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How do you know if your hand is broken?

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  • January 17, 2015 at 3:08 pm #23032
    Kadinkski

    Came off on the ice this morning and thought I’d broken my hand, but now i’m not so sure. Its badly swollen but I can move all my fingers and make a weak fist (but it really hurts) – does that mean that its not broken?

    I’m waiting in A&E for an xray but its like a warzone and I don’t fancy sitting around here for 4 hours waiting to be seen if I can help it…would rather just go to the pharmacy and get some ibuprofen and something for the swelling?

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Viewing 15 replies - 16 through 30 (of 36 total)
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  • January 20, 2015 at 11:27 am #827713
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    Poptart242

    Scaphoid and snapped ulna
    Scaphoid and snapped ulna (ulnar?) late 2013… nightmare. Surgery to re-set the bone, lots of painkillers, months of physio.

    On the plus side, I bought a bike to stay fit as I wasn’t allowed to play football for months, so I’d never have found my favourite hobby and by extension, you lot! :H

    January 19, 2015 at 11:02 pm #827711
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    Sir Wobbly

    I broke a metacarpal once on
    I broke a metacarpal once on a Saturday morning. Went to A&E, had it x-rayed, was told nothing wrong with it.

    Sunday the pain was unbearable.

    Monday went to a different A&E unit, had it x-rayed, was told nothing wrong with it.

    As I was leaving the hospital I heard my name called over the PA, went back, was told a Consultant had taken a look at the X-rays and had seen a broken (and dislocated) 4th metacarpal.

    Monday evening underwent surgery to have the break fixed and steel pins inserted.

    Moral of the story?

    There isn’t one of course. What were you expecting? The secret to life, the universe and everything?

    January 19, 2015 at 10:53 pm #827709
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    SideBurn

    Kadinkski wrote:Yep, broken

    Kadinkski wrote:
    Yep, broken metacarpal. Glad I listened to all the advice. Will get some calci tablets too. Thanks so much.

    Painful, but should heal well! How long did it take in the end?

    January 19, 2015 at 4:34 pm #827707
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    OldRidgeback

    scimos wrote:scaphoid – one

    scimos wrote:
    scaphoid – one of the potentially difficult bones to heal (lack of blood supply) – and you will still be able to move your fingers with it broken. One test is to apply pressure as if you were using a screw driver – if there is pain in the palm – its likely. stick around and get it ex-rayed regardless, four hours or more is nothing in the grand scheme of things…..but you could go back tomorrow lol.

    Yep, been there, done that one too. Four of us stacked in a race and guess who did a messy front flip with an untidy landing? It did heal up but it gets a bit stiff and sore now and then.

    January 19, 2015 at 3:38 pm #827705
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    Kadinkski

    Yep, broken metacarpal. Glad
    Yep, broken metacarpal. Glad I listened to all the advice. Will get some calci tablets too. Thanks so much.

    January 19, 2015 at 1:05 pm #827703
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    Anonymous

    I found using a tin opener
    I found using a tin opener was the perfect diagnostic tool! The rotating movement really hits broken bones. Hope you did stick around for the x-ray though.
    If it’s broken I’d recommend taking calcium tablets, speaking from experience, I’ve broken my hands 3 times, all rugby though, both hands, left twice, right once. First time took 3 months, poor blood supply as mentioned above, with no tablets, 2nd time took 100% recommended daily does, took 8 weeks, third time, took 200% recommended does, took 4 weeks.

    January 18, 2015 at 6:34 pm #827701
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    The _Kaner

    Updates?
    Updates?

    January 17, 2015 at 7:46 pm #827699
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    Anonymous

    Definitely get the x-ray. I
    Definitely get the x-ray. I almost didn’t have one when I got knocked off, but one of the nurses was worried because I couldn’t make a fist. Turned out I’d smashed up my trapezium and also knocked the hook off my hamate. Two for the ouch of one.

    Try touching the tips of your thumb and small finger together. It’s an unusual movement so you might not even think about it, but if you can’t do it – there’s something wrong.

    January 17, 2015 at 6:18 pm #827697
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    Nat Jas Moe

    Word of caution about lack of
    Word of caution about lack of pain. 24 years ago I was knocked off a bike and end up in the back of a Ford transit. Nothing seemed too bad and there was certainly no pain. Some time later I went to wash my hands and found I couldn’t rotate my wrist, so realising something was a miss I went to A&E and waited a long time, found out I’d broken my elbow, and still no pain, that was untill about 6 hours later and then it hit, at the time pain wasn’t the word it was so bad. I have never been able to fully extend my elbow and it still gives me pain every now and then. So stay put and get it sorted.

    January 17, 2015 at 5:37 pm #827695
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    dotdash

    When I was 14 I tripped and
    When I was 14 I tripped and fell on a unmade footpath at school. My mum thought it was a sprained and wouldn’t take me to hospital. 5 hours after I got home she finally took me, but was insistent it was a sprain turns out my wrist was broken and took 8 weeks to get out of the cast.

    She made me set and clean the table for tea and do my homework.

    January 17, 2015 at 5:25 pm #827693
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    The _Kaner

    Broke my right hand 3 Xmas’s
    Broke my right hand 3 Xmas’s ago, went down twice on black ice within 500m (shaded country road)…second tumble and I knew right away it was broken (despite being gloved…had to remove the glove…to assess if any puncture wound)…
    Had no way of getting home the 9kms left of my cycle happened at the base of a hill too…just impossible to hold a bar at all…5th metacarpal broken.
    It had just started to snow heavily also…managed to call the wife’s friend, she dispatched her hubby in a van to pick me up…(wife was over in Scotland visiting relo’s)
    Then had an interesting 25km drive to A&E…in snow…spent 5 hours waiting then got a temp ‘slab’ fitted…was exactly 1 week from Xmas day…had to return the following Monday to get a proper cast fitted…pinky finger is now 1 cm shorter due to being an oblique fracture…apparently they don’t manipulate them back into place these days unless it’s compound…

    Hey Ho…best of luck, let’s hope it’s just a bad bruise/sprain…soft tissue injury…

    January 17, 2015 at 5:22 pm #827691
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    SideBurn

    You can always play, “guess
    You can always play, “guess the ailment” A&E is a great place for people watching! A couple of years ago I waited with my son, (came off his bike) his knee was a mess. But despite my best efforts the staff were obviously in, “cut knee mode” when he VERY eventually got to see the consultant the consultant said, “there are grit and stones in here!”. “Yes I know, we were on a gravelly track, I am a long way from home, this is why I brought him in”. When my son said, “the pain is not too bad” they took him at his word! His pale, clammy face told a different story, meanwhile, a young giggling girl, in 10/10 pain (the worst pain imaginable) was getting all the attention.
    I am not saying be a drama Queen but do not try to impress the nurse with your indifference to mind numbing pain đŸ˜€

    January 17, 2015 at 5:20 pm #827689
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    scimos

    scaphoid – one of the
    scaphoid – one of the potentially difficult bones to heal (lack of blood supply) – and you will still be able to move your fingers with it broken. One test is to apply pressure as if you were using a screw driver – if there is pain in the palm – its likely. stick around and get it ex-rayed regardless, four hours or more is nothing in the grand scheme of things…..but you could go back tomorrow lol.

    January 17, 2015 at 5:04 pm #827687
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    Kadinkski

    Crikey. Okay, sounds like I’d
    Crikey. Okay, sounds like I’d better stick around.

    Managed to find an antique cycling weekly magazine to read anyway.

    Thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

    January 17, 2015 at 4:44 pm #827685
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    SideBurn

    If you have any pain in your
    If you have any pain in your wrist it is worth hanging around. It is important to eliminate a scaphoid bone fracture. It is easily broken when falling on an outstretched hand and will cause any amount of hassle if not treated properly. Hand injuries are a pain (please excuse the pun) but obviously will again cause you long term hassle. Even if the pain in the wrist is not particularly intense the pain in your hand may be distracting you from the pain in the wrist. So I would sit it out; sorry!
    Let me know how you get on; you can google ‘scaphoid fracture’ for more info.

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