Scaphoid healing questions

[dunndog]

So, as the title suggests, I have fractured the scaphoid in my right hand. It's been 8 days now, with a cast having been on for a week. I'm well aware of the horror stories around healing/not healing scaphoids out there, it is notorious for not healing effectively and I'm respecting that. i've been told by anyone with an opinion, including my GP and the wonderful staff at the Royal Melbourne, that it's basically 6-8 weeks in a cast/brace of some description, plus a bit of time to regain strength. This can obviously vary but thats the word at this early stage.
I took my cast off yesterday morning (day 6) to check the dressings underneath and wash the mank. i was surprised at how good my hand felt, and left it off for the rest of the day and overnight. With a bit of care, I had no trouble at all with it, and am seriously wondering if I need a cast. I'll leave that to the experts, but I wanna know from those of you that have had this break, how was your hand/wrist area? Because if I didn't know this was fractured via scans, I would be just going about things as usual, supporting an injury. I've done a couple of Stationary Enduro stages (spin classes) on it and no dramas.. hence the aforementioned mank.
Did you guys/girls have much pain or immobility associated with it or is it just one of those breaks that has minimal impact but needs extra attention to allow it to heal? I'm hoping somehow this is a case of the initial prognosis being overcooked…cos I don't wanna be off work for 2 months and I wanna go ride bikes in Tassie at the end of October!!

 

[moorey]

I broke mine in '92. Months in plaster, avoided bone graft. 23 years later, still gives me grief.

 

[dunndog]

I broke mine in '92. Months in plaster, avoided bone graft. 23 years later, still gives me grief.

Wrong answer. I suppose I should thank you for your input though..:noidea:
Really though, how was that general area in the days and weeks after the incident? Mine is a pretty small fracture as far as I can tell.. it wasn't a big crash.

 

[moorey]

Wrong answer. I suppose I should thank you for your input though..:noidea:

Blood flow in mine had apparently been severed after the break. By the time they realised, the thing was cactus. Waited another 4 months for the bone graft, made it to the operating theatre. Surgeon reviewed X-ray in front of me, decided against the graft. Wish he had, I never regained full movement, it's hurts while riding, is jarred easily, I can't put much weight on it.
I say listen to the docs, even though I think they made the wrong call on mine. Do it once, do it right.

Edit, after your edit...mine was caused by a mate kicking me. Didn't hurt much at the time or for a few months. Thought I'd just sprained it.

 

[bootsandall]

Don't mess with it

Broke my left last year and had it pined and grafted 10 days after I snapped it.

Mine was clean throgh and might have been already damaged from a previous off.

I know one friend who was in and out of casts for 8mths! That is the worst I have heard, but I had mine in a cast for 2mths.

If it didn't heal right I was told the boned would die and hello fused wrist! So as I work in a hands-on trade and well the fact that it was completely snapped they opted for the pin and graft. I found that I lost a shed load of mussel strength during the time it was in cast.

Within 2 weeks of getting my cast off I was moving house, not the best thing to be doing coming out of a cast but managed. Lots of small boxes and just made the call to let removlist do all the big shit.

Physio was impressed that i got my hand strength back so quick, I put it down to keeping active walking every day and listening to the advice on the op.

So one year on and it has been fine, every now and then I will push the thumb a lttle hard or the wrong direction but I just notice it not experience any real pain.

 

[dunndog]

Shit mate, not ideal!! Yours sounds like it was potentially more serious than mine, but similar symptoms early on. So that suggests it might be a bit deceptive in that regard...mofo.

 

[Ezkaton]

Cracked mine all the way through in November last year.
I have about 90-95% movement back... if I try push it that last 5-10%, it hurts a little.

If accidentally forced, for example, when my hand collapsed under me when pushing myself out of bed the other week and all my weight falls onto my bent wrist... it feels like I've gone 4 months back in time.
Comes good again after two weeks though.

I still wear a wrist brace for support and to keep it fairly straight when riding though, as it can get sore after a day of plowing through rocks and being jolted around and so on.
Accidentally bending it the wrong way could be catastrophic.

I got my cast off end of January, and was back on the bike by the end of March.

 

[No Skid Marks]

Comfrey / "Bone nit". Always worked for me, including a Scafoid with crack right through, didn't show on X'ray a couple of weeks later. I cut cast off and applied directly though. Did this cause cast was shit, no need to discuss this.

 

[Ezkaton]

Comfrey / "Bone nit".

Are you only able to apply this during the healing process? Or does it assist later on as well?

 

[pharmaboy]

Ok, you've read Mooreys reply as to what can happen when it's undiagnosed for a time. His story is entirely typical of undiagnosed scaphoids. Choosing to treat a diagnosed fracture in the same way is the kind of thing rugby league players do (and possibly cooch smoking dirt jumpers)

So, cancel your trip, because no mountain biking is going to happen.

If you are still desperate, go see a private hand surgeon (assuming you have top private health) , prepare for a circa $3k gap, and get surgery done. He might think that 6 weeks post surgery is a reasonable proposition for recommencing activity ( he would have plenty of footballers who have done same)

Experience wise? Me 14 weeks - non displaced fracture. Good as gold now. My son, 8 weeks, non displaced fracture

 

[lindz1817]

Scaphoids are poorly innervated and vascularised, so they heal slow and often don't cause heaps of pain. The issue is, that they have a very important function due to their location and are very hard to immobilise. If it doesn't heal right the first time it's going to be a nightmare. My advice would be to persevere with the cast. It might feel good now, but you may have issues if you don't allow it to heal properly.

 

[dunndog]

Cheers guys. Pharma, dont worry the trip is cancelled. There will be no shortcuts taken. I'm a tradie so my hands are non negotiable for work or play. It just struck me when I realised how minor it all felt when the cast came off after 6 days, but thanks to you guys for your experiences and bringing my fleeting high hopes crashing back to earth. I kinda figured as much to be honest, I've never heard anyone's story about how their scaphoid healed in record time and they were back riding straight away… Oh well back to the specialist tomorrow, see how this plays out. Just downgraded the foxtel subscription too… fuck.

 

[No Skid Marks]

Clearing thread.

 

[No Skid Marks]

Rushing healing delays healing. Any time you reopen fracture, you start again(loosely speaking), so don't use that hand at all. Will feel like a new woman after.

 

[moorey]

Just healing. Can be used on any wounds but not on open wounds, so sore muscles and tears etc. Google it.

The only people I know who advocate comfrey as an aid to heal fractures are homeopaths and naturopaths. Doesn't exactly fill me with confidence.

 

[cameron_15]

I broke mine riding my downhill bike a few years back. At the time it just felt like a sprained wrist so I tried to keep riding, but this proved to be a very bad idea. I was in a cast for 12 weeks, initially I was pushing to have it pinned, just to be sure and cut down the healing time. In the end we but we decided against that though.

Now days it still gives me a little grief, mainly when riding on the hoods of my road bike, most of the weight of my upper body is placed straight through my scaphoid and I have to adjust my hand position quite frequently.

 

[moorey]

Oh, and kiss goodbye to push ups. :woot:

 

[11highlights]

Broke mine around 7 years ago. Like others it initially felt like a sprain, had an x ray and the doctor didn't pick it up.
4 months later I twisted my ankle and mentioned to doc that my wrist was painful when I put weight on it. Had x rays and found the ankle to be fine and the scaphoid broken.
Spent 2 weeks in a cast before visiting a specialist who said the cast wont do anything and the bone needs a graft inserted and then screwed together.
After the operation I was in 3 different casts for around 15 weeks. Then around 3 weeks for the strength to come back.
Eventually with physio I regained close to all movement back, only restriction is when bending wrist up or down but doesn't effect day to day life or riding.

Good luck with you recovery. If I was you I'd keep the cast on, it might be annoying but it can't be doing any harm.

 

[No Skid Marks]

The only people I know who advocate comfrey as an aid to heal fractures are homeopaths and naturopaths. Doesn't exactly fill me with confidence.

Ive had fast heals with three major broken bones using it. Only variable is I also don't use pain killers, so that could alter my results.
Suit yourself, go with what the drug companies recommend ;-)
Oh no, lured into a debate with Mooorey. Sure to loose.

My other wrist has been screwed and fused solid from not using it and not letting it heal first time around, it was smashed pretty bad but. So not a clear cut comparo either.

 

[bootsandall]

Best to be nice to it

So Dunn,
I think your are make the right call.

Thought I should expand on my experience. I did mine in a nothing crash (Well a nothing DH crash) and was sore and thought 'ah shit I sprained it'. Was still riding the commute the first 2 days, wasn't that annoying just felt shooting pains whenever I knocked it. Started reading up on sprains and discovered the possibility that I might have a scaphoid brake. Thought should get it looked at and well it turned out it was broken, all the way through with some debate by the docs if it was an old brake that I had finally made go all the way through.

So was in a temp cast while the swelling went down then off to get it pinned. Was in another temp cast for a week then off to get a waterproof unit. It wasn't that sore all this time and I was back at work after two weeks on light duties (asking for help load equipment but otherwise normal), as the fingers are still able to be bent in the cast I had it is amazing how quickly you adapt.

So once out of the casts I was behind the wheel again, manual shifting was done gingerly but it can be done. So moved house and that meant a lot of lifting, only noticed a few times when I knocked it but on the whole I don't remember being in a world of hurt.

Going off other people's responses and not giving it the time to heal or misdiagnosis, this has a much greater prolonged effect. I'm still able to do push ups and chin ups, even still can go climb with my daughter just easy as you go. Have been riding my trail bike and roadie without issue or pain.

One year on I'm starting to get that itch to get back onto the DH rig, but I know that it's mainly my nerve that is in need to be exercised as I have got most of my movement and strength back.