Broken wrist recovery

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

I have been practising yoga for several years now. (Hatha) I broke my wrist in May of this year and had to have surgery with an external fixator put in place for 6 weeks. I am still in physiotherapy trying to gain strength and flexibility back. My question is this: has anyone done the same and how long did it take you to be able to put full weight on the wrist in order to do (for example) Downward Facing Dog? I have returned to my gym and am trying to keep up with the class, but it ends in frustration. If anyone has had a similar experience, I would love to hear about it. I am 40 yrs. old.

Thanks.

#2

You are only seeking feedback from others who have recovered from a broken wrist??

#3

Had a bycicle fall this summer, full weight on my left wrist, no broken bones (thanks to regular plank pose practices) but serious soft tissue damage. It took three months to apply full weight on it again, but still had pain. Full painless recovery took another month. I am 35.

#4

Hi,

I broke my scafoid (I hope the spelling is correct) bone in my wrist in 1999 (I was then 29), it took me 8 weeks out of yoga and it took me about two years to gain my strenght back in my wrist. My physiotherapist gave me a little stress ball and I had to do about 200-300 presses a day in order to help me to strenghten the muscles around the fracture again. It helped and I am still able to put my full weight on my wrist.

Take it slow with the asanas in the beginning that require too much weight on the wrist and increase it with time.

#5

Thank you Pandara and Hubert. I guess I am expecting too much too soon. I need to be more patient with myself in order to heal. I experienced a Colles fracture, in which I broke the radius of my right hand (dominant of course!)

Thanks

#6

[quote=Nancy;8247]I have been practising yoga for several years now. (Hatha) I broke my wrist in May of this year and had to have surgery with an external fixator put in place for 6 weeks. I am still in physiotherapy trying to gain strength and flexibility back. My question is this: has anyone done the same and how long did it take you to be able to put full weight on the wrist in order to do (for example) Downward Facing Dog? I have returned to my gym and am trying to keep up with the class, but it ends in frustration. If anyone has had a similar experience, I would love to hear about it. I am 40 yrs. old.

Thanks.[/quote]

I had a slightly displaced colles fracture of the right wrist that went into the joint. After about 4 months I could do a downward dog. I still have pain with any weight bearing at 6 months. I can do stretches though without being concerned that I am damaging my wrist. Apply weight gradually and do a little at a time until you feel confident in the exercise. I do not know when I will be able to apply weight through the fracture site and not feel pain? Tomorrow I begin cranial osteopathy. The practitioner says the energy is very blocked in my wrist and needs lots of gentle manipulation to bring it back to life. I hope it helps! I have heard it can take 2 years before the pain goes…I think to do all you can on it without aggravating the healing but helping it is best.

wishing you a good healing…

#7

Hi,

I suffered a colles fracture 3 weeks ago and have an external fixator. I still have some pain, particularly at night- did anyone else experience this? Dr has taken xrays since surgery and is happy with how it looks- very achey though. Interested to hear other’s experiences.

#8

Hi Lisa,

It is 9 months since my fracture. I have very good mobility but cannot put weight through it when doing a cobra or bridge, etc. I have been told it may never feel pain free. To have pain at 3 weeks from fracture is completely normal. It is amazing what your body is up to to heal the break. Everyone is different and some people are fine after the bone has healed but there can be soft tissue damage too. I met another woman in my yoga class who also broke her wrist 3 years ago and she still suffers discomfort. I hope to never break a bone again. It really is a deep injury and best avoided. Wishing you all the very best.

#9

I also broke my wrist recently and have been longing to get back into my routine. I have been cautioned about putting weight on my wrist. I believe the type of break makes a difference. Mine was a complete break of the Tibia and putting weight on it can cause it to collaspe slightly and shorten your arm due to the shape of that bone. Lifting is not as much a problem. I did not require surgery but I am in a brace for protection.
I am satisfying myself with simple movements to soothing music. Frustration is not good. Recovery from wrist fractures can take 6 to 12 months. I also had a shoulder injury that required time and patience. I came back from that using Yoga for strength and peace. Relax, take it slow and find a peaceful place. :wink:

#10

I had a comminuted colles fracture of right wrist. Had plaster on for 6 weeks and attempted AMS 6 weeks later. Lasted about a nano-second. However, I then knew exactly how much pain I was facing and gradually built up from one nano-second to two and so forth.

Once the bone has mended, and provided there was not a similar amount of soft tissue damage ,then it really does come down to how much pain you can stand. It took about 12 months before I realised I no longer had any pain/discomfort.