Open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) Distal Radius Recovery

Arghh! I am 7 weeks post-op with plate and 11 screws in my right radius. My surgeon told me my radius was “dusted” and 8/10 on a severity scale. I also fractured my ulna, which did not require hardware. 10 days ago, I was released to start wrist exercises. My issue is swelling and inability to sleep. During the day things are pretty good. Range of motion continues to increase and I can manage the swelling with ice and heat. At night, my wrist, palm and back of hand swell up. Nothing I do can prevent this. I wake up with painfully stiff and swollen fingers with all range of motion seemingly back to square 1. I’ve been told that finding the right balance on home PT can help. I tend to be aggressive with my PT because I want a full recovery. I still can’t make a fist, and have very limited ability to grip. X-rays look fine. Anyone else have a similar journey?

Have you tried wearing a compression sleeve? I had an ORIF of distal radius in July. I still have some occasional pain and sometimes at night. No words of wisdom, but I have been told it is a long healing process. I will sometimes take pain medicine at bedtime.

Seven weeks is not long - please, ice, ice, ice and give that shattered bone a chance. It is most likely not fully healed yet.
Have you tried sleeping with your arm/wrist/hand elevated on a pillow, and using ice at night?
When I had swelling after wrist surgery, I was also instructed to sit with my arm/wrist/hand above my heart whenever I wasn't using it.
Also, this is way early for aggressive PT - talk to your therapist - you can actually prolong healing by trying to do too much too soon.
My daughter had a similar complex fracture 3 1/2 years ago. Her recovery was long and complex, with many setbacks and her hand therapist had to force her to back off on PT several times to allow healing in the badly damaged radius - we all cheered when she could finally make a fist after 5 months. She suffers intermittent swelling to this day, wears a compression sleeve/glove during the day almost 50% of the time, usually ices in the evening and as needed other times, and actually sleeps with ice at times. (She does have good strength and use of her hand/wrist but will never get to 100%)

Healing from a fracture cannot be rushed, so please be patient with yourself.

Greetings! I am 2.5 weeks post surgery for a distal radius fracture. I was started on OT 1 week post surgery and it has been extremely painful and my progress is slow. I was told to do the exercises 3-4x/day but when I do this I get intensified pain for up to 16 hours. The PA who works with my doctor is not concerned about this and advises that I keep doing the exercises 3x/day. This feels like boot camp in that neither the OT staff nor the PA seem to want to adjust the intensity or frequency of exercises based on my pain level. Is this normal or is my situation a one-off?

I was told I would be healed enough to be able to type within 2 weeks of the surgery and I just became able to touch each finger to my thumb a few days ago. I have significant pain in the palm of my hand near my thumb, around the site of the incision, around my wrist, and along a bone on the outside of my wrist. I can't bed both knuckles on my thumb at the same time. And I can only bend my hand back from the straight up position about a half inch. I'd like to know how my progress compares to others that have had the same surgery.

I’m a retired nurse and you are not being very kind to yourself. I presume your fracture is from a fall causing such a break. You have the extreme strain of your arm muscles, ligaments and tendons of arm and hand. If your wrist was involved that adds another level of hurt. Your successful recovery depends on you and you alone. The doctors and therapist have done their best to provide you treatment and patch your fractured arm. Since we all heal differently and it’s harder when we’re older give it time to heal. Yes it hurts and with the type of injury you have it’s not surprising that it does.
Under normal conditions without the surgery you’d just be in a sling doing exercises. Now you’ve got to heal the surgical site, the bone repair, muscles if they were damaged or cut or torn during the fall. I’m sure you have swelling as well and that makes OT even more challenging. Be thankful they fixed you. If you want your arm back follow the prescribed program and get well soon.

geronimo and coloradoed,
at some point you'll want reimaging of the repair.
Sometimes these surgeries don't proceed as planned.
Hardware can migrate.
If you aren't on Forteo, you might ask for script. It can greatly hasten healing.
Patience isn't always a virtue when you're the patient.

Thanks for your support, jentasky and gently. I am getting a second opinion tomorrow, as the amount of pain I'm being told to endure is unreasonable (an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10 for 16-18 hours). I've done PT numerous times before and have been advised that even a much lesser level of pain than I am experiencing is unreasonable. My outcomes are also poor relative to the norm and I am highly invested in my recovery. I suspect that something went wrong with the surgery and that this is what is causing the pain and hindering my recovery. I will keep you all posted.

Hello,
If you can touch all your finger tips at 2.5 weeks, then you're doing good. I took me longer.

I had same surgery exactly 8 weeks ago, and still have stiff fingers. I cannot move my wrist to supination, but continue to work with OT twice a week. I am able to type normal, and use my hand somewhat considering I cannot do supination still after 8 weeks. Doc took xray this week and all is healing like it should. No pain really except when I have to work it at OT. I am concerned that I still cannot do supination.

Did you get the second opinion? If so, what did he/she say? I'm thinking of getting a second opinion as well just to ease my mind about not being able to do supination.

Had the same surgery 8 weeks ago (broke my radius in 3 different areas, and fracture my ulna styloid) but instead it was my left wrist. I still cannot do supination. My fingers are still stiff every morning and it takes all day to get them working. I can type now and use my had a little bit, but still not able to make a full fist either. Apparently it takes time, but this process is very frustrating.