broke humerus near shoulder last weekend :ugg: - getting a pin next week :ugg: :ugg: - ortho claims is quicker recovery and better for active person - than 8-weeks immobilized w/o pin. ( however considering knitting instead of riding as this thing hurts... ) anyone have experience with this injury / repair. how long until feel normal again?
broke humerus
- Thread starter tnrider
- Start date
GETMETOCA
Can't Wait For Tuesdays
- Mar 17, 2002
- 4,765
- 0
I broke my right humerous on the Reno Valentines Ride so that would put me around week 5 in the recovery process. Mine was broke near the shoulder as well. My orhto went the knitting route with no pins. You're not going be riding anyway with or without the pins. Doc said I could ride again after 8 weeks. The biggest risk is that I might start using my arm overhead too much and the attached muscles would pull apart the knitting bones.
I've been in a sling and keeping the arm fairly immobile. I am starting to use it more and more to build up some muscle strenghth that I have lost, the bone is starting to feel good and the only thing that hurts now is the muscles and ligaments in the shoulder area.
Week 1: Painful, swelling, bruising. Could not use the right hand/arm for anything at all. Learn to brush teeth and hair with left hand. You can put deodorant under one arm but not the other, people will just have to deal with it. Getting dressed is a nightmare. Type with one hand, no taking notes or writing. Grumpy and short tempered at work. At restaurants, you learn to order things easily cut with a fork like salmon. Steak requires making a sawing motion which you are incapable of at the moment.
Week 2. All of the above, with exception of learning how to make a sandwich with left hand. FIgure out that you cannot answer cell phone and drive with remaining hand at the same time. Swelling and bruising going down slightly. Still grumpy and short tempered at work, especially when people need you to answer questions. You want them to go away.
Week 3: Your arm still hangs limp and useless by your side. Pain during the day is much less. Still having trouble sleeping at night, still taking pain meds. Can start to lay on your side in bed instead of laying on back. Can do a little typing with the right hand now, but hurts like hell after a minute or two. Get others to take notes for you during meetings (think about milking that one for a while). Try to adjust volume on radio in vehicle and scream in excruciating pain the movement brings. Avoid the dog in case he wants to jump on you.
Week 4: Your need to grocery shop pulls you into the public arena and you cringe at the thought of someone bumping into you. you wear your sling like a great big caution sign for other shoppers to see. Defensive driving is a must and you learn to take corner aisles slow and wide since you are steering with one hand. The pharmacy guy recognizes you on your way to the liquor aisle. You start to "assist" your broken arm with the good side. You can now make slow and weak cutting motions, scrubbing motions, and pick up the 3 weeks worth of dirty clothes off the floor. You can load and unload the washer and dryer with one hand.
Week 5: You have been avoiding looking at your bike for the past month. You throw a leg over and "assist" your right hand up to the throttle. The muscles in your arm tighten and contort and you let the arm fall back down. This hurts too. You decide its time to start building your strenght back up and try to use the mending arm as much as possible for little tasks. The arm tells you when to back off. You're cutting steak like a pro, you can do the dishes and scoop the litter box. You try hanging your clothes up in the closet with the broken arm...Success! Everything can be done, just a little slower. You can actually do a bicep curl with a 5 lb weight. Okay, maybe you can only do 3 or 4 reps, but who cares? You haven't taken Vicodin for over a week now and you sleep through the night. You look forward to starting Physical Therapy next week and blow kisses to your bike on your way out the door every morning.
I think its going to get easier from here on out. The worst part will be over for you (Pain wise) after two full weeks. I should have started doing little "tasks" sooner but my arm just felt useless. The other night I actually "assisted" my arm to a position over my head, something I could not do at all two weeks ago. I think my humerus has knitted well since I really left it alone. Now its time to build back the strength and get full range of motion again.
GOOD LUCK!
I've been in a sling and keeping the arm fairly immobile. I am starting to use it more and more to build up some muscle strenghth that I have lost, the bone is starting to feel good and the only thing that hurts now is the muscles and ligaments in the shoulder area.
Week 1: Painful, swelling, bruising. Could not use the right hand/arm for anything at all. Learn to brush teeth and hair with left hand. You can put deodorant under one arm but not the other, people will just have to deal with it. Getting dressed is a nightmare. Type with one hand, no taking notes or writing. Grumpy and short tempered at work. At restaurants, you learn to order things easily cut with a fork like salmon. Steak requires making a sawing motion which you are incapable of at the moment.
Week 2. All of the above, with exception of learning how to make a sandwich with left hand. FIgure out that you cannot answer cell phone and drive with remaining hand at the same time. Swelling and bruising going down slightly. Still grumpy and short tempered at work, especially when people need you to answer questions. You want them to go away.
Week 3: Your arm still hangs limp and useless by your side. Pain during the day is much less. Still having trouble sleeping at night, still taking pain meds. Can start to lay on your side in bed instead of laying on back. Can do a little typing with the right hand now, but hurts like hell after a minute or two. Get others to take notes for you during meetings (think about milking that one for a while). Try to adjust volume on radio in vehicle and scream in excruciating pain the movement brings. Avoid the dog in case he wants to jump on you.
Week 4: Your need to grocery shop pulls you into the public arena and you cringe at the thought of someone bumping into you. you wear your sling like a great big caution sign for other shoppers to see. Defensive driving is a must and you learn to take corner aisles slow and wide since you are steering with one hand. The pharmacy guy recognizes you on your way to the liquor aisle. You start to "assist" your broken arm with the good side. You can now make slow and weak cutting motions, scrubbing motions, and pick up the 3 weeks worth of dirty clothes off the floor. You can load and unload the washer and dryer with one hand.
Week 5: You have been avoiding looking at your bike for the past month. You throw a leg over and "assist" your right hand up to the throttle. The muscles in your arm tighten and contort and you let the arm fall back down. This hurts too. You decide its time to start building your strenght back up and try to use the mending arm as much as possible for little tasks. The arm tells you when to back off. You're cutting steak like a pro, you can do the dishes and scoop the litter box. You try hanging your clothes up in the closet with the broken arm...Success! Everything can be done, just a little slower. You can actually do a bicep curl with a 5 lb weight. Okay, maybe you can only do 3 or 4 reps, but who cares? You haven't taken Vicodin for over a week now and you sleep through the night. You look forward to starting Physical Therapy next week and blow kisses to your bike on your way out the door every morning.
I think its going to get easier from here on out. The worst part will be over for you (Pain wise) after two full weeks. I should have started doing little "tasks" sooner but my arm just felt useless. The other night I actually "assisted" my arm to a position over my head, something I could not do at all two weeks ago. I think my humerus has knitted well since I really left it alone. Now its time to build back the strength and get full range of motion again.
GOOD LUCK!
- Thread starter
- #3
wow - that sounds terrible. it was my non-dominate arm - so i win on that one... your experience sounds exactly why my ortho wants to pin.
i broke on 13th - ortho had me exercising (letting arm hang extended) on 15th. still swollen and black/green but not nearly as much and i have already gained most extension in my elbow - but too chicken to lift up completely by self. will pin on tuesday - i think formal pt starts that week too? pain is managable with drugs - tried without and i am just all irratable...
i just hope the break is the only problem - as they will only repair bone this time and then will look at soft tissue later.
have already been out to look at bike (only barkbuster moved) and point to things for kids to pickup in trailer :thumb: sounds like i should have someone "winterize" the bike for me? looks like mt-bike will be first ride.
i broke on 13th - ortho had me exercising (letting arm hang extended) on 15th. still swollen and black/green but not nearly as much and i have already gained most extension in my elbow - but too chicken to lift up completely by self. will pin on tuesday - i think formal pt starts that week too? pain is managable with drugs - tried without and i am just all irratable...
i just hope the break is the only problem - as they will only repair bone this time and then will look at soft tissue later.
have already been out to look at bike (only barkbuster moved) and point to things for kids to pickup in trailer :thumb: sounds like i should have someone "winterize" the bike for me? looks like mt-bike will be first ride.
- Thread starter
- #4
well, survived the surgery - bit more complicated than original plan == more metal in arm. surgery night after nerve block wore off == most pain in my life by about 10x. now on to recovery phase...
oh, every call to house (including dr.) has started with "i'm calling about the bike for sale" -- what friends... i'm keeping it, even if to just annoy the neighbors as noise-art!
oh, every call to house (including dr.) has started with "i'm calling about the bike for sale" -- what friends... i'm keeping it, even if to just annoy the neighbors as noise-art!
TwistNShout
Member
- Nov 19, 2003
- 281
- 0
I know what ya mean about the most pain in your life by 10x after the nerve block wore off.....yikes!!!!! I had the same thing. I didn't think a human body could endure that much pain without going into shock. The one Vicadin every four hours is a joke for this level of pain.
I did a near compound fracture of the humorus on my left arm a year and half ago. I thought it needed pinned but the ortho decided against it. I wore a hanging type cast for 6 weeks. I was totally miserable for the first two it sucked. Worse part was I broke it friday night and had to wait till Monday morning to get it casted after it was all sore. Anyways the actual healing part wasn't bad it was afterwards trying to get my strength back that was the worst. It took me like 11 weeks to be able to do a pushup and full 6 months before I could do anything very physical without it being sore the next day.
- Thread starter
- #7
at my followup checkup - they found a split below the rod - so, i am in a splint right now and will have slow recovery as if they did not rod it... frustrated enough that i keep waivering on selling the bike or not. want to ride again, just don't know if i want on "that" bike again. anyone ever have "not that bike" :p feeling???
TwistNShout
Member
- Nov 19, 2003
- 281
- 0
Yep, that's why I renamed it to a Camel GT. :laugh:tnrider said:
