Fractured Hamate (wrist bone). Will i ever be 100% again?

[SolidSnake84]

Hey guys...about 6 1/2 weeks ago in late september, i was with a bunch of my friends and we all got a place for the night in AC...we were drinking for about 8+ hours already (i drink very rarely anymore, used to in college) and i was pretty far gone...anyways, my friends dared me to try and punch through the hotel's solid wood bathroom door...being the smart guy i am, and in my drunken state, i fully believed i could do it...and wound up and slammed the door as hard as i think ive ever punched anything in my life...immediately i knew something bad had happened...the bone had popped up and was pushing against my skin on my outer hand near the ring finger...so i wrapped the hand up tight in a rag to keep everything in place...

anyways, turned out i fractured the hamate bone...a bone in the outer wrist...pretty much if you follow the outside of the pinky straight down, it's right above that big circular bone on the wrist. i also mangled up all the tendons etc near the pinky and ring finger metacarpals (not the fingers themselves but right below them on my hand.)

i was out of work (which is all physical) for 6 weeks and was in a brace, and just went back monday...it still hurts to do certain things, like turning faucets or trying to tighten them, opening any type of jar or bottle, snapping my fingers...and ANYTHING where i put any pressure where my hand is pulling away from the bone is insanely painful...i found out recently that tying my shoes (tightening the laces namely) results in excruciating pain...im able to work bc i try to put the stress on my left hand and just use my right as mere support...truthfully i probably should not be back just yet to work, but i need the money since ive been out for so long and my doctor OK'd me to go back.

i admit what i did was stupid, i never broke anything before in my life...but i cant change it. i am just curious if anyone has had a similar injury and what chances for full recovery i can expect. ive had several people tell me my hand will never be the same again, and that i will never have the strength that my left hand has (i broke the right one)...and also that i will be much more susceptible to re-breaking it in the future.

as someone who really wants to get into lifting again and i also am hoping to compete in the future, i want to know if it will be possible...right now it hurts just to lift a gallon of milk, and i cant even do the dipping motion...in the past, i have DL'd 275 and done sets of dips with 100 lbs attached to a belt...i really love power exercises, but my grip is gone...i also use CoC grippers, and in the past was able to close the trainer (100 lb) for reps, and the #1 (140 lb) for a rep with each hand...i still can with my left, but i cant even move the trainer more than 1/4 the way closed now...i know i am still in the healing process but is my strength ever going to return to where it was, and will it be without pain? i cant even imagine trying to deadlift...it would feel like the weight of the bar would snap my bone right in half...it really is an awkward place to have the injury...its difficult to write, and i still cant even shake hands with people without pain.

anyone shed some insight on this or share a related experience so i can know what to expect...thanks for reading thru all of this if you did, and reps for helpful responses.

[mc-]

starting working full body joint mobility, with special attention to your wrists, carpals, tarsals, etc. and you'll get a lot back a lot faster than not. Movement is critical to getting joints to remember how to function AND it affects tissue and bone growth. We're adapting all the tiime - even our bones - so movement is a biggie to healing and performance.

if you don't have a joint mobility program here's a set i recommend: rphase/neuralwarmup1 (link)

The reason: rphase is like an alphabet of mobility work for the full body with a goodly number of drills for the wrists/hands/fingers; the neural warm up is a sub set, plus some additional moves to go through every joint in the body, as well as eye work, in about 10 minutes so it can be done daily, while doing focussed work on your mitts

the reason to say whole body mobility with attention to your hands is that even a wee break like this can cause compensations elsewhere in the body, so getting on top of those with simple movements is great to get the balance back - and will also be very useful generally in lifting.


let me know how it goes,

mc

[powhippie]

get like one of those stress balls, or like some "playdoe" from the kids toy sections, and just play with it every day. like practice squeezing it and stuff with your bad hand. my bro broke like the same bone and thats what the physical therapist said to do. it will all come back to be fine but its gonna hurt like a bish at first

[mc-]

get like one of those stress balls, or like some "playdoe" from the kids toy sections, and just play with it every day. like practice squeezing it and stuff with your bad hand. my bro broke like the same bone and thats what the physical therapist said to do. it will all come back to be fine but its gonna hurt like a bish at first

this can be a hacky approach to the same ends as above, but not necessarily as productive because stress balls only focus on flexion, not extension, and do nothing for the lateral movement in the joint. hence a more specific mobility program pays attention to joint targets for full range of motion recovery.
also, quick note:
any action that causes pain is inappropriate.
work within a load/speed/range of motion that does not cause pain.
why? because of what pain actually is and what it means. working through it is an unforced error with unpredictable costs (see link in sig on pain if interested).

best
mc

[SolidSnake84]

thanks for the responses guys...bump for more info.

i should also add that when gripping things, i have almost full strength in my thumb, index, and middle finger...it's the ring and pinky fingers that are severely limited in strength...i cant clench my fist as hard as i did before the injury, and for a while couldnt clench it at all. i just woke up and am experiencing some sharp pains, which im taking to be a result from doing physical work back at my job the past 3 days...i really dont want to reaggravate this injury but what choice do i have at this point. like mc said, i have been trying to steer clear of any movements that cause it pain, and ive been trying to keep it immobile and my wrist straight like it was when it was in the brace...though i do try to flex and rotate the wrist to keep it non-stagnant.

anyone with any more info on this specific type of injury? i googled it and apparently it is a common injury among golfers lol...i know im not even near 100% yet, but as long as it comes back eventually i will be happy... but i have been reading that some wrist injuries, like torn tendons and/or ligaments result in lifelong pain and disability, and its freaking me out. im not really sure if i tore anything else aside from the hamate bone....i still have a large bump on the top of my hand over the ring/pinky area and it is solid, feels like a mass of bone that is sticking up. i asked my orthopedic and he said when bone heals it often forms a ball like that and takes time to eventually remold itself...not sure if he knew what he was talking about or not lol

[mc-]

thanks for the responses guys...bump for more info.

i should also add that when gripping things, i have almost full strength in my thumb, index, and middle finger...it's the ring and pinky fingers that are severely limited in strength...i cant clench my fist as hard as i did before the injury, and for a while couldnt clench it at all. i just woke up and am experiencing some sharp pains, which im taking to be a result from doing physical work back at my job the past 3 days...i really dont want to reaggravate this injury but what choice do i have at this point. like mc said, i have been trying to steer clear of any movements that cause it pain, and ive been trying to keep it immobile and my wrist straight like it was when it was in the brace...though i do try to flex and rotate the wrist to keep it non-stagnant.

anyone with any more info on this specific type of injury? i googled it and apparently it is a common injury among golfers lol...i know im not even near 100% yet, but as long as it comes back eventually i will be happy... but i have been reading that some wrist injuries, like torn tendons and/or ligaments result in lifelong pain and disability, and its freaking me out. im not really sure if i tore anything else aside from the hamate bone....i still have a large bump on the top of my hand over the ring/pinky area and it is solid, feels like a mass of bone that is sticking up. i asked my orthopedic and he said when bone heals it often forms a ball like that and takes time to eventually remold itself...not sure if he knew what he was talking about or not lol

dude forgive me but what more info do you need? what do you want to hear? that you're not?
have you tried the mobility work? what's not resonating with you there? i'm curious.

Yes your doc knows what he's talking about with respect to the lump. keep it moving through your mitt's ROM and you'll be great. you can also massage around the hamate once it's repaired better.

REally - keep it mobile with the above full rom for all the joints in wrists and hands and it will be amazing.

be well

mc

[SolidSnake84]

mc...what are the mitt's (and what is an mitt? haha) and exercises you think i should do? is there a specific page with instructions on what's best to help it heal? the link you posted in your first post is just a link to a CD i can buy, but it's $140 lol...surely there is free info on the net?

[mc-]

mc...what are the mitt's (and what is an mitt? haha) and exercises you think i should do? is there a specific page with instructions on what's best to help it heal? the link you posted in your first post is just a link to a CD i can buy, but it's $140 lol...surely there is free info on the net?

mitts - your hands.
the movements are the r-phase drills for your hands - as i think i said.
the link is to two dvds and manuals: the rphase/neural warm up combo. If you can only get one, get the r-phase (link) - all the hand drills (plus the rest of the body) are there.

I appreciate the fact that they're not free. SOmetimes you get what you pay for, though. You're concerned about your limb for the rest of your life, right?
Consider this:
what do you spend on an evening out if you're taking yourself and a person out for dinner, a movie and drinks? How long does that ephemeral moment last?
Likewise,
what's a new pair of trainers? add in new jeans?
How long do they last?

How much does it cost to see a massage therapist once? and a chiro? and/or PT?

Here you're talking about knowledge to take care of your whole body, especially your hands right now, that you'll be able to use FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. amortized that way, you gotta ask yourself about value.

And maybe you can find these moves on the net; i don't know. I can't think of any joint specific mobility work that is available there. It's entirely your call what you want to do for yourself, and i appreciate wanting to get it free, but sometimes you get what you pay for, and this is your hand we're talking about.

PM me if you have questions.

best,
mc