Broken Scaphoid Wrist

[Belchfire1]

Guys, turns out I've been dealing with a broken wrist for the better part of 20 years. I assume it was broken during a snowboard trip. I remember injuring it, but not having insurance and thinking it was sprained. I wore a brace and it felt better soon enough.

Fast fwd 18 years and I injured it surfing, went and got an x ray, yup it's broken and has been for many years. I quickly remembered the snowboard wrist "sprain" 18 years prior and thought "oh chit, this is gonna suck". Saw a specialist and he says there is nothing he can really do. He told me to wear a brace and if the pain came back to come back for a cortisone shot or something. Pain ended up going away after a month and little though was given to any follow up visits.

Fast fwd to this weekend. Crashed sk8ing and re injured the same wrist. This time, super painful and I'm thinking I'm pretty fooked.
Looking online I see that there may be some type of surgery available, with questionable results of actually fixing the problem. I'm scheduled to get some x-rays and see a specialist (different doc than last time) about treatment options tomorrow.
Just wondering if any of y'all have experienced this type of injury and what my chances are of getting this thing "fixed" for good, or at least enough to keep me having fun doing the things I love to do.

Thanks in advance,

Belch

 

[Hdip]

Those are the little spherical bones at the base of your finger bones right? I broke the one near my thumb. 2 months in a cast. Doctor explained to me that it takes a long time to heal as there is limited blood flow through there.

Not sure about your case as it's been injured for a long time. Orthopedic surgeons and sports doctors have always treated me right for that kind of stuff. One doc saw my X-ray for that break and didn't really notice anything. The orthopedic doc walked in and spotted the break from across the room.

 

[Saucy]

Get the dang surgery! I did the same thing but only put off a year due to no insurance, but fug that thing would never heal! I had the surgery ; had to clear out a bunch of built up scar tissue, put some grafted bone in the broken scaphoid , and then put a pin in to sandwich it all together. Have about 70% mobility after a year and can not do a correct form, flat palm push up whatsoever. I have to surf with a high stability brace every time now. Sucks but better than having excruciating pain runn up your arm when you accidentally catch it wrong, which was daily for me. Good luck, I recommend the surgery

 

[Belchfire1]

Good advice, man. Thanks. The doc I saw 2 years ago said there was nothing that he could do besides a cortisone shot. The pain ended up going away and I figured I could just deal with it until this week. There was no option for surgery, but that seems like the best course. I only do push ups on my knuckles because my wrist don't bend like that either, sucks.

Hopefully the doc I see today has some faith that the surgery will be an option.

 

[Belchfire1]

Saucy, btw, what brace are you wearing for surfing? I've had a few and they vary greatly in effectiveness. I have a sk8 trip planned over christmas and if I'm not in a cast by then, I'll need a sturdy brace.

Thanks,
Belch

 

[Saucy]

Currently just some basic velcro one from a pharmacy that has a splint on the palm and up the wrist. I duct/packing tape it every surf so the velcro doesn't come off. Fuggin sucks to do, but I can't surf without it. Also have a stretch with hand channels so that helps a ton for the brace not slipping off the board while popping up. Tiny bone, shitty consequences. Best of luck

 

[hugh shackman]

+1 on taping them, those velcro ones come undone 100 time during a surf. i wouldnt skate at all when rehabbing to be honest, thats how i messed my wrists up in the first place.

 

[Saucy]

Definitely don't recommend skating. That bone takes forever to heal and I'm not sure if that will even do it. I was told to not even run for a few months after my surgery due to the small but continuous impacts that can cause minute stress to the bone from vibrations. It's impossible for me to stay that inactive, probably why I still have a wonky wrist. But if you already have a trip scheduled, go for it I guess, just don't be surprised if that thing goes off each fall/landing/ or random flex

 

[Belchfire1]

Saw the doc yesterday, yep it's broken and will need the surgery. He said a bone graft and a screw should get it together. Referred me to another surgeon to do the deed, wasn't confident he could pull it off. Now I just gotta wait and deal with the current pain situation until we can carve out some time to get it done.
Hopefully it's soon. This sucks. But, should be manageable someday, which sounds promising.

Thanks y'all.
Belch

 

[Belchfire1]

follow up. Finally got the surgery. but, they couldn't screw the bone back together (bone spurs, too old an injury, etc) so they did a "salvage" job. Dr removed scaphoid distal pole and ground down some bone spurs on the radius. Finally got the stitches out this AM. It's been 2 weeks since surgery. Feeling way better, but it's still pretty weak. Much quicker recovery than trying to fuse the bone fragments back together. Probably a few more weeks until I can surf again. Dr cleared me to skate or snowboard, as I feel comfortable. Going to Mammoth in a couple weeks to celebrate. Hopefully the pain goes away sooner than later. The pic below is after from after the stitches got removed and the X-ray is my current set up with the scaphoid fragments removed. Wish I had this done long ago.

 

[SurfDoc]

Buy some high quality wrist braces my friend and surf/skate/board on bro.

 

[skooli]

Belch,
I know it's been a few months since you started this discussion, but I have a good tip for you as far as wrist braces go. I've broken scaphoids a couple of times racing motocross, and used these wrist guards to get back in the water while I was healing up:
https://www.dakine.com/en-us/sport/snow/gloves-mitts/wrist-guard/

They're made for snowboarding I think, but I've skated, snowboarded, and surfed in them and the stretch material and velcro keep them from moving. They are solid for surfing.

 

[Belchfire1]

Skooli, thanks for the tip. my wrist has been good lately. I can surf without a brace which is really great. I use a brace when I sk8, bmx and snowboard, though. I have one of these >
https://www.amazon.com/Troy-Lee-Designs-Wrist-Support/dp/B00AN7PJJW/ref=asc_df_B00AN7PJJW/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309804735743&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11839097733486407784&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031340&hvtargid=pla-568563738666&psc=1

works really well, especially when you need to ride a bike.

Thanks for the heads up, if I need to start using a brace for surfing. I'll check out the Da KIne.

Cheers, Belch