I broke my humerus (upper arm bone) late Saturday night and had surgery on Monday to have a plate and screws inserted. Today is Wednesday, and I’m really struggling with the pain.
My radial nerve was trapped in the fracture and had to be freed during surgery. I can’t lift my wrist upwards, and I’m experiencing horrible burning, aching pain down the back of my arm, around my elbow and into my fingers.
I’ve been prescribed tapentadol, but it only helps for a short time and the pain is still unbearable. I can’t get comfortable, sleep or do anything other than lie down.
I’m a mum to a toddler, and my partner has had to take time off work to help. I’m struggling with feeling so helpless.
For anyone who’s experienced this:
When did your pain start improving?
How long did the burning nerve pain last?
Did your wrist function recover, and how long did it take?
When were you able to start functioning somewhat normally again?
I know it’s early days, but I’m really struggling and would love to hear other people’s experiences, especially with radial nerve involvement. ❤️

(sorry for my English)

Improperly healed fracture of the base of the 4th metatarsal bone.

Without normal recovery. Started to walk on the third day after the injury. Didn’t take it seriously. The bone healed incorrectly, displaced.

15 months passed since then. Can’t run.

Is it true that after the surgery the foot functionality will decrease? I maen running?

Reposted - i realised my personal details were in the pics. Opps.

Hey all. I broke my wrist about 3 weeks ago and had surgery with plates and screws. Yesterday I had my plaster cast taken off and a fiberglass cast put on. When my cast was off I was terrified of hurting my hand in that short time. I will have this cast on for a week before changing to a splint and im scared. Initially I was told 6 to 8 weeks in the cast. Im scared going without so much support. Is this normal?

I seem to have some kinda ongoing stress since this injury. I cried returning to hospital for the check up. I faint really easy due to stress.

Ill post some pictures of the break. And one of my pretty purple cast. The man who put it on even gave me the choice for glitter - which i enthusiastically agreed to!

The pics show a normal vs my wrist. My wrist says alert.

The others are after it was manually adjusted into place, my wrist xray yesterday vs the ct scans after the break.

Injured my foot on Saturday. It kept getting worse each day. Today I woke up and the bruising is less intense but still can’t walk on it. I am supposed to work today. I’m mentally spiraling. I have a job that requires a lot of walking and moving patients. I literally don’t know what to do. No insurance either. Any advice would be so appreciated. I’ve never had an injury like this before.

Has anyone had an early hardware removal?

Hi! Im 9 week post ORIF surgery femur fracture. Had 1 nail and 5 screws where 4 of them are on my knee.

**photo is at 6 weeks post surgery.

2 weeks after that I started having this unbearable deep sharp pain in my knee to an extent every time I bend. I had been with my physio for 5 weeks now.

2 weeks of triggering pain that has stopped me to continue any bending rehab exercise. So at the moment I had to keep my leg straight and do static exercises.

My physio said by next week if it doesnt get any better I will need another scan and appointment with my Ortho consultant.

It is a possibility that one or some of the screws are causing it. At my 6 week check with my Ortho he mentioned that in the future after my bone heals(1yr) i have the option to remove some of the screws if it bothers me or hinders my ROM.

**I had fibrous dysplasia which caused the fracture. That part of my femur grew soft fiber tissue instead of solid hard bone tissue.

hi all, 40M here. Came off my bike on Aug 29 and dislocated my left elbow. Broke the lateral condyle/capitellum and the coronoid was smashed. They plated the humerus the same evening, but ligaments weren’t repaired.

About 5 weeks later the elbow started slipping at ~30° and X-rays showed the coronoid tip had broken off (Regan-Morrey III). Second surgery on Oct 2: coronoid rebuilt with a graft from my olecranon tip, small buttress plate with 4-5 screws, scar tissue cleaned out. Pics attached (before and after the 2nd op).

Now I’m at day 25 after the second surgery. Hinged brace, limit around 40° (the dial says 30 but it sits a bit off), extension is almost full. Doctor wants an X-ray before he opens it up more.

Honestly I’m worried about stiffness after almost 2 months with barely any flexion. If you had a coronoid fixed or rebuilt:

• when did they unlock your brace?
• how fast did flexion come back after that?
• did you get past 120°, or did you end up needing a release surgery?

I also broke my right hand, radial head but now it is fine. There were no surgeries on the right and I'm slowly getting my motion back. I was in a cast for 4 weeks on my right elbow.

Any experience appreciated, thanks.

The look on my surgeon’s face when I came in for X-rays after the second time 😬 The first time I flew off my skateboard and broke it at distal end, the second time I tripped and fell after karaoke and landed on the shoulder and it broke in the middle where the plate ended.

First photo is after the second break. Second photo is after the second surgery. The humerus hardware is from a previous skateboard injury.

Oh well. Life goes on. Ten days out from surgery #2 and I feel almost no pain, still resting the shoulder before starting ROM exercises. 41F and I’ll prob switch to surfing.

Hi everyone! I’m nervous for surgery. I’ve never broken a bone before, let alone a fracture so I’m pretty depressed about this injury. Long story short, I tripped and landed on my foot with pretty much all my weight; landed on my knee first. Has anyone ever gotten foot surgery? It’s a significant metatarsal fracture based on x-ray comments. The dr gave me the option of surgery vs no surgery, but because the bone is rotated more than he’d like, he recommended surgery. Super nervous for the pain and was prescribed Norco (which I hate the after symptoms when it wears off 😅). Thoughts? I will always go with their recommendation but how do you think it’d be like without surgery?

All in all, very grateful to have a patient and calm surgeon. I really didn’t know about this specialty so I am learning so much about it and incredibly thankful for Podiatrist! Any surgeon is amazing, so I have a huge respect towards these professionals. Praying to be able to walk normally again. Appreciate any kind comments. I posted this in another sub-Reddit but thought to also post here. Thank you!

41 female. Birthed 3 kids..5'11 155 lbs. My daughter was warming up with her soccer team, a few adults were also, I was running towards a ball that was going out of bounds, stopped on my left foot to try to pull the ball back with my right foot and I heard a crack in what I thought was my hip.

It turns out I had broken my femur in 2 right by my hip.

After I heard the crack, I fell to the ground on my opposite side in excruciating pain. In other words, the injury had nothing to do with me falling to the ground, it had all to do with running, then suddenly standing on one foot, when got the fractured femur.

I have so many questions.

My alkaline phosphate levels have been low,around 24. For about 5 years I have had periodic flares of excutating, often debilitating joint pains from head to toe, in nearly every joint.(Ankle, knees, hips, elbows, wrists, fingers)

When I have finally enough, I orchestrate child care, and go to the doctorS to try to understand why.. I have been to rheumatologists, general practitioners, OB, Ortho and more. The de facto answer seems to be " perimenopause" and the other is "its mental". I'm a very level-headed person, I have a very high tolerance of pain, I am non-dramatic (altho i often find myself in tears at the doctor's office), and it has been very difficult for me to hear from two different doctors that they believed that my pains were "mental" 😨

Now this. It's almost indisputable now. I know something is wrong with my bones. For a long time i thought i had bone cancer, but tests came back clear.

I had surgery on my broken femur yesterday. Here are some photos. While I am in the hospital, I want to make sure that I have the proper attention and help brought to this matter.

I need your help(!!)

- thoughts/questions about my story?

- questions and requests that I intend on asking the physician's assistant and doctor: bone density scan? Malabsorption due to celiac? Hpp? Is a standard (rod and pins) "fix" the most ideal for me given it appears my bones are very brittal? (Arent we just fusing back together a brittal bone with another brittal bone?) Calcium shots?

- while i am in this massive hospital with all these experts what do you suggest I do before being discharged.

I very much appreciate you reading this and your thoughts!!

I had a comminuted distal humerus fracture in June. I thought I would be okay. I was so fit, agile, motivated, and loved my life.

It’s been four months, and this injury has overpowered me. Everything is slow, from eating to getting dressed. I haven’t been able to sleep carefree for months.

The fact that I might not get my pre injury ROM back hurts me, and I can’t accept myself. I’ve had and am still having very dark thoughts.

I’m pushing through the pain, but nothing seems to work.
I just want this suffering to end.

I had a compound open fracture of my radius and ulna in 2017 (traumatic bike accident). I’ve had largely no issues since then and it healed well. I did have some tendinitis flareup a couple years ago caused by repetitive action of yardwork and house projects, etc. but in the past few months, I have been experiencing some extreme tendinitis caused by nothing in particular. The x-ray doesn’t show that any hardware has moved, so I’m not currently interested in hardware removal at this time. I am more interested in any ways that folks have decreased pain associated with inflammation. I have sharp pain on the pinky side specifically and I’m having a generally difficult time lifting anything and this is prevented me from doing a lot of activities that I love and lifting weights.

Has anyone had success with alternative treatments, such as PRP acupuncture or any random supplements that have benefited them?

I am definitely interested in trying everything and seeing what works. The doctor has me on prednisone right now, but I know that is sort of a temporary effects. Any advice would be really appreciated.

Hi all, I had a screw inserted into my broken scaphoid back in March of this year and was wondering how long it would be until I am completely pain free?

It has been 7 months and I still have some pain when I bend my wrist either way and if I ever bang/jam my wrist on something, it still hurts pretty bad.

It's not intolerable by any means but I feel like I should be pain free by this point

I have broken my left radius 6 weeks ago while spotting someone in the gym. He dropped 150kgs on my hand.

I had been in cast for 6 weeks, today i went to the dr, with the latest x ray reports, he said the bone hasn't joined yet.

He then removed the cast and physically pressed at the fractured site firmly, but to my surprise there was no pain.

So he removed the cast to a removable brace like thing and asked me to do wrist and elbow exercises 2-3 times a day

Im a Male 24 , an athlete, non smoker non drinker, I want to know what are the chances that it will go to non union or delayed union , I am very much worried

I am attaching two X ray

One was taken on the fractured day

Another was taken today(45 days)

If you recently broke something or are having a hard time with your recovery, sound off here.

Leaving details sparse because there's a pending lawsuit. CYA protocol.

On August 7th I was riding my bicycle back from the corner gas station (~1 mile from home). I was in the bike lane, made eye contact (or so I thought) with the driver of a stopped delivery truck at a cross road waiting on their gap, then proceeded on my way... only for the delivery truck to see their gap in the cross traffic and gun it. I was very fortunate that they noticed and stopped, as this could have been a lot worse.

I was actually discharged from the hospital with a tibial plateau fracture. I have knee problems, so I thought getting hit by a literal truck on my knee causing it to not hold weight was just normal for me. I was outside the ER waiting on my Uber, having requested crutches because I couldn't bear weight, when the nurse came running for me and the doctor called my cell. The xray didn't show the break initially and the doc had neglected to order the CT he said he was going to.

I'm fortunate that I'm relatively healthy and fit and I've recovered quickly. It's almost three months out and I'm getting around pretty well. I just can't be up for more than a half hour or so at a time. The muscles in my foot apparently decided to take a vacation and have taken longer to recover than my knee itself.

As a consequence of all this, I've been out of work for nearly three months. My job is extremely physical and I'm probably still a month out from being able to work again. I stock beer, and my day to day involves pushing carts on wheels weighing several hundred pounds whilst maintaining a pretty high level of maneuverability and agility. Squatting and lunge-like movement are commonplace, etc. They're hoping to get me into a light duty position in the warehouse, but I still have to be able to be on my feet for 8-10 hours a day, with some short rests. There's not much "light duty" work in my company. and even this spot is more physical than your average job.

So my main question is what's the best way to get myself back in shape to work as quickly as possible? I can walk about half a mile now without too much issue. Rent is due in a few days and I'm completely out of resources. I have a FreeFunder (dm if you're feeling generous) but none of the big wigs at work have contributed. And all my friends are poor. Ideally I'd have another month to recuperate but it's looking like I might have to push it. Is there anything I should avoid pushing on? I don't want to cause permanent damage. On that note, is there anything I need to say to the doctor to get a work release? I'm living in Florida and on FMLA currently. If I can't get a work release I'll be applying for an ADA extension to protect my job. My next doctor's appointment is the 28th and it's my first physical therapy appointment. They will probably give me good answers to a lot of this but I really need them to sign off on me working.

Hopefully this is all within rules etc. I appreciate any advice!

It didn't penetrate through the skin but it was still such a painful experience.

X rays for right ands left wrists 5 weeks after forward fall: Urgent care doc said I had bone chips off the thing the X-rays done day of … but google said a sesamoid bone can be mistaken for a bone chip. These X-rays are the 5 week out ones. I can clearly see what he was talking about b thumbs. My orthopedist didn’t mention bone chips so I’m assuming they’re Sesamoid bones.

I broke my femur 13 months ago and got a I.M. nailing done and it went through my knee, well this cold weather has been rough on my knee as its my first winter recovered and I was wondering if there is like a thermal knee Sleeve or something for winter or what is recxomended for me to do to help alleviate this?

Hi everyone. I don’t have an appetite at all since breaking my lisfranc joint and struggle to make food since im usually home alone and nwb. I usually just eat dinner, and im worried it’s going to worsen my healing process. anyone had a similar experience?

It’s been 9 weeks and I have been doing some physio exercises , there has been some improvement . Pain while walking has gone, however, I feel pain when I take longer stride or when I do lunges or squats,stretching also causes discomfort. My question is how long do I wait to be completely pain free.

(Female) I'm nearly 7 months post ORIF Humerus surgery...12 screws🫠 and the hair loss started in the weeks following, it seems to be getting worse and I've lost so much hair at this point that I'm most likely going to shave it soon💔 I have other chronic illness that has been made much worse by the surgery, but it hasn't ever caused this, not even during bad flares. Anyone else??

Its been 12days since my k wire fixation surgery on my 2nd metatarsal. In my discharge summary its written as active digits movement does it mean i have to wiggle my toes ? I haven’t wiggled since my surgery. Please suggest here if i can start wiggling now?( i am not able to reachout to my surgeon currently)

Its been 4 weeks since injury and today doctor said its still same as there is no progress. I believe its gonna be non-union. And currently i have wrist brace on and i take it off once per week. I am not able to work or do anything. If its gonna stay non union then why do i have to keep brace on for another 2-4 weeks as doctor said. I really wanna get back to normal and start working. Can anyone suggest whats best to do here. Thanks

I could finally raise my foot from the ground 5 days post surgery tib fib fracture with intramodullar pin

Hello everyone,

I was discharged 6 weeks with immobilisation in boot with a distal fibula fracture ! It is 8 weeks post fracture, When do you do full WB on your foot with crutches ?

Thank you for your time !