Fractured wrist how long to heal

You may need a second cast if you have a complex break. For the first few days following a break, elevate your wrist above your heart to ease pain and swelling. Icing may also be recommended. We usually advise sessions of minutes every two to three hours for the first two to three days. Over-the-counter painkillers can manage your pain. Our doctors at Maryland Orthopedic Specialists recommend hand physical therapy , usually in the later stages of wrist fracture healing.

Stretching and strengthening exercises can help restore range of motion and function. We can schedule those appointments for you. A wrist fracture occurs from an injury such as falling down onto an outstretched hand. Severe trauma such as car accidents, motorcycle accidents or falls from a ladder cause more severe injuries.

Weak bones for example, in osteoporosis tend to break more easily. When the wrist is broken, there is pain and swelling. It can be hard to move or use the hand and wrist. Some people can still move or use the hand or wrist even if there is a broken bone.

Swelling or a bone out of place can make the wrist appear deformed. There is often pain right around the break and with finger movement. Sometimes the fingers tingle or feel numb at the tips. Your hand surgeon will do a physical examination and obtain x-rays to see if there is a broken bone. Sometimes, tests such as a CT scan or MRI scan may be needed to get better detail of the fracture fragments and other injuries. Ligaments the soft tissues that hold the bones together , tendons, muscles and nerves may also be injured when the wrist is broken.

These injuries may need to be treated also. A padded splint might be worn at first in order to align the bones and support the wrist to provide some relief from the initial pain. Certain wrist fractures are worse than others. Fractures that break apart joint surfaces or shatter into many different pieces are far more severe.

Such fractures will usually require surgery to correct their alignment. Recovery time for a fractured wrist will vary from situation to situation.

Factors such as whether or not the fracture is displaced or stabilized, your age and health, and the presence of other injuries all come into consideration when trying to estimate how long it will take to recover from a wrist fracture. Typically, a splint will be used for the first few days until the swelling goes down. About a week later, a cast will then be applied. Restricting the movement of a broken bone in your wrist is critical to proper healing.

To do this, you'll likely need a splint or a cast. You'll be advised to keep your hand above heart level as much as possible to reduce swelling and pain. To reduce pain, your doctor might recommend an over-the-counter pain reliever. If your pain is severe, you might need an opioid medication, such as codeine. NSAIDs can help with pain but might also hamper bone healing, especially if used long-term. Ask your doctor if you can take them for pain relief. If you have an open fracture, in which you have a wound or break in the skin near the wound site, you'll likely be given an antibiotic to prevent infection that could reach the bone.

After your cast or splint is removed, you'll likely need rehabilitation exercises or physical therapy to reduce stiffness and restore movement in your wrist. Rehabilitation can help, but it can take several months or longer for complete healing. With external fixation, a metal frame outside your body immobilizes the fracture with two or more pins that pass through your skin and into the bone on either side of the fracture.

You might need surgery to implant pins, plates, rods or screws to hold your bones in place while they heal. A bone graft might be used to help healing. These options might be necessary if you have:. Even after reduction and immobilization with a cast or splint, your bones can shift. So your doctor likely will monitor your progress with X-rays.