No surgery broken wrist recovery

@evelyn1820 Welcome to Mayo Connect where patients and caregivers share their journeys and offer support and suggestions to one another.

It seems like our wrist, with its small bones, would heal quickly. But because it is connected and vital to our everyday ability to use our hands, the slow recovery is worrisome. The stiffness when in a cast comes on very quickly, and the fact that you had a fall means the muscles, tendons or ligaments may also have been injured.

After my last wrist surgery (only 14 days immobilized) it took almost two months of PT before all of my fingers moved normally. The most helpful things I did were to repeat all of the finger dexterity exercises MANY times a day - while watching TV, chatting on the phone, riding in the car... That really helped. I also used a paraffin hand spa to warm my hands thoroughly before doing my PT exercises and ice afterward. When I was away from home, I would use a microwave heating pad and a bath towel to warm my hands.

You say you are "concerned if I’ll ever be able to use hand to push up off a chair?? Will the stiffness ever go away?" Let me tell you that I had the same question recently - I had rotator cuff surgery, and couldn't push up from the floor or a step, for over 5 months. This week, I found I can finally do both - 6 months after surgery, and 6 weeks into the "strengthening" phase of my recovery.

I would encourage patience - 2 months is barely time for the bones to be healed. Now is time for the hard work that only you can do, the PT. You will measure progress in "baby steps" then suddenly you will realize your fingers are not so stiff, and one day you will push off with your "bad hand".

Since you opted for no surgery the natural repair may not be as strong as a surgical screw or plate so be cautious of falling again. This might cause you more issues than expected. There are 7 wrist bones not counting the end plates of your radius and ulna. We don’t know what you broke but as Sue stated we use the hand-wrist everyday so be kind to it.

Wow, I feel for you as here I am at 85, was working out 4 days a week then 9/5 tripped in dark over sprinkler, cement landing left my right dominant wrist with distal radius fracture about 23° of dorsal tilt. After hard cast for 1 month and ready for PT today found that 23°is now 38°! Have wrist removable cast ready to start PT, fingers work fine, uncomfortable but not real pain. Hand looks awful and wrist swollen. Can I expect a year from now I will be much better? Very depressed, not much support from hubby who is 92 and used to me very strong & healthy.

I am a 72 year old lady who broke my radius on June 20, 2025. It was casted for 6 weeks and then a brace for 2 weeks. Due to still having pain, they did am MRI and found 1. "nonunited nondisplaced chronic fracture through the base of the radial styloid 2. Absent Flexor carpi radialis likely chronic and proximal retraction. 3. Osteoarthritis distal radioulnar joint, 1st carpometacarpal joint, triscaphe joint and mid at the radiocarpal joint.

Doctor recommended I put the brace back on and see a hand specialist, the soonest I can be seen is November 18th. I don't know if I will ever be pain free or free from this brace!