Open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) Distal Radius Recovery

The fracture healing time was significantly shorter in the [Forteo] 20 µg/day group than the placebo group, suggesting that teriparatide accelerates fracture healing.18 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19594305/
You might ask for a short course of Forteo to aid recovery. It may also improve pain levels.
Do you know why sweating is a factor. I know we lose calcium when we sweat, but can that be the reason.
Best luck.

@gently He said to avoid sweating for the first two weeks for wound healing. I will ask about the Forteo thanks for the link.

Hello @walk4life, I'd like to invite @adr to this discussion as they have had the ORIF surgery you are about to embark on and they may be able to share their recovery timeline and experience with you.

I'd also like to invite @ginurse1967 and @wascaly who have an ORIF procedure done, but on different areas of the body. Although the bones were different, they experience with an intensive surgery like ORIF may share some similarities in recovery and restrictions as you are about to face with your distal radius ORIF.

@walk4life, Have you discussed the restrictions beyond sweating? Will you be in a hard cast following the surgery? Having a discussion about pain management beforehand can help set the table for open discussions on how they will approach pain management as well as what you can expect and what will be considered normal or abnormal levels of pain.

@JustinMcClanahan , thanks for your reply. I am now 6 days post op. I was not in a hard cast. I had a heavy surgical dressing with a splint. That was removed 3 days after surgery in therapy. I can now get the incision wet - no plastic covering in the shower! Then pat dry and cover with sterile gauze pad, then sleeve, then splint. I am going to therapy twice a week. I have reduced my use of percocet to taking at night and before therapy. I take Advil during the day. I am having trouble sleeping at night. For some reason last night I woke up with level 7-8 pain in my upper arm ( same arm as surgery). My staples will be removed on August13 - 2 weeks post op. After that i can return to regular activities as tolerated with the exception of no pressure/ heavy weight bearing on surgical wrist. I should be in a splint for 6-8 weeks.

i had ORIF for shattered humerus that happened in a fall. I have a plate and 9 screws in my arm. I received a nerve block during surgery and had no pain for a few hours until it wore off. Was told to start pain meds right away, which I did.

i was in pain, but what i found to be most helpful was ice. I took tylenol and stopped the pain meds after a week or so.
The pain was there. I had lots of help around the house with chores and it allowed me to take care of myself and rest as much as i could.

Right after surgery, I had physical therapy 3x's a week for 9 months. It was intense and the ice was so helpful. There were times where I felt that the pt wasn't helping and the therapist told me not to get discouraged. So I didn't. I keep working my arm under her guidance. And slowly, I noticed I could do more and more. Support for me was important. Even listening to music helped me get to sleep at night.

I did not have a cast, but had a sling. I had to sleep on my back or my uninjured side with lots of pillows in my back. The therapist showed me how to do this. Nothing about not sweating, I did not have stitches, I had some medical glue for the incision.

its been 2 years, sometimes, I still feel some pain for a short while, but it goes away. I have almost full range of motion, but its not like before. and that is ok. I can still do everything I did.

If there are specific questions, please feel free to reach out.

@adr Thanks so much for your response. I am one week post op. I seem to have pain pretty much all the time. It took about 24 hours for the nerve block to wear off. I was using ice last week and probably need to continue doing that. Initially, i would take the pain pills on a scheduled basis. Now i am taking Tylenol during the day and taking a pain pill about 30 minutes before bed. I have been waking up in the middle of the night 2-3 am with pain . I take another pain pill then. My pain seems to be more severe when i wake up and gets better during the day. I find i am having pain in my upper arm on the surgical side . The therapist said it could be that i am sleeping differently and positioning it in a way that could cause the pain. Right now, i am going to therapy twice a week and have home exercises for the non therapy days. How long did you need a splint?

I think I also had more pain at night when there were fewer things to distract me.

The pain didn't go away all at once, it seemed to be a gradual lessening of pain as time went by. But I was pretty sore after pt. I did take the Tylenol and it took the edge off.

I did call my surgeon when there was pain that seem different or if I had any questions as to the normal course of healing.

On the days that I didn't have pt, I did the routine at home. I felt it was important. I also felt that I needed to have patience, and that was hard to do, because I wanted it all to go away. And that is where I relied on support from others.
It took time.

I wasn't in a splint, I was in a sling for about a month, and then I would take my arm out of the sling gradually a few times a day.

Hang in there. I know this is not easy. Every day will bring you closer to recovery. Good luck.

Thank you for the support. I guess I need to be patient.Today is 1 week post op. I thought the pain would be less.

I am surprised by how easily i fatigue during the day. I was not expecting this since i considered the wrist surgery to be minor. I guess at my age no surgery is minor!

I hate to sound like a whiny baby, but I am! I am 10 days post op’and still having a good bit of pain. Mostly around what i would consider level 6 out ot 10. I find I am taking 600 mg of Advil every 4-5 hours during the day. The surgeon prescribed 5-10 mg of Percocet prn every 4-6 hours. A few days after surgery i went to just taking the Percocet at bedtime. Initially i would take two when i went to bed and then one if i woke up during the night. Tonight i will try taking two Percocets at bedtime and hopefully i will sleep through the night .The therapist tells me i am progressing normally with my movement .When can i expect the pain to be less? I feel like i am in pain 75% of the time.