Broken wrist - what to expect on the road to recovery

[Jojo]

Bummer, Bum.

Totally know what your going through. My DD broke her pitching wrist at 11yrs old, her back at 14 and a crushed pinky finger at 17.

We didn't get any rehab for the wrist because when I told her doctor she was a pitcher, I could see her just rolling her eyes, like I was one of those crazy parents that thinks my kid is some sort of an athlete. So she said she didn't any-Normal play she said was best. Well that was a BIG mistake as she never regained full use of the wrist.

It's frustrating, as I was the coach of her team and made her attend every practice and every game doing her part as a member of the team, helping pick up balls, cheering in the dugout, keeping score, etc.

And enjoy her trials at all her left handiness, my DD had an art project due, and it was the most hilarious thing you ever saw!

 

[Bleacher Bum]

Bummer, Bum.

Totally know what your going through. My DD broke her pitching wrist at 11yrs old, her back at 14 and a crushed pinky finger at 17.

We didn't get any rehab for the wrist because when I told her doctor she was a pitcher, I could see her just rolling her eyes, like I was one of those crazy parents that thinks my kid is some sort of an athlete. So she said she didn't any-Normal play she said was best. Well that was a BIG mistake as she never regained full use of the wrist.

It's frustrating, as I was the coach of her team and made her attend every practice and every game doing her part as a member of the team, helping pick up balls, cheering in the dugout, keeping score, etc.

And enjoy her trials at all her left handiness, my DD had an art project due, and it was the most hilarious thing you ever saw!

WOW! Sounds like your DD has been thru it all. Was she playing softball or rugby?
I'm not looking forward to trying to get her to do physical therapy - she hates repetitive stuff that seemingly has no purpose (yup - 10 years old and stubborn like her dad). But I do see it as being necessary to prevent (or at least minimize) future problems. I was initially relieved that it was the radius that she broke (and not one of the small bones or ligaments in her hand), but from some of the reading that I've done, that might not matter much. She is going to a "sports ortho", so at least they are aware of her involvement in sports.

 

[Jojo]

WOW! Sounds like your DD has been thru it all. Was she playing softball or rugby?

Back and pinky were softball related. Wrist fracture was from a rollerblading incident at her grandmas while I was away for a weekend coaching clinic.
Always lovely to be fresh off a clinic and drive home to see your star pitcher in a cast.

 

[RookKev]

My son broke his wrist right before baseball season. He was 11. Cast, throwing arm, not above the elbow. He was cleared to play, only restriction was no sliding.

He played second, was able to field and make the throw with just his fingers. He batted even. He is a lefty, and so he just took the box, moved around in it a bit, offered some bunts... and NEVER let the ball touch his bat, as he was not allowed to actually hit. He had an OBP of .500+. He was the teams best baserunner, so it's always funny to see a casted kid be a leadoff batter and know he isn't allowed to hit!

My DD broke her glove arm/elbow 2 weeks before her season... she pretty much just ran and did crunches and such every practice... it kept her body awake and when they took the cast off, she had about 80% ROM. They were very surprised. She was back in action 2 weeks later. It took probably about 2 months to get back to 100% after that... so, give them time to get back up to speed.

Running is a great activity to keep the blood flowing through those casted muscles. Both of my kids are now on pretty decent calcium intakes now as a result of last year!

The doctors pretty much told us for both...you're free to do whatever, until it hurts. Stop then.

 

[Bleacher Bum]

Thanks to everyone who commented. DD had her sports ortho appt this morning. Instructions from nurse and doctor were interesting in their differences:

Nurse: probably out for 10 weeks. 4 with cast, 4 with brace, 2 with cautious rehab. No running or ball sports. No hitting. Will take a while to get back into things.
Doctor: 4 weeks in cast, 4 with protective brace. That's where the similarities end Can do most anything she wants right now as long as she is comfortable. Said that with the cast, he had never seen a child re-injure their wrist even with a fall. Said the only thing she cannot do is play in competitive soccer games, because the refs don't want you to use the cast as a weapon. Doing manual dexterity work with fingers is fine, as long as she's comfortable. Unlikely to require Phys therapy once cast removed.

So, what are we gonna do? Relax while she heals, but stay involved. She's just excited that after 1 week in a splint she FINALLY has a cast that can be signed by her friends.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

With the nurses comments, I was thinking "What the heck?" Then, the doctor sounded more reasonable. I have coached under softball rules, that won't allow a cast, either.

(The nurse shouldn't be commenting, if the doctor is going to contradict her.)

 

[SBFAMILY]

Our pitcher broke her hand while slidding into second. We had her Using the PVC bat sticks that we use to hit whiffle and tennis balls. So there are ways to continue to work on hitting without impact. I think straightleg has posted some pictures.

 

[Greenmonsters]

DS played soccer with a cast that had padding over it - can't remember if it was HS or travel, though. Something maybe worth looking into.

 

[Sweet Lou]

DS played soccer with a cast that had padding over it - can't remember if it was HS or travel, though. Something maybe worth looking into.

Of course with soccer you don't generally use your hands too much. That's not exactly the case with softball.

 

[Bleacher Bum]

Of course with soccer you don't generally use your hands too much. That's not exactly the case with softball.

I think you missed a word there. You don't generally user your hands LEGALLY too much. I've seen plenty of pushes, pulls, grabs, etc. But DD plays a lot of Keeper, so hands are more important. Softball skills definitely help out there with hand/eye coordination. Have also seen someone play soccer with a cast wrapped in bubble wrap. Pretty funny!

For hitting work, we have talked about wiffle bats as well as one-handed (bottom hand) drills off a tee using an insider bat.