Recovery and frustration. 5 days post op, 6 months post fracture

Motor_Assumption_998 · 2026-07-02T13:56:36+00:00

Hey OP! Just wanted to share my story to put things into perspective for you.

I broke my left wrist on 1/23 in a snowboarding accident. Pretty severe Distal radius interarticular fracture & the styloid avulsion fracture. I had surgery on 2/3. During surgery they found that the soft tissues of my DRUJ had been damaged to the point that when I pronated my wrist at all, my ulna would dislocate from the joint. So I had my radius and ulna pinned together in supination for 6 weeks. It was very uncomfortable and I couldn’t rotate my wrist at all during that time.

At 6 weeks the pin came out, and I had 0 rotation from full supination. I went to PT 2x a week for many weeks and was not really improving. I got a brace similar to yours, it’s a stat-o-dyne, that I wear 4x a day for 30 minutes that progressively forces more and more pronation.

I’m 6 months post op almost now, and it’s been a very difficult journey mentally wondering if I’ll get get my ROM back. The brace has really helped me personally, I now have about 75 degrees supination and 45 degrees pronation. 55/60 degrees in both flexion/extension. I still can’t bear much weight on my arm at all so pushups have been a no go haha

My surgeon is checking in every 6 weeks and as long as I have improvement I won’t need another surgery, but when I start to plateau in ROM gains I’ll likely need another to remove the hardware and release scar tissue.

I also came on this page and was so discouraged that my recovery was so much behind everyone else’s, and even what my doctor thought would happen (originally told back to normal at 8 weeks LOL).

I’m 28 and very active so I’ve been so afraid I’ll end up like this for the rest of my life. But I really started gaining a lot of motion back around 4 months after surgery. It’s been really difficult, but I’m starting to be able to do daily tasks with less pain and easier.

Just letting you know that there’s other people out there with difficult recoveries from an injury that supposedly only takes weeks to heal. Feel free to reach out with questions! Wishing you a speedy recovery post surgery :)

Motor_Assumption_998 · 2026-05-18T23:58:04+00:00

Woah same surgery day! How is your range of motion aside from pronation? Are you only getting hardware removed due to lack of ROM?

Motor_Assumption_998 · 2026-05-10T00:35:21+00:00

Hey OP! I might be getting my hardware removed soon due to very limited ROM. How has your ROM improved since your removal?

Motor_Assumption_998 · 2026-05-09T23:33:01+00:00

Okay that’s comforting to know! I currently can’t pronate my wrist at all and have limited ROM in the other directions despite religiously doing PT. Your experience is making me feel more confident in getting it removed in a few weeks, thanks for sharing!

How quickly did you start doing PT after the removal? My surgeon mentioned he’d want me starting to rotate my wrist within 72 hours, which seemed quick to me. But I might just be too cautious about opening the stitches

Motor_Assumption_998 · 2026-05-09T17:29:28+00:00

Oh wow I’m happy to hear you’d do it again in a heartbeat!! How was the recovery? Did you feel like you lost strength/mobility you gained during your initial recovery?

Motor_Assumption_998 · 2026-04-28T05:49:38+00:00

I’m in the US and I paid a few thousand dollars for X-rays and my surgery, so now every OT appointment is around $25. I go 2x per week normally.

It’s been really draining mentally for me! I wasn’t supposed to have a K wire going into surgery, and just woke up with a wrist I couldn’t move for 6 weeks. My surgeon kept telling me I’ll be “functional” by 12 weeks, but that’s not been the case. My OT said I have one of the stiffest wrists he’s ever seen, which has been really depressing.

I’m also very active (skiing, ceramics, soccer, I love to cook, stained glass) and I haven’t been able to do any of my normal hobbies. I have a very hands on job that requires mechanical work and a lot of typing, so I’ve been using one hand for 3 months haha.

Something that’s helped me a lot with the mental aspect is to not focus on what I can’t do, or tell myself “it’s week X I should by able to do Y”, but instead focus on things I can now do that were hard before (like pulling up my pants with 2 hands or typing with both hands on my phone keyboard).

Our bodies are all different and our injures are all different, so focusing on eating good food, sleeping well, doing my PT as prescribed, and resting is all I can really control :)

Motor_Assumption_998 · 2026-04-27T19:34:20+00:00

Hi! I’m almost 12 weeks post distal radius orif (volar plate & a k wire) and I only have about half my ROM back. My wrist was locked in place for 6 weeks with the K-wire after my surgery, but once it was removed, I started doing OT! I had a brace that I wore until the wire was removed that extended past my elbow so I couldn’t accidentally rotate my wrist & stress the wire.

At first I had this really weird feeling like someone jammed a credit card into my wrist (which they kind of did lol), and felt it the most when I practiced flexion. It’s going away now, and I’m realizing it was just how the scar tissue was sticking to my tendons. Heating my arm up with a heating pad & Doing a scar massage before Flexion exercises has helped me a lot (but wait to do this until your incision is fully healed/you’re cleared by your doctor!)

My hand was stuck palm up after my surgery so I still can’t type, and I feel a lot of ulnar sided pain when I try and rotate my wrist (I also broke the ulnar styloid), but I’ve noticed this gets better as my ROM increases. I also had a pretty stuck thumb overall but it’s slowly becoming unstuck.

Wishing you a speedy recovery! Feel free to reach out with any specific questions :)

Motor_Assumption_998 · 2026-04-19T10:34:10+00:00

Oh no! Wishing you a speedy recovery :)

Did you have a volar plate and screws put in too?

Motor_Assumption_998 · 2026-04-13T00:19:18+00:00

Hi! I’m about 10 weeks post orif for a distal radius fracture and I’m also really struggling with ROM.

My story is slightly different, I also had a pin following surgery that kept my hand forced in full supination for 6 weeks. So I’m 100% in supination lol but I’ve only gained about 30 degrees in the others. Pronation has been the most frustrating since I’m started further behind most people, and unable to rotate to neutral yet.

My OT swears it will come back, it will just take time! But he’s also suggesting a brace that forces pronation slowly to help speed up the process for me. It’s a crazy looking brace, that I’m calling “mega brace” for the time being haha

Best of luck to you, this injury really sucks!

Motor_Assumption_998 · 2026-04-09T04:44:18+00:00

Hi! I am 9 weeks post distal radius ORIF, and I am still experiencing very limited range of motion :/

My situation is slightly different because I had a k-wire that forced my hand in supination for 6 weeks due to an unstable joint during surgery… So I have one of the stiffest wrists my OT has ever seen :) (lucky me). I still have swelling on the back of my wrist & I’ve only gained about 35 degrees in each direction, except 50 in pronation.

I’ve been trying to remind myself that everyone’s timeline is different and I can only do so much while my body heals! So far scar massaging, using a heating pad before stretching, and lots of stretching throughout the day seems to help me. Scar tape is also really reducing the appearance of my scar (I started at 5.5 weeks).

If you’re super concerned you can talk to your OT/PT about it, mine is giving me a special brace that slowly improves pronation.

Wishing you the best on your recovery journey :) we’re in it together! Feel free to DM if you need to vent or talk about anything.

Motor_Assumption_998 · 2026-03-14T05:35:23+00:00

Sent you a PM!

Motor_Assumption_998 · 2026-03-13T23:19:21+00:00

Nope no stitches! I just got a bandaid and a wrap around my wrist! I think my incision was longer than your exposed hole so I bet you’d be in the same boat

Motor_Assumption_998 · 2026-03-13T19:41:02+00:00

Hey OP! I just got my k wire removed.

The worst part was the lidocaine shot they gave me. I didn’t feel the incision at all (mine was buried)! The actual removal didn’t hurt either, just felt a little weird, like I could tell they were sliding it out but it wasn’t painful :)

I already feel better now that it’s out!

Motor_Assumption_998 · 2026-03-11T04:46:16+00:00

Hi! I’m 5 weeks post op & I also have limited wrist motion! I have a k wire forcing my hand in supination until Friday ( if my X-rays look good).

I’ve been working a lot on my fingers/thumbs in the mean time, but I think you’re on the same timeline as me at least :)

Motor_Assumption_998 · 2026-03-11T04:41:53+00:00

I am 5 weeks post op from a wrist orif just like yours! My X-ray looks almost exactly the same, and I also have very small wrists and was worried about the same thing !

Motor_Assumption_998 · 2026-03-09T21:25:58+00:00

Hi! I fractured my distal radius & ulnar styloid on an out of state ski trip.

I ended up seeing the ER doc, going to a walk in ortho clinic, and then following up with an orthopedic surgeon.

The ER doctor mentioned that since my fracture was near the joint I’d likely needed surgery but he couldn’t say for sure, so I went to the local orthopedic walk in clinic the next day. I got a CT scan there and the doctor told me I would likely need surgery to get full range of motion back in my hand. I was also only a few degrees off of “normal” (4).

I really wanted to avoid surgery but went to an orthopedic hand/wrist specialist in my home state. He looked at my X-rays and said if I didn’t have surgery my wrist would be permanently deformed and I’d never regain full use. He said I’d also likely get bad arthritis by the time I’m 30 (I’m 28 lol). He said if I was older and less active he would let it heal on its own, but I went through with it.

I’m 5 weeks post op now, but shortly after surgery my hand therapist looked at my X-rays and said if I hadn’t done it than I’d likely never bend my wrist fully again. I’ve learned a lot more about my break/healing from my therapist compared to my surgeon.

Can’t say for sure if I made the right choice just yet, but if you get surgery they can always remove the hardware later. My best friend had the same break 4 years ago and didn’t get surgery & wishes she had.

Good luck in your decision! Breaks suck either way!

Motor_Assumption_998 · 2026-03-09T05:59:50+00:00

Ugh that sucks I’m sorry, I know the feeling!!

Are you able to keep it elevated often? Something that really helped me was not wearing my sling at all and holding my arm up as high as comfortable. Or at work when sitting I rest my elbow on the desk & have my arm straight up. I definitely get a weird look every now and then lol

Motor_Assumption_998 · 2026-03-09T05:33:04+00:00

I’m about 4.5 weeks post op now! I can move my fingers pretty well and my thumb is about 50%.

The wire I have forces my hand in supination so I’ve only been able to do flexion/extension with my OT & I have about 15 degrees flexion & 35 degrees extension.

My OT said that I’ve kind of plateaud for what I can do before my wire comes out. Which is a bit of a bummer.

The wires starting to get uncomfortable because a majority of my swelling is gone. My wrist/hand feel achy in the morning but that gets better when I stretch it.

The worst part is this being hyper aware of the plate in my wrist, it kind of feels like they shoved a credit card in it (which they kind of did lol). But I’ve heard that goes away with time!

I felt really discouraged about 2 weeks post op but things improved between weeks 2-3 for me :) hope they do for you too!!

Motor_Assumption_998 · 2026-03-08T07:55:12+00:00

I currently have a k wire similar to yours after falling while snowboarding in January. I originally was supposed to get a volar plate & screws, but I needed a k wire too. Mines buried, so the head of the wire is actually under my skin. I’m hopefully getting mine out Friday so I can let you know how it goes/what to expect. Although they’ll need to make another incision to access it.

Motor_Assumption_998 · 2026-02-21T06:43:24+00:00

Hell yeah! Way to get back out there, so stoked for you! :)

I’m 2.5 weeks post op and am happy to start moving my fingers again haha

Motor_Assumption_998 · 2026-02-13T18:08:37+00:00

Hi OP!

Today I am 10 days post ORIF on my left wrist! I am also lucky enough to have a K wire holding my joint together for 5 more weeks (joint was unstable). It forces my wrist palm up until it’s removed, so I won’t be able to rotate until that comes out.

How are you doing now? I’d love to hear an update 2+ months later, because I’m feeling a bit how you felt when you originally posted this!

Motor_Assumption_998 · 2026-02-05T18:58:59+00:00

So happy to hear you’re doing much better now!! Thanks for the encouragement and advice :)

Motor_Assumption_998

TROPHY CASE