So…

It appears that the relatively innocuous high speed tumble I took yesterday is in fact not a sprained wrist, but a broken scaphoid. Anyone got tales of light hearted cheer, and swift recovery to deaden the dull restriction of the cast on my wrist for the next 12 weeks? How bad will it be?

Cheers

Toby

Broke mine when I was 16 (now 35). Pinned for 4 weeks, pot for another 2. Never bothered me again. Well, until last year, but that is another story

If possible get a screw put in it

Similar story to Matt. Overhead kick at football, landed on wrist, trip to hospital. Arm in pot for 12 weeks, didn’t repair itself, had an operation to pin it. They said it was a pioneering op at the local hospital. Hurt like hell! Now it seems fine until the cold, bad weather comes!
So there you have it! Nothing to cheer you up or offer quick recovery.
Keep smiling 🙂

Broke mine two years last October (Scaphoid and Trapezoid). 12 weeks in a pot followed by another 6 weeks of painful physio before I rode again. I still get the odd twinge on cold, wet days.

Did mine a few years back in biking accident.

12 weeks in a cass, left a weak wrist, needed some support for a while after that until wrist built up again but since then been fine

I have broken both of mine over the years, once while dirt jumping the other crashing in a bmx race. Was told I need 8 weeks minimum in a cast, but both times but I ended up cutting the casts off after 6 weeks. Raced a 4x race in the cast once too. Second time I used a CTi carbon wrist brace as as little extra support for a few bmx races, but was fine for MTB riding. 13 and 6 years on I have no issues at all.

Did mine about 3 years back. At first they weren’t sure it was fractured, had a couple x-rays, decided to play it safe and put a cast on it. Ended up being in a cast 6 months..

Still don’t have full strength or flexibility back..

Hope you have better luck!

Did mine by missing the kick pad during a Taekwondo session and landing on my hand. Spent 5 weeks in a wrist plaster with my hand bent right back at 90° and all the finger splayed out.

Turns out it wasn’t even broken…. They are notorious for appearing to be broken on X-rays and then not in the end.

Broke mine on my mountain bike 12 years ago, the jump wasnt a single but turned out ot be a double, should have checked, me numpty.

Broke, dislocated and bones exited the wrist. Hospital for a few days. Titanium Herbert Screw into wrist, thus name. In a cast for 8 weeks, changed regularly.

Started turbo training week after, bandage got smelly but not too bad and was changed every two weeks, got a different colour each time – red , blue, purple.

The best thing I remember is the nurse calling over the doctor to tell him that Mr ti_pin_mans heart rate was worryingly low every morning… he came over and checked me out and then asked if I was training for anything, my answer was yes, whats my resting rate, he said 48 and I was so stoked, lowest ever! My next question was when can I get back on the bike to train, he just laughed and walked away.

Mine wasn’t diagnosed for months, after which it just wouldn’t unite after months in a splint, I got referred to an excellent surgeon who grafted the bone and put a titanium screw in my wrist, luckily I had the bone graft from the radial bone rather than hip, which I hear can be more painful than the wrist op. All seems good now, it smarts on the faster rockier descents and potholes. If you’re in the South I recommend Mr Compson from the Lister in Chelsea and others.

The best thing I remember is the nurse calling over the doctor to tell him that Mr ti_pin_mans heart rate was worryingly low every morning

Me too, they had to double check.

yeah, mine was ok. just a crack not a proper snap and it was at the wrist end of the bone that apparently has better blood supply. anyway, 12 weeks in a cast then it was as good as new. shame that 11 weeks in my bike got stolen..

Anyone got tales of light hearted cheer

No sorry

How bad will it be?

Quite a lot worse than you may think

Even if it heals OK you will have to put a bag over the cast in the shower and stick a knitting needle inside it to scratch. When you go to have it checked they will cut the cast off and there will be a withered little limb inside which doesn’t look like your arm. You will groan as they say another 4 weeks and put a new cast on

This is if everything proceeds as expected.

If it doesn’t heal (apparently it’s a small bone with a poor blood supply and dies easily) they will break it and pin it and you’ll have to start all over again.

I broke my right one and it healed as expected it was 19 weeks before the cast came off and prob a year before I could bend my wrist right back

The left one didn’t heal properly so I had to have broken and pinned. It won’t bend back as far as my right hand.

Good luck

double post…

broke mine a while ago – recovery really depends how badly you’ve done it.
Apparently this bone doesn’t get much blood flow so healing takes a while

I got a wrist support with metal plate under the hand/palm which let me get back on bike a bit quicker – didn’t have it pinned or anything like that. Think I was hands off bike for 8 weeks and ~11 weeks before I was shredding the gnar again.

you can still ride a turbo if you are bothered about losing fitness.
Good luck!

thanks all. it’s happened at the worst possible time as I’m moving house and starting a new job in the next 2 weeks! thanks again.

Toby

Broke mine August 2011, Stanmer tree of doom at the Brighton Big Dog. St Johns said it was prob a sprain so I did two more laps, went to hospital two days later who said its just a sprain. After two weeks of MTFU and failing it was diagnosed as broken scaphoid so put in a cast. By November it hadn’t healed and the bone was dying so in Dec it was Herbert screwed and bone grafted and yes the hip bit bloody hurts. The consultant looked positively gleeful as he described the need for a fresh piece of bleeding marrow and an 80% chance of success.

Healed normally (had some laser and pulsed magnetic field therapy as well- private) after that and was riding again gently by mid April, back to full idiocy by August. Still hurts when I catch it on an edge or pick something very heavy up and probably 90% strength and 95% range of motion.

BE VERY VERY nice to the bone, let it heal slowly, don’t rush it and don’t over do it.

I was diagnosed with a broken scaphoid but it turns out it was a broken distal radius. 6 weeks in plaster and then I get to find out more 🙂