We went skiing 4 weeks ago, and my fiancé had a bad fall. He hurt his arm/shoulder, and couldn't lift his arm at all. He can now lift his arm almost level with his shoulder, but it is still very painful, and he can't lift it higher. We are in Switzerland, and he is reluctant to go to the hospital because the excess on our health insurance is so high!
He thinks that his arm will heal on its own. Any advice?
2007-02-24 20:21:56 · 6 answers · asked by Copper 4 in Health ➔ General Health Care ➔ Injuries
Speaking from someone who treats fractures allday no most fractures do not heal by themselves,ye they can heal but the bone may heal completly in the wrong allignment.Also you mst remember there is also ligamens,tissues,muscles etc that are attached the the surrounding area to,theses also can be damaged with any sort off injury.Your Fiance n eeds to get proper medical advice and gt seen by a orthopaedic consultant,if this is left it may cause further problems later on and pain will get worse and not better.Good Luck
2007-02-24 23:20:21 · answer #1 · answered by Sexy Red 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That sounds EXACTLY like what happened to me. I was riding and my horse tripped, taking me down under him on my shoulder. I ended up tearing the soft tissue in my rotator cuff in my shoulder. I couldn't lift my arm for the first 24 hours or so and after that I couldn't lift it much higher than horizontal. I went through intense physiotherapy 3 times a week for 2 hours at a time and even now I still can barely lift my arm above horizontal. That's because the hospital misdiagnosed me so I didn't do anything about it for 2 or 3 weeks before I went back. So get them to do an ultrasound or an xray and PLEASE GET INTO PHYSIO AS SOON AS YOU CAN!!
2007-02-25 02:32:35 · answer #2 · answered by Bee 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I did the same thing about 2 months ago whilst boarding,i went to the medical centre in france they told me i had either fractured a bone on my elbow or broke it.They took xrays but they were not as clear as you`d get in say a hospital so i was told to pay visit to a uk hospital.I did not do this as i do not get sick pay from work and could not afford say 6 weeks off work with no pay.My arm is seeming to heel but its a slow process i cannot fully bend my arm or touch the top of my shoulder but in time i`m hopeing i will i also stretched my ligaments on my knee whcih was painfull i only managed 1 full day on the slopes!!!!
Dunno about your fella but i get pins and needles running into my thumb and 2 of the fingers but this has gone on less and less as time has gone by.
The collar bone is maybe what your fella could of damaged and takes a very long time to heal,i got knocked off a motorbike about 2 years ago andits still plays up abit.The only advise i could really give is to say rest it as much a possible and put the arm in a sling.Barring that goto the hospital to have it checked out.
If you do goto the hospital dont tell them he done it 4 weeks ago because if you have to claim on the insurance they will try and wriggle out of paying saying you should of went to the hospital when you did it.I did not do to bad really i got most of the money i payed out back,i just recieved a cheque for £350 obviously i was only getting the money back which was owed to me,my access was £65 you say yours is alot whats alot?
good luck.
2007-02-24 20:45:55 · answer #3 · answered by neil p 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is very likely that your fiancee tore one or more of the 4 muscle that attach his shoulder in place. If that is the case the sooner he gets into surgery the cheaper and better the recovery. The longer he waits the more physical therapy he will have to endure. As the hours of physical therapy go up so will the cost. The fact that he can only raise it as high as his shoulder and not above highyl suggests one of the muscle is either torn or greatly damaged. Please go see a doctor you'll always get more money but you won't always have time to get it repaired.
2007-02-24 22:05:11 · answer #4 · answered by pacmanpacattack 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He has damaged it! If he's not able to life it normally after 4 weeks, damage has been done.
Would you rather have a fixed arm and be careful with your spending for a bit, or possibly do more damage?
Go to the hospital!
2007-02-24 22:25:09 · answer #5 · answered by Awakey 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Its better to go to hospital & consult a GP there. Health is much more important than insurance.
2007-02-24 20:35:22 · answer #6 · answered by briggs 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋