I slipped and fell onto my left arm, broke the head of the humerus in 4 places, one of the breaks was clean through. Good job eh. Heck of a problem, I was walking my dog on a coastal path, very few people about. Thank goodness I didn’t smash my phone. I managed to call for help.
At home, adapting with lots of help from family and friends as I live alone.
The surgeon said not likely to regain full range, but should be ok, though I might need an op to reset the bones and displacement. I’ve a collar and cuff for 14 days to see if the bones fall naturally into place. The big unknown is the impact of my RA on the healing…. So was wondering what others had experienced?
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Brushwork
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I've had quite a few broken bones and knee replacement too. They did heal at the normal rate . Only thing I found was they do ache if its cold or I walk to far or overuse them . Good luck with your healing. I hope it not your dominant hand ?? Xx
So sorry to hear that! I broke both mine - the humerus at the elbows, in a fall on the stairs 3 months ago. I was having some pain and stiffness in the shoulders before the fall due to my RA, and I found that being mostly immobilized for 6 weeks with slings made my shoulders worse. They are slowly improving but it is very gradual. According to the ortho doctor, the bones have healed very well, but I have lost some range of motion in the elbows, which I am still working on improving.
I hope you are not in too much pain and that you can find a comfortable position to sleep. I'm glad to hear that you have some help. Make sure you have good nutrition to help you heal, enough calcium and vitamins etc. For me, the bones seem to be healing fine in spite of the RA. The elbows are not too painful now.
I hope that you heal well and regain function in your arm. It may take time but I think it will get a bit better each week.
Goodness me what an awful experience. Thank goodness you your phone was ok and that you had it with you.
I’ve got inflammatory arthritis and I broke both bones in my wrist a couple of years ago, my wrist was stretched back into place and put in a cast and it healed very quickly. I discovered shortly after the break that I also had osteoporosis and fortunately that didn’t seem to make any difference to the healing either.
So good luck, try to take things really easy - probably not easy when you live on your own - and hopefully the bones will all go back into place naturally and you won’t need surgery.
Oh goodness, poor you, that must have been very frightening, particularly with very few people about, thank goodness you had your phone with you. Glad to hear you have help from family and friends. I hope you heal well. All the best.
I did similar 3 years ago. I only had very minor displacement and no need for surgery. Do everything they tell you to do now. It might save you from surgery. You have my sympathy. I don’t know how I would have coped without my husband.
My healing was okay. Slow!. Do the exercises they give you and go to physio if it’s offered. The exercises are hard and a bit painful but they work. It’s baby steps stuff. The difference each week is minimal. I remember thinking that every day life would have done the same thing. Why bother with the exercises?. Looking back, I realise actually they played a big part in my recovery. If you don’t, you could get frozen shoulder and apparently that’s worse. My physio was stopped due to COVID but daily life, making beds, hanging out the washing e.t.c. Put me right. I have about 95% movement now and told by physio that a muscle below my shoulder blade is preventing full movement. I should stretch it out but I’m lazy and I can mostly do what I need to. I reach with my left arm now instead of right. Good luck. There is light at the end of the tunnel 😁.
Sorry to hear about your fall. On the subject of healing, I broke my ankle last September (foot down rabbit hole!). It was just a hairline fracture so no need for plaster just a boot. It was a bit slower to heal than the consultant expected which he put down to RA. He kept commenting on my thin bones! I do have osteopenia which I suspect was the reason my ankle broke.
Morning Brushwork , so sorry to hear this, I fractured my proximal humerus last summer and it was definitely very ouchy at the time. I had been on very low dose Prednisolone for six years (Polymyalgia Rheumatica and now inflammatory arthritis) , there was the possibility of an op as it was slightly displaced but it’s actually healed really well and have got excellent ROM in shoulder. I hope yours does too and you get offered (if not ask for it) physio -think that made such a difference to my recovery. Trying to get a decent nights sleep sitting propped up was a challenge though. Sending healing thoughts, you have my sympathy.
I've always healed up well, despite medication for Rheumatoid Disease for years and years. I've broken quite a few bones because I like to do things, but this last time fell over while dancing - International Folk - (got my feet tangled up) and fractured a vertebra and my scaphoid in my wrist. Twelve weeks later all healed up (but osteoarthritis is causing problems in the back now). And I'm ancient too.
Well, I broke my foot and what I do know is it takes longer to heal due to the RA. Seemed to take so long but time went by fast. Now, I don't know IF this is true or if it's scientifically/medically proven at all BUT I was told to increase protein (eggs (not so many yokes), chicken (lean), and calcium (good supplements and food sources) to speed healing. Look..anything natural certainly can not hurt.Good luck
I'm am probably overdoing it a bit, trying desperately to remain independent. My lovely friend has been taking care of me and setting me up for when she must return to her husband. I have had to buy some oversized tee shirts, and we have adapted them by cutting and stitching a hole for my hand to pop through. Just having that hand to gently hold or stabilise things is such a bonus!
I am dreading my appointment on Tuesday, really hoping an operation is not necessary.
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