How long til excercise would be ok?

[porchcricket13]

I snapped my humerus last night, so it's gonna be a while before I'm able to do anything, even running. Just wondering about when it will even not hurt to walk. They haven't casted it yet, I need to see a specialist this week. I was hoping to bust some serious butt after my vacation, not so much now.

 

[Yuen]

Depends where you snapped it.

 

A general rule is about 6 weeks immobilisation and you can begin light activities at 6 weeks, and begin heavy activities at 12 weeks (assuming a check Xray shows appropriate healing).

 

The mid shaft of the bone has less blood supply, therefore slower healing potential, therefore fractures there may often heal slightly slower.

 

Spiral fractures or long oblique fractures have higher surface areas to heal than a transverse (or short oblique) fracture and are thus better for healing.

 

Keep in mind if the position or rotation cannot be acceptably controlled then you may require an operation.

 

I have not seen your xray nor yourself. Please don't take anything I say too seriously. The most accurate answer to when you can exercise again is when your fracture is healed enough - which requires your doctor to examine you and take an xray.

 

Oh... and I hope you get better soon!

[Evicious]

I'm with Yuen on this, just keep all your appointments, do your physical therapy religiously (if assigned any), take it slow and DO WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERS. The consequences of going too fast because you feel impatient will only keep you out of commission longer than if you bide your time and let your body fully heal.

 

And strength to you!

[Georges]

I'm not a doctor, but I suspect that once it's properly immobilized, you'll be able to walk okay. 

Running might not go so well - jostling might hurt/damage/slow healing, plus the cast weight + immobility could alter your form enough to cause problems (injuries elsewhere).

Do you have access to a stationary bicycle (preferably recumbent)?

 

Definitely ask your doctor if there's anything you specifically shouldn't do.

Definitely ask your doctor if there's anything you should do (and what the timeline is).

If you had a specific plan you were going to follow after your vacation, run it by the doctor.  He/She is likely to make assumptions and recommendations geared toward the average (sedentary) patient he/she is used to seeing, unless you make him/her aware of what you've been doing and what you plan to do.

 

That all is just my (unqualified) advice. 

 

Also: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2013/07/01/what-to-do-after-you-injure-yourself/

[porchcricket13]

Transverse fracture of the diaphysis. I can't even dress myself, and it won't stay immobile. Pretty sure I'm looking at some surgery.  I will see another doctor on Tuesday. They only splinted it in the er.

[BreadMage]

I'm not a doctor but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night....

 

I wish you a speedy recovery

[porchcricket13]

I'm at the candlewood suites in.Maryland actually, sleep is barely an option.

[Zorch]

 

I have not seen your xray nor yourself. Please don't take anything I say too seriously. The most accurate answer to when you can exercise again is when your fracture is healed enough - which requires your doctor to examine you and take an xray.

 

I'm going to go with everyone else on this one and say "listen to your doctor".

 

Running's a little iffy and depends a lot on the nature of your injury.  I was able to run 1 1/2-2 weeks after sustaining a hairline fracture to my elbow(basically as soon as I ditched the sling) - but a hairline fracture is very different from a full break.

 

I'd have a serious conversation with a doctor/physical therapist asking what activities are a go/no-go for your injury.  There may be some things you can do(bodyweight squats?) that will help your overall fitness without stressing your arm.

[porchcricket13]

My major issues right now include not being insured, don't really know if pt will be an option. Then again, I don't know if it's surgical yet either. I need a miracle right now.

[CalvinHobbes]

I'm confused...your humerus is in your arm (upper arm, bone proximal to the elbow). Does it hurt to walk because of the movement, the natural sway of your arm as you walk? 

 

Remember we are not doctors or medical professionals (or if we are, nothing we say can replace medical advice). 

[porchcricket13]

I'm confused...your humerus is in your arm (upper arm, bone proximal to the elbow). Does it hurt to walk because of the movement, the natural sway of your arm as you walk? 

 

Remember we are not doctors or medical professionals (or if we are, nothing we say can replace medical advice). 

 

I did it Friday, they tried to splint it and it shifted sleeping the first night. It doesn't always hurt but I can feel the two ends moving and rubbing. Walking can be bearable if, big if, I can keep it trapped to my body. Any fast movement, or bending is excruciating. The hope is either with proper casting, or more likely pinning, it will be stable, and hurt less often.

 

That being said, I was starting to trail run before this happened, there is a long road before that is remotely possible.

 

Edit: So essentially, yeah the movement walking hurts. Not all the time but enough to be frustrating. I do know once it's in place and stable that will improve. I'm not trying to replace medical advice, just curious since the er wasn't all that informative, they just said see ortho in a week to 10 days.

[cline]

oh geez!  Terrible terrible news!!!  I'm so sorry.  Even sorrier that it happened away from home.  I had a friend who broke her ankle away from home.  I felt so sorry for her.  

 

My friend broke her collar bone and had to keep her arm immobilized tight to the chest.  She couldn't dress either for a while and basic household stuff was a no go (friends, family, etc. they'll help. Even neighbors will help - you'll be surprised).  The pain will get better but only if you keep things immobilized, etc. per doctor instructions.

 

She is a hard core marathoner.  It was a very long time before she could run.  Honestly.  She was able to ride a recumbent bike after a while. 

 

Once you see the doc, you'll know more.  Right now, you are scared, worried, panicked and in pain.  (all normal).

 

First priority (as a seasoned oh shit I have a serious injury person) - talk to doc about injury and treatment.  Honestly, exercise is not your first concern.  It's not.  Your body needs that energy to heal.  (weight comes from food - if that's what's worrying you).  Pushing back into exercise is not good and will delay or derail healthy healing.  Doc will know what to do.

 

Don't focus on the exercise right now.  Endurance/cardio comes back faster than other things.  You'll be able to find some "in the meantime" options once doc approves it.

 

Right now, focus on getting pain under control, getting sleep (helps the body heal, helps the mind focus) and getting treated. 

 

I'm really really sorry this happened. 

 

Oh, and ERs are not ortho experts and honestly, they don't have more info to give you.  They set/stabilize and move you on.  That's what they do.  That sounds very very normal.  I would get in to an Ortho ASAP for treatment.  ASAP so nothing goes wrong and so you get pain under control.  That really matters.  And yeah, it's normal something like this would hurt when you walk.  Your body is telling you to sit still.  As much as it sucks, try to honor that.

[swarneke]

Since you mentioned surgery, if you go with surgery you'll probably have an overall long recovery period, especially if this is a break that can't be fixed by laparoscopic methods. If it needs a full incision, you could be looking at upwards of 6 months for a "full" recovery. That's what happened with I needed surgery to put in a plate and 3 screws on an ulna. An incision surgery will hurt a lot for 2 days or so post-op (mostly because of the "good" surgery pain relievers wearing off) but after that, you'll feel so much better.

 

Good news with surgery is that you generally aren't immobilized for as long (I was for 10 days post-op). You'll have basically full movement in your arm as soon as you're out of the splint, but you'll be very limited on what you can do with it and will have to slowly work up to doing harder work. Since you sound like a walker/runner you won't have much of a delay for getting back to normal with that - it'll just be being extra careful to not trip/fall and land or catch yourself with that arm.

 

 

Oh, and if it ends up needing a plate, screws, pins, or whatever it could be a good idea to ask the surgeon for a card proving that you have metal in your arm on the off-chance that there would ever be an issue with something like airport surgery. I have one that's just a laminated business card from my surgeon with some brief into written on the back saying that there's a plate in my arm. It's really unlikely for there to be an issue, but I figure it's better to be safe than sorry.

[porchcricket13]

I won't know anything until next wed, that's the first ortho appointment I could get. Frustrated does not even cover my emotional state right now. I want to scream all the time. Everything I try to do is difficult, everything. I keep reading about recovery and scaring myself shitless. I never thought I would be this much of a baby. 

 

Staying home and sitting (can't lay down) is hard, I have cervical disk disease and nerve damage so my good side goes numb a lot and hurts if I'm not active.

 

Right now, even being able to eat with utensils was a huge step. I keep telling myself it will get easier if/when they change this stupid splint, which seems to allow way too much movement of the bone. 

[Yuen]

I won't know anything until next wed, that's the first ortho appointment I could get. Frustrated does not even cover my emotional state right now. I want to scream all the time. Everything I try to do is difficult, everything. I keep reading about recovery and scaring myself shitless. I never thought I would be this much of a baby. 

 

Staying home and sitting (can't lay down) is hard, I have cervical disk disease and nerve damage so my good side goes numb a lot and hurts if I'm not active.

 

Right now, even being able to eat with utensils was a huge step. I keep telling myself it will get easier if/when they change this stupid splint, which seems to allow way too much movement of the bone. 

 

Splints done in Emergency are usually not that great. (Broad generalising statement obviously)

 

The problem is intensified when you have a slightly less common fracture such as a mid shaft humerus. This requires a U-slab plaster which is more complicated than the usual below elbow backslab and not done often enough to allow mastery.

 

However even if you had an upper limb specialist physio applying your cast, it would still likely allow movement at your current time frame post injury due to the changes in swelling and therefore size of your arm (and also because of the nature of a transverse mid shaft humerus fracture). A perfectly snug cast becomes loose as the swelling decreases.

 

You can remedy this by buying some crepe bandage and getting someone to bandage things up slightly firmer. By decreasing the movement slightly that should help with your pain.

 

Good luck with your ortho appointment

[porchcricket13]

I didn't see the rads, but as far as I  can tell it's almost dead center. At least that's where I feel it. I can shift my shoulder painlessly (tiny movements) but my forearm feels detached and won't move. I need to figure out how to give my neck a break from the sling, I'm getting sore and it's irritating my skin. Every time I try and loosen it though the pain is too much.

[Yuen]

I didn't see the rads, but as far as I  can tell it's almost dead center. At least that's where I feel it. I can shift my shoulder painlessly (tiny movements) but my forearm feels detached and won't move. I need to figure out how to give my neck a break from the sling, I'm getting sore and it's irritating my skin. Every time I try and loosen it though the pain is too much.

 

Can you clench a fist and extend your fingers?

Can you flex and extend your wrist? Or do you have a 'wrist drop'?

 

With the sling - irritation at the back of the neck is really common. Particularly with those triangular bandage slings. You can give it temporary rest by supporting your cast with your other wrist and forearm, then getting someone to loosen the sling (make sure they figure out how to reapply it though). Then get them to wipe down and massage your neck

[porchcricket13]

Fingers are fine, just tight from fluid build up, wrist is as mobile as I think it should be, but again the er docs have been very limited with info. I hope the ortho people will be more informative. The one concern I have, my elbow hurts, but its arthritic already so it may be because I can't use it.

[porchcricket13]

The kicker is, I'm a vet tech. There is no light duty, I'm out for the long haul, and I realize(sadly) that if I was one of my patients it would have been pinned day of insult.

[Yuen]

Fingers are fine, just tight from fluid build up, wrist is as mobile as I think it should be, but again the er docs have been very limited with info. I hope the ortho people will be more informative. The one concern I have, my elbow hurts, but its arthritic already so it may be because I can't use it.

 

That's good about the fingers and wrist - sometimes humerus fractures can catch a nerve in them, but it sounds like you don't have that

 

The ER docs are usually limited with info when they are not sure of the definitive management. Which I think is quite a sensible thing.

 

Write a list of questions to ask your ortho doc before you see him (or her). I guarantee you, you will forget something on the day if you don't.

 

Your elbow hurting may simply be due to the blood and fluid tracking down into your elbow due to gravity. Or an exacerbation of your arthritis. Or a combination of both. I wouldn't stress too much about it if the Xray didn't show any damage to your elbow.

[porchcricket13]

I realized I have yet to say thanks for the advice and support. That's not like me.  So thanks everyone. 

 

Yuen, what do you do if you don't mind me asking, you have eased my mind more then anyone, and I really appreciate it. No one told me what to expect this week, just that I needed to wait before casting/bracing/ or surgery.

[Yuen]

I realized I have yet to say thanks for the advice and support. That's not like me.  So thanks everyone. 

 

Yuen, what do you do if you don't mind me asking, you have eased my mind more then anyone, and I really appreciate it. No one told me what to expect this week, just that I needed to wait before casting/bracing/ or surgery.

 

You're welcome porchcricket

 

I am an orthopaedic surgeon, although my subspecialty within that is hand and wrist surgery.

 

I have treated fractures like yours before both operatively and non operatively. It is kind of annoying that in real life I would be able to advise/help you much more, but as I am neither able to examine you nor view your xrays - I am instead only able to offer generalised advice.

 

I'm glad that this has eased your mind somewhat... I just hope everything goes well in your appointment and you come out with a nice result

[porchcricket13]

You've given me more advice and information than any of the doctors I've met so far, and it has been at least 4 of them in the ers. I thought it may have been mismanaged when it continued to move. That's because they never mentioned it would do that. I know they did the right thing now, but the discharge instructions were severely lacking. 

 

I only know what we would do in vet med lol it's pretty much pins or plates day one. I'm a little jealous of my patients right now. 

[swarneke]

 I need to figure out how to give my neck a break from the sling, I'm getting sore and it's irritating my skin. Every time I try and loosen it though the pain is too much.

 

Have you tried sitting near a table/on a couch and propping your arm up with pillows? If the thing is wide enough, that should give your arm enough support and give your neck a break.

[porchcricket13]

Have you tried sitting near a table/on a couch and propping your arm up with pillows? If the thing is wide enough, that should give your arm enough support and give your neck a break.

 

I tried a few times but for some reason my elbow slips and that causes major muscle spasms. Maybe since the swelling went down the splint is simply too wide? There is quite a learning curve here lol