broken humorous recovery (arm wrestling accident)

[joewee350]

I cant recall if I posted on this forum but here goes. I broke my arm while arm wrestling on new years. Had surgery on Jan 5th. I am 7 weeks post op and do not have full range of motion yet. My tricep, split from surgery, is still very tight. After stretching it I can get full range of motion but within minutes its back tight. I go to the doctor tomorrow and I hope he tells me my bone is fully healed. I want him to tell me I can return to the gym and do light weight for some exercises. I have lost 10lbs since the break. I didnt suffer from any nerve palsey just slight numbness in my thumb. 11 inch scar, 15 screws and a plate. I will post up with my progress. Im glad to read that things will get better. Good luck to those in the same position I am.

[aaoude]

I cant recall if I posted on this forum but here goes. I broke my arm while arm wrestling on new years. Had surgery on Jan 5th. I am 7 weeks post op and do not have full range of motion yet. My tricep, split from surgery, is still very tight. After stretching it I can get full range of motion but within minutes its back tight. I go to the doctor tomorrow and I hope he tells me my bone is fully healed. I want him to tell me I can return to the gym and do light weight for some exercises. I have lost 10lbs since the break. I didnt suffer from any nerve palsey just slight numbness in my thumb. 11 inch scar, 15 screws and a plate. I will post up with my progress. Im glad to read that things will get better. Good luck to those in the same position I am.

Joewee350, I am in the EXACT same situation as you are. On the 27th of December I broke my arm while arm wrestling and had surgery the 31st of December. I am very lucky in the sense that I did not get any nerve palsy (I'm assuming you did not either). You are 27 yrs old and so am I, we should be healing in the same timeframe. I am meeting my doctor on the 5th of March and I find it's far away. Can you please let us know what the doctor tells you about your situation? I am anxious to know if your bone is fully healed and that you can go back to the gym... I also don't have full ROM yet and my tricep is what really kills when bending my arm towards my body (it was split during surgery as well).

Thanks for your information, I hope you get the OK from your doc.

[omegafield]

Hey guys, I feel for all of you and know exactly how you feel. I thought I'd share my experiences with the same injury and possibly offer some motivation.

About 6 months ago I suffered from the exact same injury: broken humerus from arm wrestling. I required surgery and got the plate and screws. I had been lifting like mad for the previous year, and was by far at my strongest and had a ton of muscle, and it was completely depressing.

One of my biggest fears was losing ROM, and my doctor told me that it was certain that I would. I was determined that I wouldn't, and I figured I'd be harder on myself than any physical trainer would. As soon as I was able, I'd take some pain meds and spend like 30-45 minutes in the shower several times a day. I'd let the hot water warm up my bad arm, and I'd repeatedly flex and extend my arm until I wanted to scream and it brought tears to my eyes. Again and again. Within a few months I had regained complete ROM, and my doctor said he had never seen anything like it considering how severe the fracture was and how close it was to the elbow.

Now I'm absolutely NOT saying that anyone should not go to physical therapy, because in retrospect that might turn out to be a bad idea and I'm certainly no professional. I'm just saying what worked for me to regain my ROM, and it's something that might be considered in addition to a physical therapy regimen. It's just what I did.

Regarding my muscle mass, I've lost about 35 pounds, a lot of muscle but also a fair bit of fat. I've tried to look at it as an opportunity to get cut and have focused on mainly cardio. I was able to start lifting again about 3 months after surgery, and I'm not as strong as I was but I can feel myself getting stronger and feeling less pain every day. It's a long road, but I feel it's worth traveling.

This was a long post, but I just wanted to share. I hope everyone keeps their head up! Look at it as an opportunity to get that six-pack, push yourself to the limit to get that ROM, and learn to love your wicked looking scar! WE CAN BUILD THEM STRONGER!

[killingb]

I have just suffered the same injury humerus injury arm wrestling on 24th Feb. I have not been offered surgery as yet, I have had the bones realigned and have to wait for a week to see if its been a success. I am feeling pretty down about everything at the moment as I can see that the recovery times differ so much from person to person. I am worried that I will never get back to my pre-break lifting stats, which were pretty good (400lbs x4 bench), especially since in not that big a guy. Has anybody had a quick recovery without surgery? My doctor wants to avoid this if at all possible as luckily, I did not suffer any nerve damage during the initial injury. Doesn't make me feel any better mind!

[joewee350]

Sorry I didnt update sooner. I went to the doctor last tuesday...7 weeks post op. My bone is fully recovered and he gave me the go ahead to hit the gym. I left the docs office and went straight to the gym. After lots of stretching to get the tricep flexible enough to do anything I got on the hammerstrength incline bench. No weight at all felt heavy. I did that for several reps just to get my arm loose. I added a 5 and did a few reps. I also did cable crossovers but my arm started to hurt a little so i stopped. This week I did 20lbs on each side of the hammer with little pain. The range of motion is getting better. I just have to keep telling myself I have to take it slow. The strength is coming back but I am holding back on how much weight I put on the machines. Good luck with your healing. My goal...2 months full strength.

[aaoude]

Sorry I didnt update sooner. I went to the doctor last tuesday...7 weeks post op. My bone is fully recovered and he gave me the go ahead to hit the gym. I left the docs office and went straight to the gym. After lots of stretching to get the tricep flexible enough to do anything I got on the hammerstrength incline bench. No weight at all felt heavy. I did that for several reps just to get my arm loose. I added a 5 and did a few reps. I also did cable crossovers but my arm started to hurt a little so i stopped. This week I did 20lbs on each side of the hammer with little pain. The range of motion is getting better. I just have to keep telling myself I have to take it slow. The strength is coming back but I am holding back on how much weight I put on the machines. Good luck with your healing. My goal...2 months full strength.

Man, that's great news!

I'm really happy to hear you are already back at the gym. I am seeing my doc on March 5th and I'm hoping to get the ok to start pumping iron (although not heavy at first).

Last night I was doing alot of stretching and today though I'm feeling a little pain in my arm (right where the break is but behind arm where the bottom of tricep is)... I'm really worried I messed up my recovery, but if I did, I figure I would be in much more pain...

Anyway, we'll see what the xrays looks like on the 5th of March. I will keep you guys updated on my progress.

[Alek]

Sorry I didnt update sooner. I went to the doctor last tuesday...7 weeks post op. My bone is fully recovered and he gave me the go ahead to hit the gym. I left the docs office and went straight to the gym. After lots of stretching to get the tricep flexible enough to do anything I got on the hammerstrength incline bench. No weight at all felt heavy. I did that for several reps just to get my arm loose. I added a 5 and did a few reps. I also did cable crossovers but my arm started to hurt a little so i stopped. This week I did 20lbs on each side of the hammer with little pain. The range of motion is getting better. I just have to keep telling myself I have to take it slow. The strength is coming back but I am holding back on how much weight I put on the machines. Good luck with your healing. My goal...2 months full strength.

Awesome dude! Rep up. You're doing great. It gets better, trust me. In no time you'll be lifting some amazing poundages again (hint: prefer dumb-bells and cables for now)

[Alek]

One of my biggest fears was losing ROM, and my doctor told me that it was certain that I would. I was determined that I wouldn't, and I figured I'd be harder on myself than any physical trainer would. As soon as I was able, I'd take some pain meds and spend like 30-45 minutes in the shower several times a day. I'd let the hot water warm up my bad arm, and I'd repeatedly flex and extend my arm until I wanted to scream and it brought tears to my eyes. Again and again. Within a few months I had regained complete ROM, and my doctor said he had never seen anything like it considering how severe the fracture was and how close it was to the elbow.

Now I'm absolutely NOT saying that anyone should not go to physical therapy, because in retrospect that might turn out to be a bad idea and I'm certainly no professional. I'm just saying what worked for me to regain my ROM, and it's something that might be considered in addition to a physical therapy regimen. It's just what I did.

NICE

and learn to love your wicked looking scar!

Most women find scars quite sexy, and people see you as "well-lived" with it. Especially if you're a smart, well-spoken dude and you got some scars, you're like stand above the rest.

I'm quite proud of my scar. I found it weird that some people here were ashamed or anxious about their scar, lol. I'd put little neon-signs pointing to it if I could, lol.

[bucknut22]

Anyone else here have or had radial nerve palsy? Mine is almost 100% (break happened sept 13th, surgery shortly after), but my forearm is still a little numb and I have not been able to build it fully back to match my other arm. Just wondering if anyone had the same trouble.

Being in the gym is definitely frustrating as most of you said, but Ive seen huge increases since my first day back (2 months after break) and now. Don't think because you had surgery on your arm that you can't reach your goals. I went from barely being able to bench 55 lbs on the bench press to reppin 145 1x10, and 155 3x10. Definitely not where I want to be, but I am having progress and that is really what matters. I was (and to a point still am) beating up myself mentally for lifting light, but Ive been able to put my ego aside and just lift what I can, and eventually work my way back to where I was, and then be stronger than ever after that.

[aaoude]

Sorry I didnt update sooner. I went to the doctor last tuesday...7 weeks post op. My bone is fully recovered and he gave me the go ahead to hit the gym. I left the docs office and went straight to the gym. After lots of stretching to get the tricep flexible enough to do anything I got on the hammerstrength incline bench. No weight at all felt heavy. I did that for several reps just to get my arm loose. I added a 5 and did a few reps. I also did cable crossovers but my arm started to hurt a little so i stopped. This week I did 20lbs on each side of the hammer with little pain. The range of motion is getting better. I just have to keep telling myself I have to take it slow. The strength is coming back but I am holding back on how much weight I put on the machines. Good luck with your healing. My goal...2 months full strength.

I just came back from the doctor's today and I must say... I'm extremely discouraged... We did xrays and the bone is still not healed... and he acted like it was normal, as though it's a bone that takes a lot of time to heal... it's true it does but I'm in week 10 post op now and I can still see the separation in the bone on the xray... should be healed fully by now just like you joewee350...

Said he wanted to see me in 6 weeks to see progress... So my question is for everyone, but more specifically joewee350... Is there anything that I can do to accelerate the healing process? Joewee350 have you done anything that made your bone heal quickly (supplements, calcium, vitamin D)??

I hate the fact that I have to wait until end april before restarting upper body gym exercises!

Anyway, any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[bucknut22]

I just came back from the doctor's today and I must say... I'm extremely discouraged... We did xrays and the bone is still not healed... and he acted like it was normal, as though it's a bone that takes a lot of time to heal... it's true it does but I'm in week 10 post op now and I can still see the separation in the bone on the xray... should be healed fully by now just like you joewee350...

Said he wanted to see me in 6 weeks to see progress... So my question is for everyone, but more specifically joewee350... Is there anything that I can do to accelerate the healing process? Joewee350 have you done anything that made your bone heal quickly (supplements, calcium, vitamin D)??

I hate the fact that I have to wait until end april before restarting upper body gym exercises!

Anyway, any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks.

I don't know if there is anything you can do really to speed up the bone healing process, on the other hand, you want to spare as much muscle wasting as possible. I didn't do this but looking back i really should have, take some BCAA's as they can help protect against the catabolic effects due to your injury.

Good luck to you.

[aaoude]

I don't know if there is anything you can do really to speed up the bone healing process, on the other hand, you want to spare as much muscle wasting as possible. I didn't do this but looking back i really should have, take some BCAA's as they can help protect against the catabolic effects due to your injury.

Good luck to you.

I was taking BCAA's before my break and my muscles where as hard as rock... pretty scary actually and honestly, I believe the BCAA's are what helped break my bone... not sure I want to really go back to them, but on the otherhand, I actually haven't lost too much musclemass in my right arm (the arm that broke), probably because I was on BCAA's.

Anyway, I really just want the bone to heal quick... I don't understand why it has been taking so long.

[bucknut22]

I was taking BCAA's before my break and my muscles where as hard as rock... pretty scary actually and honestly, I believe the BCAA's are what helped break my bone... not sure I want to really go back to them, but on the otherhand, I actually haven't lost too much musclemass in my right arm (the arm that broke), probably because I was on BCAA's.

Anyway, I really just want the bone to heal quick... I don't understand why it has been taking so long.

BCAA's causing your to break your bone really? Not too sure about that being a possibility, maybe ill ask my doc when i see him next week. I've been doing research on broken humorous bones and it is said to be very common among inexperienced arm wrestlers, which is as apparent by how many of us there are in this thread. The arm is not used to being twisted in that unnatural way, and also when people try to use brut strength to turn the tide of the match. That is probably the reason why the majority of us had this happened.

I also did a little more research about supplements for bone healing and found that chondroitin sulfate may help. I guess you could try some calcium too, id prob continue toor begin if you already are not, taking a multi as well.

[aaoude]

BCAA's causing your to break your bone really? Not too sure about that being a possibility, maybe ill ask my doc when i see him next week. I've been doing research on broken humorous bones and it is said to be very common among inexperienced arm wrestlers, which is as apparent by how many of us there are in this thread. The arm is not used to being twisted in that unnatural way, and also when people try to use brut strength to turn the tide of the match. That is probably the reason why the majority of us had this happened.

I also did a little more research about supplements for bone healing and found that chondroitin sulfate may help. I guess you could try some calcium too, id prob continue toor begin if you already are not, taking a multi as well.

The reason I say BCAA's helped break my bone is because the bone let up before my muscles did... generally, your muscles are the ones that let out before the bone - that's how arm wrestling matches are won/lost. In our case, and based on what the docs told me, the compression the muscles of the arm created on the bone combined with the force your opponent was applying breaks the bone. Like I said, BCAA's make the muscles go the extra mile giving you more stamina. Also, my muscles like I said were very very hard when I flexed, kinda like rock (due to the BCAA's)... I can only imagine their effect of compression on the bone...

BCAA's are really amazing when training but you should be careful using them as they can work against you in my opinion...

[killingb]

I'd have to agree with aaoude with his theory of his muscles helping to break the bone. I think that is the reason my arm broke. The guy I was arm wrestling with isn't a strong guy and didn't even try to beat me, he just locked his arm in position once we started. It tried to beat him quickly and went for the quick slam at which point my arm snapped. I hadn't been using BCAA's but I've always been able to lift heavier than my size dictates. In the six months prior to my injury I had been suffering from a shoulder problem which came about due to my joints not being able to keep up with the weights that my muscles were enabling me to lift. I am friends with a physio who says theres a lot in the proffession who support this theory. I guess its the product of trying to get the body to lift stuff and grow muscles which aren't natural to the human body, not that its going to stop any of us!

[astral week]

hello all. THought I'd provide an update.

Broke arm and surgery 3 months ago, been back in gym for about 2 weeks. MY right side is weaker than my left, so I've been doing dumbbells in addition to some BB exercises. My pre-break bench was 5x5 @ 170, now I'm doing 5x5 @ 115. Dips (my favorite exercise) are even worse, I used to dip 4x8 with 50 lbs, now I really struggle with 3 sets of 4 at bodyweight.

But my right arm and shoulder has gained some muscle back, so now I'm considering starting 5x5. I'll start light, of course, to help with symmetry.

Do you guys think I'm ok to start 5x5? I really want to gain size and strength back.

(My doc gave me the green light to do anything I want).

[lsc91se]

The reason I say BCAA's helped break my bone is because the bone let up before my muscles did... generally, your muscles are the ones that let out before the bone - that's how arm wrestling matches are won/lost. In our case, and based on what the docs told me, the compression the muscles of the arm created on the bone combined with the force your opponent was applying breaks the bone. Like I said, BCAA's make the muscles go the extra mile giving you more stamina. Also, my muscles like I said were very very hard when I flexed, kinda like rock (due to the BCAA's)... I can only imagine their effect of compression on the bone...

BCAA's are really amazing when training but you should be careful using them as they can work against you in my opinion...

Thats like saying water aided you breaking your bone because you were well hydrated thus your muscles were able to output maximum force. Your bone was the weakest link. Unless BCAA weaken your bones, then they aren't to blame. You can snap all sorts of bones in your body with somewhat light force, if its applied right and at the right point. Arm wrestling isn't something that your arms were designed for. Combine that with adrenalin and a decent amount of muscle, and presto you have a broken bone.

[aaoude]

hello all. THought I'd provide an update.

Broke arm and surgery 3 months ago, been back in gym for about 2 weeks. MY right side is weaker than my left, so I've been doing dumbbells in addition to some BB exercises. My pre-break bench was 5x5 @ 170, now I'm doing 5x5 @ 115. Dips (my favorite exercise) are even worse, I used to dip 4x8 with 50 lbs, now I really struggle with 3 sets of 4 at bodyweight.

But my right arm and shoulder has gained some muscle back, so now I'm considering starting 5x5. I'll start light, of course, to help with symmetry.

Do you guys think I'm ok to start 5x5? I really want to gain size and strength back.

(My doc gave me the green light to do anything I want).

Thanks for the update astral week... how long did it take all in all for your bone to heal? I had surgery to place a metal plate in my arm on Dec 31st and I had xrays taken the 5th of march and the bone was still not healed... so I'm curious to know how long it took you... joewee350 took him 7 weeks to be 100%...

[aaoude]

Thats like saying water aided you breaking your bone because you were well hydrated thus your muscles were able to output maximum force. Your bone was the weakest link. Unless BCAA weaken your bones, then they aren't to blame. You can snap all sorts of bones in your body with somewhat light force, if its applied right and at the right point. Arm wrestling isn't something that your arms were designed for. Combine that with adrenalin and a decent amount of muscle, and presto you have a broken bone.

Good point, but I don't think BCAA's create natural effects on your body... water for example does. I'm just saying, my body was reacting in a paculiar way when taking the BCAA's, I was growing quickly and my arm muscles felt much "harder" then they would if I weren't taking them... it felt "un-natural"

Yes you are right that arm wrestling applies forces (compression - torsion) on your bone incorrectly if your arm is not positionned properly (newbie arm wrestler). What I'm saying is I don't think my humerus bone would have broken had I not been taking BCAA's for 2 months prior to the break - it's just my opinion, its hard to explain how I felt just prior to the bone breaking... anyway, it's just a theory...

[Fedorov999]

Aaoude, my xrays on page 1, broken 16th October 2008, I'm 4.5 months and my bones are still not healed. I've now had 3 people comment how bad my break was, one radiologist said it's one of the worst she'd seen in 20 years

I had a 2nd opinion last week and I'll shortly be getting treatment with a machine to speed up/stimulate the bone healing - sorry don't recall the name.

I've been told that a spiral fracture as complex as mine it could take 6 months+ to heal, still very early days for you in comparison to me!

I still only have max 90 degree bend in my elbow and I've been advised to stop even doing 1.5kg dumbbells on my arm for a while to reduce the stress even more.

Bucknutt, the better news regarding my radial nerve palsy is that from the 4 month stage I started to get a tiny amount of lift in the wrist and the past 3 weeks I'm seeing wrist improvement each week rather than each month.
I can now lift the wrist up past horizontal and on 1st March had enough motion to be able to keep one of those gyro powerballs spinning in my hand.
Still got a very long way to go with the nerve recovery as the fingers don't lift until the wrist is a lot stronger which I presume you experienced.

I'm only a casual/cardio guy myself, not into weights but you can't imagine the jealousy/frustration I get reading of some of you back in the gym doing weights after only a couple of months. I can't even lift a chair up until these bones heal.

Aaoude, I've had to learn to be so patient so hang in there, you've not got radial nerve damage and there are people out there worse off than ourselves... take it easy.

[93tsi]

Well guys, I am 5 weeks post break. About a month post surgery. I went to the doctor Monday and he said my bones have started to heal! I will see him in a month. He said by that time, my bones should almost be healed. My arm feels pretty decent. I want to say I have about 75% ROM back. I can almost fully extend my arm all the way out and I can almost touch my shoulder with my thumb.

I was lucky and didn't have any nerve palsy in my hand to deal with. My arm is pretty much back to normal (aside from lifting). I can use it to drive and shift my car, pick up things... basically anything I could have used it before. I can finally reach my face to brush my teeth with my right hand and such. I've been in the gym doing cardio and leg presses. I attempted squats today but it's giving me a slight pain in my arm... i'm gonna wait it out some more. I haven't lost any more weight really either. I've only dropped 10-11 pounds, most of which was water weight. I'm down 2 reps on leg press but that is pretty much normal. My left bicep is a little bit smaller and my right bicep is actually looking like a bicep again! Things are looking good for me. I hope to be lifting heavy by summer and getting my pre-break lifts by fall!

Keep those heads up guys, we'll make it through.

[astral week]

Thanks for the update astral week... how long did it take all in all for your bone to heal? I had surgery to place a metal plate in my arm on Dec 31st and I had xrays taken the 5th of march and the bone was still not healed... so I'm curious to know how long it took you... joewee350 took him 7 weeks to be 100%...

It took about 3 months until my doctor said I was 100% and allowed to do anything, including bench press and what not.

He told me I could start light lifting (curl 20s, wrist curls) before my bone had completely healed, maybe 2 months after surgery.

[young-rome]

Man same sh*t happened to me, i snapped my humerous arm wrestling this guy and was winning aswell (dammit) - aha.. and was in the middle of the biggest nightclub! the break sounded like breaking a table leg etc :P

Just wondering if any you guys had your tricep split/cut? cuss mine looks like its divided into 2? and if so has it recovered and does it look normal i.e not split into 2 around the scar?

Can anyone give me a;

1-3 week
3-6 week
6-9week.. etc report so i know what to aim at in terms of recovery?

Cheers bwoisssssssssssss

[bucknut22]

Man same sh*t happened to me, i snapped my humerous arm wrestling this guy and was winning aswell (dammit) - aha.. and was in the middle of the biggest nightclub! the break sounded like breaking a table leg etc :P

Just wondering if any you guys had your tricep split/cut? cuss mine looks like its divided into 2? and if so has it recovered and does it look normal i.e not split into 2 around the scar?

Can anyone give me a;

1-3 week
3-6 week
6-9week.. etc report so i know what to aim at in terms of recovery?

Cheers bwoisssssssssssss

Your tricep will recover/heal in time. It won't stay in 2, it will be fine just give it time. As far as recovery time is concerned, it is different for everyone. I was given the okay 2 months after my surgery to return to the gym, but there are other people in here who have been waiting much longer than that. Just wait and see what your doctor says, let him be the one to give you the okay to go back. Good luck!

[aaoude]

Man same sh*t happened to me, i snapped my humerous arm wrestling this guy and was winning aswell (dammit) - aha.. and was in the middle of the biggest nightclub! the break sounded like breaking a table leg etc :P

Just wondering if any you guys had your tricep split/cut? cuss mine looks like its divided into 2? and if so has it recovered and does it look normal i.e not split into 2 around the scar?

Can anyone give me a;

1-3 week
3-6 week
6-9week.. etc report so i know what to aim at in terms of recovery?

Cheers bwoisssssssssssss

I feel for you buddy... it's really depressing but talking to others about it really helps. Don't worry about your tricep, it's actually not cut in 2, it's separated. The muscle is formed by many vertical strings and to get to the bone, the surgeon needs to separate it, kinda like opening curtains (no cutting involved). Anyway, your tricep will get back to normal, however, it will be very sensitive for the next 2-3 months, until you start to train, but don't rush anything, let it heal as much as possible first.

Take care and don't lose hope, it will get better.

[baldyguy]

I been lurking this thread for awhile and I decided to post.

I broke my humorous bone on December 17, 2008, arm wrestling.

Let me give you the break down of what I've been through thus far.

On December 17th, I broke my arm and I went to the ER and the following day I had surgery. I have a plate and 6 screws, and an ugly scar on my tricep about 3 inches above my elbow.

I had the sling and cast on for about 7 weeks. My doctor wanted me to have the sling off 5 weeks after surgery, but I was scared to take if off and I know some of you can relate with me on this, so I waited another 2 weeks before I was comfortable with removing it.

It was so depressing and saw how skinny and small my arm was.

3 weeks after that, I started PT. So here I am about 1.5 months later, still having problems with my pinky, and it doesn't straighten out all the way.
Good news though, the ring finger and the pinky share the same nerve. My ring finger seems to be ok so, with that said, all I can say is to be confident that my pinky finger will in time return to normal.

I can straighten my arm out and bend it about -5 degrees than normal. So that's a good sign. It's still very tight and sometimes hurts when I try to bend it.

[aaoude]

Ok, so I am still waiting to see the doc on the 24th of April but until then, I'm using my arm almost normally. I'm taking it easy obviously and not pushing/pulling or lifting things that are heavy to make sure I don't injure anything.

I do have a huge concern though... now that I am starting to move my arm more and more, I am noticing that I have a discomfort that I did not have before. This discomfort comes mainly when I force my tricep or when I push on my skin right under the shoulder and on the outer side of my arm. I feel like the muscle is being pinched (could be the nerve). When this discomfort happens, I feel like my whole arm right down to my fingers is somewhat painful (rather extremely uncomfortable).

I feel the same type of pain on my other arm but I have to squeeze my arm much more so that it is squeezed against my bone, and I don't feel any pain when I extend my arm and force my tricep muscle (which I feel on the broken arm). I suspect that this is a normal pain, however, since the metal plate is there on the broken arm, there is less space between the bone and the muscle so it's easier for the muscle to squeeze against it and be painful.

This is rather difficult to explain so I appologize if I'm not making too much sense, but I figure if anyone has felt this they would understand.

Can anyone relate to this? Has anyone spoken to the doctor about it? This pain is enough for me to opt for another surgery and get the metal plate removed unless there are way to fix it without surgery...

[bucknut22]

Update: 4/3

Went to the doctor today. Been 3 months since my last visit and 7 months since the break. Doc told me pretty much what I expected: Nerve is recovering well ( I feel like im about 90-95%), strength/body symmetry will return back to pre-break levels, and pretty much said I don't need to see him anymore unless I have any problems with my arm in the future.

Strength has been increasing, hopefully sooner than later Ill be back to pre break levels.

[Fedorov999]

It is now 6 months this week since my (fracture) radial nerve palsy began and I'm pleased to say that over the past 6 weeks the speed of recovery in the wrist has been amazing to watch. I have now got full lift of my wrist and there is quite a bit of strength in there. My fingers I can hold out straight, in line with my wrist when it is flat. Being able to get the fingers out almost straight is allowing me to use my hand so much more.

I returned to work TODAY after my 6 months of solid/daily physio+rest routine - they reckon I'm 2-3 months ahead of schedule with my radial nerve due to the amount of physio I've done myself this last 6 months.

The elbow is now my worst nightmare, not being able to bend it enough to do everything I know I can do with my hand.

Had my 6-month x-ray last week and the grand canyon cracks are finally starting to calcify so all the consultants were correct when they said that a fracture as bad as mine could take 6+ months before it even begins to calcify/heal.

Trying to get the elbow to bend more now that I have the confidence to put a bit more force/weight through the arm, still being careful though.
With my wrist bent I can touch my mouth and am able to eat a yoghurt with a small spoon - still can't bend enough to enable me to brush my teeth or shave though, only been 1 week since that good news x-ray so I'm hoping to get a bit more bend out of the elbow if those triceps and everything else at the back of my arm will let me!!!

Aaoude - I feel your pain, quite a few times after I've had my arm down for a while and after doing dumbbell curls when I then come to take the dumbbell the other way to work the tricep I now have to start VERY slowly and I can feel if it is going to nip me. The other night it felt like someone had stuck a knife in my triceps and twisted it, was so painful - just had a hot bath and went to bed, was fine next day.
I'm finding that if I do the tricep curls slowly and *feel* the tightness as if it will cause that pain I either don't do no more on it or I try to rub/massage the back of my arm with my fingers and that loosened it off enough to do the physio.

[bucknut22]

It is now 6 months this week since my (fracture) radial nerve palsy began and I'm pleased to say that over the past 6 weeks the speed of recovery in the wrist has been amazing to watch. I have now got full lift of my wrist and there is quite a bit of strength in there. My fingers I can hold out straight, in line with my wrist when it is flat. Being able to get the fingers out almost straight is allowing me to use my hand so much more.

I returned to work TODAY after my 6 months of solid/daily physio+rest routine - they reckon I'm 2-3 months ahead of schedule with my radial nerve due to the amount of physio I've done myself this last 6 months.

The elbow is now my worst nightmare, not being able to bend it enough to do everything I know I can do with my hand.

Had my 6-month x-ray last week and the grand canyon cracks are finally starting to calcify so all the consultants were correct when they said that a fracture as bad as mine could take 6+ months before it even begins to calcify/heal.

Trying to get the elbow to bend more now that I have the confidence to put a bit more force/weight through the arm, still being careful though.
With my wrist bent I can touch my mouth and am able to eat a yoghurt with a small spoon - still can't bend enough to enable me to brush my teeth or shave though, only been 1 week since that good news x-ray so I'm hoping to get a bit more bend out of the elbow if those triceps and everything else at the back of my arm will let me!!!

Aaoude - I feel your pain, quite a few times after I've had my arm down for a while and after doing dumbbell curls when I then come to take the dumbbell the other way to work the tricep I now have to start VERY slowly and I can feel if it is going to nip me. The other night it felt like someone had stuck a knife in my triceps and twisted it, was so painful - just had a hot bath and went to bed, was fine next day.
I'm finding that if I do the tricep curls slowly and *feel* the tightness as if it will cause that pain I either don't do no more on it or I try to rub/massage the back of my arm with my fingers and that loosened it off enough to do the physio.

Good to see that you are finally recovering. Such a huge relief when everything starts to get back to normal.