I broke my left wrist pretty badly 3 weeks ago. I have been in a cast(up to elbow) and sling, but now I want to start exercising because my new cast is more snug and I don't need a sling anymore. I have more than a month with this cast on. I want to stay in shape for Lacrosse.
I back squatted the other day. It was difficult but manageable, and I have been doing legs, core, and some cardio. I will also try to use a seated lateral raise machine(so I don't have to use my arms). I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions of routines, or ideas for me to keep my conditioning up. Also does anyone have a solution to the grossness that follows sweating in a cast?
[quote] Also does anyone have a solution to the grossness that follows sweating in a cast?
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If you have an air compressor give it a blast. if no air compressor go to the gas station. talc
I’m in the same boat as you, broke my right wrist and had 12 screws put in, getting out of the armpit splint and getting a shorter cast tomorrow, i hope. I’ve been fast hiking some hills and doing jump squats at the top. Also recall reading that if you train the opposite limb to the one that’s in a cast you will lose less muscle, so i have been doing arm work on my left side. I also do movement prep and yoga on my lower body.
Added 5000 iu’s of vit D to my supps too.
Good luck on recovery, my cast stinks, glad i’m getting it chaged tomorrow.
cheers
mike
Not as relevant anymore, but I broke my left wrist being dumb at a party about three months ago. The irony was that I was using someone else’s crutches trying to do drunk stunts or something. Anyways, I did some research and heard the same thing so I trained lower body and my right side. I don’t think I lost any noticeable weight overall or strength in my left arm. Just felt a bit weak for a week, and real sore for awhile when I brought my left wrist back to the gym.
Like your doctor will probably say, DONT get impatient and try to start lifting ont hat wrist too early. Also, mine told me something new; Don’t start chugging milk to increase your calcium or anything like that. I guess that can cause your body to stop synthesizing the proper calcium and other minerals in the bone that needs repairing. I haven’t read that anywhere else, but I thought i should pass that on.
I fractured my left wrist(scaphoid) back in January 2008. Like a dumbass, I continued to train through it (blocking out the pain)until I got a followup radiograph in August 2009 revealing avascular necrosis resulting in surgery to place a screw and bone graft. After another long 6 months of recovery, I finally got the green light to resume training. Having said all that, the one thing I can’t stress enough is to allow yourself the proper time to heal. Training through the injury only ensures more down time in the long run. Trust me, I learned that the hard way.
As far as what you can do while you are healing, basically any exercise that doesn’t require any loading whatsoever on your wrists which really eliminates most upper body exercises except the seated lateral raise machine you already mentioned. The one positive thing I can say is that it forced me to do alot of things I would never do otherwise like BW hyperextensions,the leg press,hack squats, leg extensions/curls etc. I normally only do the basics (squats,deads,OLY lifts) so it was a good change of pace. While I could technically do back squats while wearing the cast, it still stresses your wrist too much especially as you pile on the plates so I would steer clear of that. If you really must, I was able to squat in a smith machine keeping the injured wrist off the bar but it can get tricky to re-rack one handed when you are on the verge of puking.lol
I wish you the best of luck in your recovery and just take your time and don’t try to force things too soon.
Thank you all for the advice. I have recently been freed from my cast, and now have a removable splint. Im doing Pt because most of the damage was on my ligaments and tendons, but it is coming along. Im trying not to rush things and take it slowly. I was tentative to train my right arm while the other was casted because it was doing all of the work anyways,such as carrying things and moving plates, and I already had a minor imbalance (right arm bigger than left. so I didnt train my strong arm really. Im going to slowly start light arm work soon. Thank you guys for the advice, and good luck with recovery to those with broken limbs.