You will be OK I am sure

Us horsy folk are made of stern stuff

It's just one day at a time and tiny steps at first

Don't be afraid to ask for help and try and be patient ....

 

[Elsbells]

So pleased for you fire sign, but it does sound a long hard slog and damm hard work! I hope I'm up to the challenge too x

 

[ycbm]

I'd like to awaken this old thread and ask how everyone, if your still here on the forum of course) have progressed, how long it has taken in total and how have things changed if at all in your riding lives?

I fell a week ago and at 56 I've broken my radius and several wrist bones. I also have 2 open wounds which advocated an immediate flush, debride and a plate and pin operation. My wrist is in a splint now and I've had the dressings changed every other day. After 3 full nights in hospital on strong painkillers and introvenous antibiotics I'm now home and the practicalities of life, home, a husband with MS and my pony in livery, I have a few worries and need to plan if that's possible.

An update on how you all survived would be extremely useful to me right now and much appreciated.

I broke my radius and dislocated my elbow years ago and it was plated and it's not been any problem since.

I broke my wrist really badly last year, both bones (hand hanging free!) and was cast. You are lucky you are not in a cast because all my research suggested that the more movement you can get into it from four weeks onwards, the better. I took my cast off to do this myself. The result I have is leaving doctors open mouthed with wonder.

My advice is at about the month stage, depending on advice from your physio, work at increasing the range of motion on your wrist on a constant basis. Watching tv, lay your forearm on the arm of the chair and raise your hand as high as it will go easily, then ask for a tiny bit more. Do the same downwards, side to side, and rotating. I also massaged my solid tendons to free them. Day after day until you can't get any more improvement. I reached maximum at about six weeks.

It was weak for at least three months, and I had a number of splints for different purposes. A heavy one for any time I was near horses. An air cast for when I was actually on a horse. A light one to sleep in.

I mucked out one handed, and it was useable for light duties at about five weeks and rapidly improved. Lifting a saddle onto the horse's back was one of the most difficult and I still notice it now, a year later, but it causes no problem.

Use bio oil on the scars (out make your own with vitamin E and sudocrem) and they will hardly show.

One slight bonus is that broken bones take massive amounts of calories to fix so you may be able to eat what you like for a couple of weeks

Good luck!

 

[Elsbells]

Than you so much, you have given me hope. I've read this thread inside out gleaning any tips and I was happy to read yours as I am doing constant physio movements shown to me by the lady that fitted the splint for me. I'm quite determined to get full use back and can remember my shouting at the doctor as he manipulated my wrist in A&E, "keep going, I need it to be perfect to ride!" As I drew hard on the gas and air! My daughter said there was blood everywhere and he couldn't believe I didn't ask him to stop, hence the following X-rays looked really good before pinning.

 

[ycbm]

Than you so much, you have given me hope. I've read this thread inside out gleaning any tips and I was happy to read yours as I am doing constant physio movements shown to me by the lady that fitted the splint for me. I'm quite determined to get full use back and can remember my shouting at the doctor as he manipulated my wrist in A&E, "keep going, I need it to be perfect to ride!" As I drew hard on the gas and air! My daughter said there was blood everywhere and he couldn't believe I didn't ask him to stop, hence the following X-rays looked really good before pinning.

Atta girl!

The doctors were asking me why I wasn't screaming or crying. I asked them whether it would do any good!

If your x rays were good, you've got a great chance. I had the most fabulous A&E doctor determined to set mine for me and he got it almost perfect from a huge displacement of both radius and ulna. Put your foot behind that cabinet and BRACE, man, he shouted at the junior doctor helping him

Keep working on it, you'll be using it before you know it. The bone should have joined by about four weeks, maximum strength after four months, but yours is plated so should be strong enough already. So listen to it and do as much as it is happy to do at the time.

If it would help I will try and find the casts and splints I bought and point you to them? I thoroughly recommend the air splint for riding in, it gave me confidence that I wasn't going to damage it again.

 

[Elsbells]

Atta girl!

The doctors were asking me why I wasn't screaming or crying. I asked them whether it would do any good!

If your x rays were good, you've got a great chance. I had the most fabulous A&E doctor determined to set mine for me and he got it almost perfect from a huge displacement of both radius and ulna. Put your foot behind that cabinet and BRACE, man, he shouted at the junior doctor helping him

Keep working on it, you'll be using it before you know it. The bone should have joined by about four weeks, maximum strength after four months, but yours is plated so should be strong enough already. So listen to it and do as much as it is happy to do at the time.

If it would help I will try and find the casts and splints I bought and point you to them? I thoroughly recommend the air splint for riding in, it gave me confidence that I wasn't going to damage it again.

Love that the doctor shouted brace man!��.
Yes if you can send me the links I can perhaps get them on prescription, if not I'll buy. It sounds like my break is a copy of yours too xx

 

[Dizzydancer]

Gosh Ells bells sorry to here that!!! Your local to me so if you need help give me a PM!
Which hospital did you go to?
Also in response to ycbm comment about the plate don't push it the pins and plates can easily be moved in the early weeks of injury (you still need 6weeks to allow bone to form in the site and then it will be ok to start doing anything with it) x
Make sure you have follow up Physio asap as a lady at my yard had hers pins and plated and they hadn't done it quite straight but Physio didn't start for 5months post op and by that point they had healed in wrong position but no one had picked up about her having lack of range of movement as the plate was sat too high. She is back riding now but it took 12months (although her horse is very quirky) x

 

[ycbm]

Also in response to ycbm comment about the plate don't push it the pins and plates can easily be moved in the early weeks of injury

I understand your warning and I would repeat my recommendation to 'listen to it'.

She'd be superwoman if she could withstand the pain sufficiently to disturb the screws, even if she could get the range of movement to do it, which from experience I can say is probably extremely unlikely with that injury in the early weeks.

I rode at six weeks, but only on my trustworthy horse. The other, I did not ride for more than three months. I didn't ride without a cast or a strong splint for a long time.

 

[Elsbells]

Gosh Ells bells sorry to here that!!! Your local to me so if you need help give me a PM!
Which hospital did you go to?
Also in response to ycbm comment about the plate don't push it the pins and plates can easily be moved in the early weeks of injury (you still need 6weeks to allow bone to form in the site and then it will be ok to start doing anything with it) x
Make sure you have follow up Physio asap as a lady at my yard had hers pins and plated and they hadn't done it quite straight but Physio didn't start for 5months post op and by that point they had healed in wrong position but no one had picked up about her having lack of range of movement as the plate was sat too high. She is back riding now but it took 12months (although her horse is very quirky) x

Oh sorry Dizzydancer, I did mean to say Thankyou for the offer of help I really appreciate it, very kind 😊.
As an update I am repairing into week 6. I've followed much if not the adive offered and the NHS have been fantastic. Still have the dressing changes as the hole in my arm is quite a beauty. My yard has been fantastic with the care of my pony(thank goodness it's summer) and I'm starting to feel like I'm getting somewhere positive.

 

[Fitzpatrick81]

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 :-(

Hi . I've been wondering the same thing as I have plates in my ribs now from a accident . How did you find riding ? With your metal work .