Broken wrist. . . . any bone specialists out there can advise me ?

Question

I have been discharged from hospital with a plastercast and sling to support my Colles fracture. The hospital have advised me to wear the sling regularly whereas my GP tells me to wear the sling as little as possible. . . Im confused ! . . . . . . . . . . Who is correct and why?

Answer 1

Wear it as little as possible...otherwise you risk having your shoulder stiffen up and then have another set of problems. You want to keep moving your shoulder and lifting your arm overhead fairly often through the day (like at least once an hour).

Answer 2

Wearing the sling is to help decrease the swelling and protect your wrist, however as Dennis has said there is a balance between your wrist and your shoulder.

A common complication with wearing your sling is adhesive capsulitis or 'frozen shoulder' and believe me you don't want that.
Use the sling when tired and elevate your wrist, so that it isn't hanging down at rest and put your shoulder through it's full range of movement on a regular basis during the day, for exmple every time you take a drink.

All the best

Answer 3

Did you have surgery? I did with a plate and screws. I had a colles fracture and was told to wear the sling for the first few weeks when I was in a situation where I could not keep my hand above or equal to my elbow (no letting my arm hang loose).

I would call the number they gave when you left the hospital and ask them.

Answer 4

If you don't use your elbow for just a few days, it becomes weaker and it's harder to extend it all the way. So while you may need to use the sling when your shoulder/elbow gets tired, you better use the elbow as much as you can without causing pain to the wrist.

Answer 5

inmobilise it for 4 weeks then therapy to rebuild muscle mass lost during inmobilisation there are 7 bones in your wrist


wear it!

Answer 6

wear it when your arm is tired/weak. Wear it as little as possible so your wrist can strengthen sooner.