Wrist pain after ulna and radius fracture?

[Philhouse]

I broke my ulna and radius about 8 weeks ago, had surgery on it and got it out of the cast about 10 days ago. My wrist is now misaligned with my forearm. Firstly, how does this happen? Secondly, what are the long term problems with this? I find it quite painful at the moment, but am not sure if that's because it recently came out of the cast.

I am a keen sports player, and am worried this is going to be a real problem for me.

Any information would be greatly appreciated :)

[nanahuckster]

I fractured my distal radius 12 years ago and had surgery to pin it together.  I never regained full range of motion and have had ulnar sided pain all these years.  This past year the pain increased considerably and I started having tingling in my pinky and ring finger.  Had an MRI last week and was told my ulnar is "bumping" my lunate.  Now I've been refered to a hand surgeon who I will see on Wednesday.  Thinking back, I should have insisted that my wrist fuction was not acceptable after my original surgery 12 years ago.  But I didn't and I just assumed my surgeon fixed it as good as it could be.

If you don't think your wrist is right and your surgeon thinks it is, get a second oppinion!  Don't wait like I did, cause before you know it, a dozen painful years will have past.

Good luck to you!

[Dr_Veena]

Hi,
     Thanks for writing in. Just after removal of cast you cannot expect full range of motion, but with proper physiotherapy over a period of couple of months movement in all directions could be restored. Manipulation is when a closed fracture initially without surgery is fixed in place and a cast is applied. The cast is left in for 3-4 weeks.
Consult your doctor for further assistance.
Best.

[Philhouse]

Thankyou for your response. My range of wrist movement is not normal. I have about half the range when twisting my hand upwards (supination?), and feel a sharp pain on the ulna side of my wrist when i make certain movements. I got it out of cast 11 days ago so im not sure if this range will come back and the pain will subside, or whether that should have happened by now. I have been doing all the prescribed physio. I can also definately sau that my wirst is misaligned to some extent.

Just to put my mind at ease until my next appointment, i have a few questions: what does wrist manipulation mean exactly? I assume they will have to break and reset my wrist iif this misalignment is the cause? Also, if they do have to do this how long should I expect to be in a cast for?

I understand this is probably difficult not being able to see my wrist, but any info you have would be great. Thankyou again for your help.

[Dr_Veena]

Hi,
     How are you? Wrist misalignment after injury and removal of cast could be due to in adequate immobilization, or non union. Is the range of motion in wrist normal? If, no then pain and restricted movement should be checked for the cause. Have you been on regular follow up with your doctor during this period? Usually during follow up visits if any misalignment found revision surgery or changing the cast with manipulation is considered.
Also, there is some amount of pain present normally after removal of the cast which will subside after few days. Discuss with your doctor regarding the above mentioned possibilities and follow his advise.
Best.