Broken arm

[fredders]

I broke my arm a couple of months ago. Itwas quite a bad break and ended up having an operation on it. It feels much better now but is very weak. I haven't rode again yet but really want to. Does anyone have any experience of how long it will take my arm to strengthen up? My horse isnt quiet enough to ride one handed.my arm is pretty useless at the moment and I am really bored of not being able to do stuff or everything taking twice as long to do. Just a bit fed up with it really.

 

[Makemineacob]

It can take a good few months for things to feel better. You have to remember that you haven't used your arm for sometime whilst in plaster so it will feel very strange and weak. Have you been discharged from your fracture clinic? Your physio can give you exercises to build up your strength. Just don't rush into things and cause yourself more damage. Can you find a friend to help and maybe pop you on a lunge line if your horse isn't quiet enough (hubby has done this with me when I was recovering from injury and it was actually fun, fortunately he's quite fit so coped with lots of running), I actually found it really good for honing my legwork and using my weight more.

 

[Darbs]

Whilst I don't have experience of your broken arms relationship to riding your horse, I have a lot of experience with racing cyclists returning to racing following broken bones, and the approach is identical. The golden rule is your physio and consultant are key. Make it really clear to them that you want to return to riding as soon as possible, and ask for a plan on the best way to achieve that. All healthcare providers are extremely busy, so they have to take a one size fits all approach unless they get reason to look it from a different angle.

We had a guy in our racing team who broke his collar bone, he was initially told 10 weeks off the bike, 8 weeks later he won a race. That was achieved just by working on a plan with his consultant and physio.

There is a balance to be struck between moving forwards or making it worse, but make sure your physio and consultant are really clear that you want to ride your horse ASAP, they may have you on a plan that assumes you are not too bothered and happy sat watching TV.

p.s. There may be some hard work ahead, getting fitter faster isn't easy! Hope it continues to improve.

 

[fredders]

Thanks very much for your replies. Thats a good idea to get a friend to have my horse on the lunge the first few times I ride him. I will defo speak to my consulant about getting back to riding. My next appointment is next week. My horse has been off work since july so we can get fit together. Thats how I broke my arm. My horse being crazy cos he was on box rest. He is back to normal now he can go I the field every day.

 

[chancing]

I broke my arm back in Feb this year and wrist and hand! Awful break but I managed to get back into saddle in April. I wore a wrist support- just a flexible one I bought from boots and just started hacking round quietly with some company for first 2 weeks. I rode with mainly one hand and then introduced weak arm in slowly. Now it's December and my arm is pretty much fixed but still not back to strength it was prior to accident. You say your horse isn't well behaved enough for one hand - you may find yourself waiting a long time to ride! I found it only strengthened up with sensible riding and some Physio at home. I also got a friend to lunge/school him before I got on first few times so he was very tired. And just don't rush it your better off waiting longer and not having issues

 

[henmother]

I don't know about broken arms but I did break my back , riding related naturally. The advice I will give is, you might feel all healed and all better and ready to go , but your bone might not be. Listen to the physios , your consultant and please take it easy. Might it be worth having your horse worked back up to your pre accident condition before getting on? I sent my boy away for a fortnight to make sure he was sensible for me to get on . Listen to the experts and be careful. Not just riding but in general . Good luck with the mend

 

[applecart14]

I had a bad accident and ended up in intensive care. I hurt my shoulder and could not move my right arm in any direction (not even a mm) for about four days. I had damaged all the nerves in my shoulder and was lucky not to break my clavicle, as it was I had a fairly bad head injury where I ended up fitting and my eyes rolling in my head.

After being discharged from hospital I attended physio (think it was twice a week at that point - was way back in 1996). They gave me homework to do with therabands. Unfortunately I didn't do the exercises I was given as it hurt too much and my shoulder has remained in the position it was pushed into at the time.

Looking back I wished I had pushed myself harder and done the physio. I have been lucky to have not had any complications since but I do think I might end up with arthritis when I am in my seventies!

I can't emphasise how important it is to do the physio, I hope you manage to get back riding shortly x