Fall from horse resulting in broken upper arm

[Wildthing1784693]

Hello everyone.

I recently fell from a horse in a jumping lesson, and I have a mid shaft humerus fracture of my left (non-dominant) arm. I have never broken a bone before, and I had no idea at the time what I had let myself in for. I was very much of the understanding that broken bones take around 6 weeks to heal, give or take. So apparently chose the wrong bone to break!

I have struggled to find too much information online about others who have gone through the same experience, but I gather horse riding is a common way of breaking this bone!

I will include a brief overview of my journey so far so that others might find this in future if they are going through the same thing. Please feel free to leave any comments, questions or insights

Day of injury: I fell from a horse while jumping, at speed, directly onto my left arm and knew instantly it was broken. Ambulance was called, I was given gas & air and morphine for the pain (I didn’t feel any pain at this point but the paramedic assured me that adrenaline and shock were involved in that and that I’d be glad to have the drugs in my system shortly). I was taken to A&E, and examined. X-ray confirmed a broken left humerus midshaft, but no nerve damage suspected. The fracture was severe on the X-ray so I was informed that an operation was likely to be required. My arm was then manipulated into the correct position and put in a splint, from shoulder to elbow. A further X-ray was completed which now showed my humerus in an acceptable position and I was therefore told no surgery required for the time being. I was sent home with strong painkillers and told to return a week later.

Week 1 check up: X-ray showed that my humerus was now in a less favourable position than the week previous. They decided to try a brace for a week and see how it was looking. The brace was applied and the X-ray repeated, showing an acceptable position again. Sent home for a week. Having now done my own research, I believe the movement in my humerus over week one was due to having not been advised to stay upright at all times and to not rest my elbow. I had been sleeping on my side (on non-injured arm) and had often been resting my elbow on surfaces to give my neck a break from the weight of my arm.

Week 2 check up: Still happy with position of humerus. Told to begin some basic movement to try and stop elbow from seizing up too much. Asked to return the following week.

Week 3 check up: Position of humerus still acceptable. Different doctor this time. Doctor unsure whether callus was starting to show or whether just the angle of my injury on x-ray but seemed positive that all was going to plan. Asked to to return two weeks later to ensure position of humerus still acceptable. Told to start doing some shoulder movement also to prevent stiffness here.

Week 5 check up: Another new doctor. Doctor looked at my arm for first time today. Until this point no one had actually looked at it since the brace was fitted. He said from images on X-ray it was hard to tell if any healing had begun as until calcium present the X-ray won’t show it. But he felt the bone and also asked me to try and move my arm away from my body, and he seemed to think that the arm is beginning to now move as one unit, which he tells me is a good indication that healing has started. I have now been asked to return for my next check at the 8 week mark, when he hopes to have more concrete evidence of healing. He said by now the bone should be more stable in position and that the brace is more for comfort and support at this stage, therefore does not need to be too tight now.


I am keeping everything crossed that the next X-ray will show some progress. Mentally I feel like I am coping well considering, but I miss riding and running, and driving. I would also like to get back to work but the doctor has signed me off until my next appointment. I have had some dark days where I have felt like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve had days where I have felt very isolated having no freedom to drive anywhere, and as I live in a rural area my friends are not nearby to jus pop in. I am not a talker when I am struggling so my friends had not realised how difficult things were for me. However one day I was particularly upset when one of my friends called, and she then realised how difficult a time I am having. She has been very supportive since and has taken me out a few times to cheer me up/distract me.

Sleeping has been challenging. After I read that I should be keeping upright, I started sleeping propped up with pillows. The doctor has said to me that this is not necessary however I feel that it is worth a shot if it can help. I have however now I am passed the five week point began sleeping a lot less upright, almost flat on my back. I am hopeful that the bone has enough ‘sticky stuff’ to keep it in place now. This has helped me sleep as my main issue is neck pain, with the weight of my arm hanging on it constantly. I have been very fortunate that I have not to date experienced much pain in my actual arm. Discomfort at times, but not pain as such. I cannot yet fully straighten my arm at my elbow however from reading others journeys I believe this is fairly normal and is something I will need to work hard on to fix.


Sorry for the long post - I’ve struggled to find information around this, so I am hoping that my experience so far may be of interest to anyone else going through this now or in the future, and of course I would be interested to hear anyone else stories or inputs!

 

[Red-1]

I broke the top off my arm. Initially the A&E told me it could not be broken as I had driven myself there, but TBH I had eaten 300 whatever of Diclofenac (over 12 hours) and was still sweating with pain, so I suspect they just did not bargain on me being so stubborn.

The GP a few days later sent me for an MRI as the whole shoulder had rotated, and the top of the arm was completely detached.

I just had it in a sling, and had a few months of rest. To be fair, the Drs had wanted to pin and plate it, but said that if I did not have an operation it would still heal, but would take longer. I chose no operation as I was worried about infection etc.

It did take months, and I was perfectly miserable, and it was difficult not to keep checking to see if I could lift it when it was not tacky enough to stick, but it did pass.

I then had a couple of months where I did physio and swimming, and it was over a year before I got full use back. But, that was a long time ago and it is fine now.

 

[curiosity101]

Mine isn't the same injury, but I was thrown from a horse and ended up with a compression fracture to my L1 vertebrae.

Different bones and I know you were after information about how long your injury might take. But the advice I got from my doctors was 3 months for the bone to fully fuse / heal.

Then much like Red I need a few months of physio to help repair the muscle damage / wastage and get me back to 100% fit.

 

[rifruffian]

I recently had serious complex fracture ......right arm. Your age seems to have some say in how quick you heal.........( I am 77yo)

In my case healing was not detected, after 5 weeks. I decided to eat calcium supplement.

At the 8-9 weeks mark.......was healed.

 

[Dizzydancer]

Humerus fractures are awful- and renowned for slow healing, however 6 weeks for a true break not just a fracture to heal is very ambitious. Realistically 8weeks is the point most will return to work and hospital sign you off- they can usually see start of callous at this point on X-rays.
Age has a big part to play on healing also aswell as your diet. From the sounds of it your healing is pretty much going to plan, it will take you probably around 4months from initial injury date to regain full use of the arm once sling off- however it is not fully strong and healed for 12months since the break occurred so do be mindful

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Hello everyone.

I recently fell from a horse in a jumping lesson, and I have a mid shaft humerus fracture of my left (non-dominant) arm. I have never broken a bone before, and I had no idea at the time what I had let myself in for. I was very much of the understanding that broken bones take around 6 weeks to heal, give or take. So apparently chose the wrong bone to break!

I have struggled to find too much information online about others who have gone through the same experience, but I gather horse riding is a common way of breaking this bone!

I will include a brief overview of my journey so far so that others might find this in future if they are going through the same thing. Please feel free to leave any comments, questions or insights

Day of injury: I fell from a horse while jumping, at speed, directly onto my left arm and knew instantly it was broken. Ambulance was called, I was given gas & air and morphine for the pain (I didn’t feel any pain at this point but the paramedic assured me that adrenaline and shock were involved in that and that I’d be glad to have the drugs in my system shortly). I was taken to A&E, and examined. X-ray confirmed a broken left humerus midshaft, but no nerve damage suspected. The fracture was severe on the X-ray so I was informed that an operation was likely to be required. My arm was then manipulated into the correct position and put in a splint, from shoulder to elbow. A further X-ray was completed which now showed my humerus in an acceptable position and I was therefore told no surgery required for the time being. I was sent home with strong painkillers and told to return a week later.

Week 1 check up: X-ray showed that my humerus was now in a less favourable position than the week previous. They decided to try a brace for a week and see how it was looking. The brace was applied and the X-ray repeated, showing an acceptable position again. Sent home for a week. Having now done my own research, I believe the movement in my humerus over week one was due to having not been advised to stay upright at all times and to not rest my elbow. I had been sleeping on my side (on non-injured arm) and had often been resting my elbow on surfaces to give my neck a break from the weight of my arm.

Week 2 check up: Still happy with position of humerus. Told to begin some basic movement to try and stop elbow from seizing up too much. Asked to return the following week.

Week 3 check up: Position of humerus still acceptable. Different doctor this time. Doctor unsure whether callus was starting to show or whether just the angle of my injury on x-ray but seemed positive that all was going to plan. Asked to to return two weeks later to ensure position of humerus still acceptable. Told to start doing some shoulder movement also to prevent stiffness here.

Week 5 check up: Another new doctor. Doctor looked at my arm for first time today. Until this point no one had actually looked at it since the brace was fitted. He said from images on X-ray it was hard to tell if any healing had begun as until calcium present the X-ray won’t show it. But he felt the bone and also asked me to try and move my arm away from my body, and he seemed to think that the arm is beginning to now move as one unit, which he tells me is a good indication that healing has started. I have now been asked to return for my next check at the 8 week mark, when he hopes to have more concrete evidence of healing. He said by now the bone should be more stable in position and that the brace is more for comfort and support at this stage, therefore does not need to be too tight now.


I am keeping everything crossed that the next X-ray will show some progress. Mentally I feel like I am coping well considering, but I miss riding and running, and driving. I would also like to get back to work but the doctor has signed me off until my next appointment. I have had some dark days where I have felt like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve had days where I have felt very isolated having no freedom to drive anywhere, and as I live in a rural area my friends are not nearby to jus pop in. I am not a talker when I am struggling so my friends had not realised how difficult things were for me. However one day I was particularly upset when one of my friends called, and she then realised how difficult a time I am having. She has been very supportive since and has taken me out a few times to cheer me up/distract me.

Sleeping has been challenging. After I read that I should be keeping upright, I started sleeping propped up with pillows. The doctor has said to me that this is not necessary however I feel that it is worth a shot if it can help. I have however now I am passed the five week point began sleeping a lot less upright, almost flat on my back. I am hopeful that the bone has enough ‘sticky stuff’ to keep it in place now. This has helped me sleep as my main issue is neck pain, with the weight of my arm hanging on it constantly. I have been very fortunate that I have not to date experienced much pain in my actual arm. Discomfort at times, but not pain as such. I cannot yet fully straighten my arm at my elbow however from reading others journeys I believe this is fairly normal and is something I will need to work hard on to fix.


Sorry for the long post - I’ve struggled to find information around this, so I am hoping that my experience so far may be of interest to anyone else going through this now or in the future, and of course I would be interested to hear anyone else stories or inputs!

Here is my broken Humerus done in this accident https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZRtjAtIYGw

Could not decide whether the fix or leave it and every time I went for a check up they said oh I would fix it - oh I would leave it Oh I would fix it till 3 months went bye and I said FIX IT I did not want any more waiting and it was July a when I started work and accident was the Nov before.


Mine was minimal healing but the new growth was pushing the bones apart the other side, and they kept saying lets leave it another 6 weeks etc which is why 3 months went bye only then to have surgery. These big bones do not always heal well without a plate, I was out of work 9 months, to add i also had to sleep upright, the bloody hospital said you have no shoulder broken, only then I said well the pain is from here, * oh you want to xray that bit??* *duh!!! yes* to which they did but cast my radius not my upper arm. Only after 2nd xray they realised I broke my humerus.

 

[Hoof_Prints]

I haven't broken this bone, but have broken every limb at some stage! So I'm sending sympathy, it's so frustrating, when I broke my wrists they were badly displaced and I narrowly missed surgery. I'm surprised hospitals don't attempt to give out diet recommendations, as my healing was very quick and I focused heavily on eating the correct things (which I've shamefully forgotten now but a quick google tells me!) . Lots of protein when rebuilding the muscle too.

Physio helped to a point, but I think the main worry for me was the fact I was still in considerable pain and not able to do much intense activity for months, I couldn't jog due to pain in my back (not broken, just damaged in the fall) and my broken foot made things very difficult. After about 10 months it subsided entirely, so don't worry if things seem to take a while, you'll get there and should be able to cope with most things to a useful level!

 

[Abi90]

I feel for you. I broke my clavicle in the summer, was told 6 weeks to heal. It took 14! Then another 2 months of physio (military physio not NHS) to get most movement back. It was very painful, I couldn’t really sleep and had awful muscle spasms from compensating. Muscle tone and strength came back very quickly tbh and I was pleasantly surprised.

7 months on its still painful now but I can use it normallly, played enforced volleyball the other day which nearly crippled me all weekend so do be careful even when you are technically “mended”. I’ve been told it will never be 100% again but I will get used to it

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

I feel for you. I broke my clavicle in the summer, was told 6 weeks to heal. It took 14! Then another 2 months of physio (military physio not NHS) to get most movement back. It was very painful, I couldn’t really sleep and had awful muscle spasms from compensating. Muscle tone and strength came back very quickly tbh and I was pleasantly surprised.

7 months on its still painful now but I can use it normallly, played enforced volleyball the other day which nearly crippled me all weekend so do be careful even when you are technically “mended”. I’ve been told it will never be 100% again but I will get used to it

You're right I broke collar bone and shoulder blade in the 80's and it never healed right and still have a disability now and all bra and t shirts straps slide off my left shoulder now due to angle of my shoulder being sloped down

 

[cobsarefab]

I broke my humerus very high up and it took about 9 weeks in a cuff and collar thing because of how high it was.

 

[windand rain]

I broke my humerus in 8 bits it was the worst pain I have known took the best part of a year to get it working surgery was not an option as too many bits so was hung round my neck no support except a collar and cuff gravity did the trick eventually best treatment was swimming and hydro therapy

 

[SadKen]

I broke mine in September 2014. Mine was a proximal fracture of the head of the humerus, which I cunningly did by falling off a mountain bike onto a stone at speed. I had gas & air in the ambulance but no morphine as I didn't trust my husband to listen to what we were told about the injury. I was offered iboprofen and paracetamol in hospital, which remains my most ridiculous healthcare experience. Mine looked like a bullet had gone into it, and it was in 4 pieces. Initially they considered pinning it but decided to wait. It couldn't be cast due to the injury being at the head of the humerus, so it was only in a sling.

My word, it was painful. I only had codeine which I bought from the chemist to get through it. I had some nerve damage, which still hasn't fully healed and likely never will. The forecast was for me to recover 45% movement in the arm, but I've actually managed 85% by pushing through the nerve pain once I'd achieved fusion, and moving it as much as I could.

As mine wasn't a full break but fracturing, it knitted back together within 4 weeks, and I started to move it around as much as possible within tolerance of the pain. I didn't sleep at all for the first 2 weeks, but I lay down a lot on my back. Don't try to lie on your side without jamming a couple of pillows at your front for your arm to rest on - it's when it slips downwards that it'll hurt. It needs to be as static as it can be. I had broken sleep until 8 weeks in.

I started riding at 8 weeks but mine is extraordinarily sensible. It was really painful but had fused, so it was only nerve and muscle damage at that point.

With a full break like that in a big bone I'm surprised they haven't pinned it. You can't do anything about the muscles really until it's fused. Calcium (milk etc) and pineapple are meant to be good to promote healing. Stay away from anything with phosphorus in it, as that'll hinder bone growth.

Most of all do not underestimate the significance of a fracture of the humerus. It's a big deal and takes a lot for the body to heal.

 

[GG87]

Hi,

Really sorry to hear about your accident, hope you are mending well.

My accident happened on the 23rd Jan 2018.

I fell off after just getting on a horse and adjusted my stirrup, as I lent over to adjust my right stirrup, he reared then side stepped and continued to ****** off. I was unbalanced and heading for the floor on the right side, still holding the reins, I let go and tried to tuck in but shoulder smashed straight into the floor. I knew something was broken, felt dizzy and sick and had to support shoulder. I wish it was doing something amazing but just getting on! Husband collected from stables and drove me to hospital, a lot of pot holes and swearing later, we sat in A and E for a number of hours. I wasn't screaming in pain, think the adrenaline was high, only had pain relief once I was admitted. I was really hungry and desperate for a cup of tea!

I fractured my right head of humerus (multi fragmented on surgical neck) and partially dislocated my shoulder 12 weeks ago. Had a couple of days in hospital and saw various Dr's, they couldn't decide between surgery or letting it heal on it's own, then Dr's decided I could go home with a sling. I was signed off for 6 weeks, that was when I cried. The shock had hit me. They seemed to focus on the dislocation and my sling was quite restrictive. I was due to go back to hospital a week after to assess, but couldn't get an appointment until a couple of weeks after that. My husband suggested I use BUPA cover he has through work and I'm on the policy, so phoned and had an appointment a week after the accident. I was given codeine for pain, I managed to get off them after 2 weeks, found they made me feel dizzy and sick at times.

I saw a consultant who is a specialist in shoulder fractures and he told me to ditch my restrictive sling and use a collar and cuff type to let to arm hang to straighten the bone out and allow a little movement. He wasn't too bothered about partial dislocation as he said the muscles should pull it back up in time. He said to rest it and see if it heals on its own, he didn't think surgery would be required at the moment.

2 weeks later I saw the consultant again, x- rays had shown that shoulder hadn't dropped anymore, I could start doing gentle forward/backward movements, squeezing hand and rotating wrist. He said because of position of shoulder I will lose about 20 degrees of movement, surgery can help get full movement back but if I can help it I don't want surgery.

6 weeks after fall I started gentle physio, amazing how much power you lose and how weak you feel, but the exercises really help and every little bit further you go is a real achievement. I ditched the sling as advised by physio and let my arm hang loose. Only used sling if out in busy places.

7 weeks in and saw the consultant again. X- rays had shown that callusing wasn't apparent yet, he moved my arm and said that it feels like the bones are moving together, I was quite disappointed because I thought I was making really good progress. He said although it isn't appearing on x ray it is possible that callous is forming just very slowly. Asked me about diet, whether I smoked, which I don't and diet isn't bad. I started to take calcium and magnesium supplements. I left feeling a bit down and upset, but picked myself up later on in the day. Another note issued for 6 weeks.

9 weeks in physio exercises were getting more challenging, at this point I couldn't even lift my elbow from off the bed if I was lying down. Something to work to. I really found going out for walks a couple of times a day helped lift my spirits.

I'm now at 12 weeks, I can lift my elbow and extend my arm fully when lying down, I can extend my arm out in front of me fully standing up, lift my elbow and arm upwards to chin level standing up, I can extend and lift my arm near to head height, feel like i'm getting strength back, only one physio exercise that has hurt a bit is one crawling up the wall. I'm getting up higher each time, but has hurt quite a bit. Have physio today so hoping I have some new exercises to do so I can lift arm a bit higher up.

Keep at the physio and do try your best to do the exercises, they have really helped me and I feel like I have made huge improvements since 6 weeks ago. I have consultant appointment next week so I really hope to see some callusing! I'm still sleeping propped up, but only because I'm scared I will turn onto my bad shoulder and damage it. I started driving a little bit this week, only around the village, but it has helped with getting used to the movement.

I thought the same as you about the bones taking 6 weeks to heal, but I think generally it is about 12 from researching, but everybody is different and not everyone fits into a box. Just make sure you don't do too much with it, listen to your body and if it hurts when doing physio exercises, just stop and let physio know.

Keep setting yourself little goals and things to work towards, always reward yourself when you have got to that point and keep telling yourself you will get there. You will have down days, but keep going and keep focused.

I have been very lucky with the treatment I have received and being able to see the same x-ray chap and consultant has given a sense of continuity and consistency. I see the same physio person too. It will take time unfortunately, I never for one moment thought I would be having this much time off from work, but accidents happen and it's important you recover properly and not rush back into things because it could do more harm than good.

I hope you have had some good news since posting this and hope to hear about your progress soon.