Broken Wrist Recovery in Las Vegas: How Physical Therapy Can Help

There are two long bones in your forearm and eight smaller bones in the wrist area connected to your hand. A broken wrist occurs when one or more of these ten bones that make up the wrist joint are fractured or broken.

Recovering from a broken wrist takes time to heal properly. Part of the healing process also involves using physical therapy for a broken wrist to restore the full range of motion.

What Happens After Breaking a Wrist?

After breaking your wrist, it is important to get proper medical care to determine the extent of the break. X-rays will be taken to determine the severity. For minor fractures and simple breaks, the doctor normally realigns the bones into the proper places and then puts it into a cast, if needed. In more severe cases, you may require orthopedic surgery to realign the bones.

During the healing process, you will normally have to wear a sling to keep the wrist from moving excessively and keep it elevated. Complete healing time varies based on age, overall health, and the extent of the break and ranges from six to 12 weeks on average. 

Stiffness and weakness are common because your arm is in a sling, and wrist movement is very limited while it heals. If you have a cast on, it will be more noticeable. Once the cast comes off, you can start physical therapy to help reduce stiffness and restore strength to the wrist.

Common Causes of Broken Wrists

Broken wrists in kids and adults occur when there is excessive force placed on the wrist bones.

Some of the most common causes include:

• Slips and falls
• Height falls from step stools, ladders, or stairs
• Playing high-impact and contact sports
• Car accidents
• Workplace accidents 

Symptoms and Challenges After a Broken or Fractured Wrist

The immediate symptoms after breaking your wrist could include:

• Intense pain
• Rapid swelling
• Noticeable deformity
• Exposed bone in severe cases
• Brusing
• Extreme sensitivity
• Numbness
• Tingling sensation
• Difficulty bending or moving fingers

Ongoing symptoms you may experience are:

• Ongoing wrist pain
• Swelling
• Weakened grip strength
• Problems moving and bending fingers
• Reduced range of motion
• Arm stiffness from being in a sling

Common challenges you can encounter while waiting for your wrist to heal may include:

• Difficulty writing or using your fingers
• Inability to use that hand and arm
• Sleep difficulties
• Bathing and grooming challenges
• Difficulties cooking and eating
• Having to use one hand to type on a keyboard or text

Why Physical Therapy Is Important After a Broken Wrist

Physical therapy for a simple wrist fracture is just as important as it is for a broken wrist. Muscle and joint stiffness, along with overall weakness, are common as your wrist heals. Physical therapy helps restore range of motion, functioning, and strength, as well as:

• Helps alleviate muscle and joint stiffness
• Helps rebuild atrophied muscles
• Helps regain grip strengths
• Reduces pain and swelling while healing
• Helps restore fine motor skills and hand coordination
• Helps prevent long-term complications

Common Physical Therapy Treatments and Exercises

Your physical therapist can start the process while your wrist is still healing with a personalized treatment plan that could include:

• Hands-on treatment to massage stiff and sore arms and gently work your fingers and hands
• Hot and cold therapy to help with swelling and pain
• Arm, shoulder, and finger exercises while the wrist is healing
• Range of motion exercises once the wrist is healed
• Stretching exercises
• Grip and fine motor exercises
• Progressive strengthening exercises
• Functional movement training

How Long Does Broken Wrist Recovery Take?

Recovering from a broken wrist will vary based on many factors, such as:

• Your age
• Overall health
• Whether surgery was required
• How well you follow your tailored physical therapy care plan

The timeframe can range from as little as three months to a year, possibly longer, especially for seniors. Usually, the bone itself will be knitted back together in about two months, but it will not be physically strong at this point. So, ongoing physical therapy for a broken wrist is still needed.

How ZK Physical Therapy & Chiropractic Helps Las Vegas Patients Recover

If you fracture or break your wrist and live in Las Vegas, ZK Physical Therapy & Chiropractic can provide the physical therapy you require.

Our patients enjoy:

• Individual evaluations
• Customized rehabilitation plans
• Hands-on treatment
• Progress monitoring and ongoing reassessments
• Exercise guidance
• Strength training
• Education to help prevent future reinjury
• A free tour of our facilities

We offer physical therapy for fractured and broken wrists for any reason, including from falls, car accidents, sporting accidents, and workplace accidents.