how long does a broken wrist take to heal

[sc_enduro_racer]

so i broke 1 bone and jammed another in my wrist today slaming into a pine, and wondering from yall dirtriders, how long does it take for it to heal, and will i be able to ride the same when it does heal

[shawn1331]

Well depends...was it your wanking hand?

All kidding aside it depends on how badly it is broken and yes you most likely will be able to ride CLOSE to what you were at. Rarely do you have the same mobility but you are very close. We're talking like millimetres of movement or flexibility in your wrist so nothing major.

[ncrider450]

I broke the navicular (scaphoid) bone in my wrist. I don't know if this is the bone you broke, but from what my doctor said this bone can be a problem due to it's blood supply. If the blood supply is interrupted due to a fracture, it can be be slow to heal. It took mine three months to heal properly. However, I did heal completely and have full movement. I also rode with the cast on which I do not recommend. That may have contributed to the slow healing. That was also 15 years ago.

[NP4M]

I broke mine (and some other things) in 5 places. When I was back on the bike 6 months later, it was definately weaker. It took another 6 months or so to get back to 100%. Now, I barely remember it was broken.

[Motocross Shawn]

When i broke mine last winter it took 6 months to heal and about 3 or 4 to get it back normal. I can still feel feel it if i overjump and bottom the bike or crash wrong. Pains not that bad but its noticeable.

[mynewcr250]

i broke mine i think a year ago or so (made a thread about it here). i broke the scaphoid. its supposedly "healed". strength is back and i dont really notice it in normal activity or during riding or even when i tilt my hand backwards (as if doing a push up), however when i push it forward enough i definitely feel the pain.

i definitely feel as if its much weaker than when "new", even after a year of healing. my doctor opted for no surgery, kind of wishing he would of cut me open though as i saw my friend who broke his elbow and was pieced back together and he's much better off than i am now. im no doctor, but i dont think the cast route is the way to go.

[runmikeyrun]

why don't you ask the doctor? They will know best. All injuries are different- what bone, the extent of injury, and what you plan on doing once it's healed. MxC is pretty demanding on the wrists, you want to make sure it's fully healed before you get back on your bike

[The Spanky]

Many years ago I broke both the radius and ulna in my forearm, about an inch and a half from my wrist. My hand and wrist were displaced upwards nearly two inches, my arm looked like a "Z" when viewed from the side. It took about 7 weeks for the bones to heal, and about six months to regain full strength and mobility in that arm and wrist. But I did regain full function.

Of course now that I'm getting older, it tends to ache a bit when the weather is crappy. It's a bitch getting old, all those old injuries start reminding you of all the abuse you've done to your body over the years...

[humpness]

mine rolled forward. two weeks if not that bad. 10 weeks with a plate. just my own experience. gotta baby it. wear a brace for piece of mind.

[Mikeb12]

i have alot of experience with broken wrists. the left has been broken 3 times and the right broken approx a dozen. I had to have a bone graft to repair the scaphoid and broke it once more after the fix. that being said - DO WHAT YOUR DOCTOR TELLS YOU TO DO!!! i would cut my casts off and go on with my bad self and it cost me ten fold. do your physical therapy, be careful with it after it has 'healed', let the bone mend for at least a year. If you don't, it will only continue to cause you trouble. good luck and don't worry, it will get better. I wear no brace, have no problems and pretty much full strength.

[BoxcarWilly]

flex fractured my ulna took two weeks... yours sounds worse though... ask a doctor

[jlmotox]

I did this april 10' and it still bugs me, almost full extension now and I have been riding for the last year almost to the day and for the most part I am back to where I was before breaking it. it sucked for the first four months! but once I got into a brace it started getting better...

Do what your doc tells you!! And only do what your body tells you to, if it hurts don't do it!

[jayfldog5897]

Did you steal my x-rays lol. I broke my radius in 5 places on June 24 2011. I had 2 plates, 6 screws, and a piece of wire put in. After week 4 I was in physical therapy 2 times a week for 2 weeks and then was released after 6 weeks to go back to work. I raced for the first time last weekend. I would say at this point for riding purposes my wrist is at about 80%. It made it through the race, but started getting week after about 20 miles.

[sc_enduro_racer]

Ok, I broke the little tip off the ulna, and broke the radius about an inch down from the hand

[DrMark]

Those pins are really very proud. I would remove them on my patient before an important tendon ruptures.

[jlmotox]

the two pins on the top were taken out about 4 months after they were put in because one was sticking out the top of my bone and I could feel the sharp end through my skin and it was bugging me quite a bit... boy was that fun! that was about the worst 30 mins of my life, with the doc yanking on the pins and he kept slipping off them and the sounds that was making was quite the experience! wish I could have been knocked out for that one!! he was only able to get one out that day and I had to go back to the surgery center and get put under again for the other pin, but I still have the two bottom screws and the plate, the doc said he could take the plate and screws out but I REALLY don't want to go under the knife again unless I have to.

[jcross312]

Hey, I just broke my wrist yesterday. I haven't been to get an x-ray yet. I've actually broken this wrist before, and never went to the dr. It just didn't seem that bad. I never got back the full range of motion from the first break, about 10 years ago. Hard to do pushups flat handed. I feel like I broke it in the same place this time. It's between the base of the thumb and the wrist. I feel like it's the little bones of the wrist or perhaps the joints that got broken. Save for surgery, would a cast really help me? I probably can't afford surgery to repair a wrist that was already a little buggered up. Just don't want to go pay a few hunderd dollars for them to tell me, "yep, it's broken" and give me some tylenol and wrap my wrist.

[jcross312]

jl, it looks like I could have a similar injury, maybe not as severe though. Is that your right hand?

[jcross312]

OK, I've done some research and I'm certain that I have a "colles" break, distal radius break from falling hard on outstretched right hand. like I mentioned earlier, I've actually done this before and never even went to dr. The reasoning behind this decision is I had been to dr. 3 times before this with broken bones and they would give me x-rays, say yep, it's broken, and basically tell me to take it easy. Right now I've immobilized my wrist with a homemade cast, how long should I keep it immobile?

[jlmotox]

yea that is my right hand...

DUDE go to the doctor! Don't seek medical advise from random internet guys!

I love how you made your own cast! sweet! did you use duct tape? lol just messing with you. but seriously go see a doctor! I just met a guy that had broken his wrist 6 years ago and he said "F" it and it kept getting worse so he went to a doctor 6 years after the fact and they had to remove some damaged bones and take some of the bone off his hip and graft it in his wrist...he said they wouldn't of had to do so much work if he would have taken care of it when it broke. also had some tendon damage from the loose floating bones...just sayin...

good luck!