Fractured arm, now i can't straighten it

Discussion in 'The Guru's Pub' started by sdamaged99, Jul 24, 2010.

  1. Andrés

    Andrés Guest

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  2. nutyo

    nutyo Ancient Guru

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    I'm a Physiotherapy Student in my final year graduating in a few short months. The advice in loquefxp's post is golden, listen to it. Secondly there is no need to panic, it is completely normal with any sort of immobilisation to lose range of motion. It can be gained back.

    Unfortunately being over the net there is just so much information I need before I can give you a treatment plan or proper advice, some of which you may not know. I am assuming you had it conservatively managed since you didn't mention surgery. What kind of fracture was it? (Avulsion/transverse/spiral/comminuted/etc.) How did you do it? Are there any other fractures? Do you have any significant soft tissue damage? Has there been good reduction and alignment of the fracture? Without seeing x-rays or getting a handover from the treating doctor, I can only give you very conservative advice to make sure that everything is safe. Upper limb fractures generally take around 4 weeks to achieve proper union so for the next couple of weeks I would not push into end of range techniques.

    1. Move the elbow as often and as much as possible within pain. Do not push past pain. This includes bending and straightening the elbow as well as rotating your forearm as if you were turning a door knob.
    2. Either self massage or, preferably, get some one to massage your biceps using their thumbs using strong but tolerable pressure up the length of the biceps. Don't go across it.

    That should keep you from losing any more range and probably gaining more by the time you see someone in person. Again these techniques are safe and conservative and while there are much more aggressive and effective ranging techniques I can't recommend them without knowing exactly what the situation is with your arm.

    Hope this helped at least a little bit.
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2010
  3. Marduk-

    Marduk- Master Guru

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    I would see a physio and they can probably help you with some exercises if you are really concerned about it.
     
  4. Chouji

    Chouji Guest

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    if you guys didn't notice, his issue isn't really an issue at all. it's just common stiffness after getting the cast removed.

    Often times people think once they get the cast off, it'll immediately be good as new.
    He didn't mention how long he had the cast off. After a week he should see some improvement, and have almost full movement after a month.
    Just because the cast is off, doesn't mean the arm is fully healed either.
    It just means it's strong enough it no longer requires a cast.

    Think concrete, it you can take it out of the mold after 24-48 hours, but it could take months, or in some cases years to fully dry.

    But it's still good he's seeing a doctor, even if the doctor just tells him it's normal. There could be something else in play we cant see from here so it's always good to have it checked out, as with all medical problems.
     

  5. Adicto

    Adicto Guest

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    LOL EPIC!
    Hahahaha, but i still don't see any problem asking here :D
    We get something to talk about and people can share experiences :)
     

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