How long does it take for a strained wrist to heal?
Technically a strain is when muscle tissue is injured, a sprain is when ligaments or tendons are injured. I'm betting you have a sprain. Ligaments and tendons are made of the same material. They are differentiated per their function: ligaments attach bone to other bone for the purpose of structural integrity, tendons attach muscle to bone on order to translate motion or add support via muscular contraction. There are a few muscles that are close to your wrist but there are many tendons and numerous ligaments at and around your wrist. If you moderately strained a muscle, with proper rest and care, it should heal over the course of 10-14 days; a severe strain closer to a month. If you moderately sprained a ligament or tendon, with proper rest and care, you can expect the pain to decrease significantly over the course of 2-3 weeks but, due to these structures not having a direct blood supply and healing very slowly, you will be at risk for re-aggravation for as long as 2-3 months; a severe strain could hang on for 4-6 months and would probably require you to wear a wrist brace. Try this: If you are at least 72 hours post injury (to get past the acute swelling phase) put a dry heat heating pad on the area while you sit in front of a TV, have a cold pack ready. Use the TV as a timer: while the program is on (regular TV, not news or sports) have the heat on, while the commercials are on apply the cold pack right on your skin (if you don't have an ice pack, put 3-4 ice cubes in a zip-lock baggie and do an ice massage over the area). This results in approximately 12 mins heat and 3 mins cold. Repeat this four times in the space of one hour. The heat opens up the blood flow and brings in fresh blood, oxygen, and nutrients; the cold shuts the blood flow down and flushes away extra fluid, irritants, and waste products. This cleansing and replenishing action allows your body to heal as well, and as quickly, as possible. Hope this helps, Good luck!
How long does a sprained wrist last?
"First u need to rest the wrist to let it heel, then u need to use thermal therapy to improve circulation to assist healing. Use compressive health gloves to maintain correct joint position. It's worth letting your wrist heal properly or you can later develop carpal tunnel from a bad injury."
How long does it take for the pain to stop on a broken wrist that is out of the cast?
What Can I Expect After my Bone Has Healed? Everyone wants to know, "Can I return to all my former activities, and when?" This is a great question that also seems rather simple and straightforward, but the answer is complex. Most patients do return to all their former activities, but what will happen in your case depends on the nature of your injury, the kind of treatment you and your surgeon decide upon, and how your body responds to the treatment. You will need to discuss your case with your doctor for the specifics of your case, but some generalizations can be made. Most patients have their cast taken off at about six weeks. Most patients will start physical therapy, if their doctor feels it is needed, within a few days to weeks after surgery, or right after the last cast is taken off. Most patients will be able to resume light activities such as swimming or working out the lower body in the gym within a month or two after the cast is taken off, or after surgery. Most patients can resume vigorous physical activities, such as skiing or football, between three and six months after the injury. Almost all patients will have some stiffness in the wrist, which will generally diminish in the month or two after the cast is taken off or after surgery, and will continue to improve for at least two years. You should expect your recovery to take at least a year. You will still feel some pain with vigorous activities for about that long. Some residual stiffness or ache is to be expected for two years or possibly permanently, especially for high energy injuries (such as motorcycle crashes, etc.), in patients over 50, or in patients who have some osteoarthritis. However, the good news is that the stiffness is usually minor and may not affect the overall function of the arm. Remember, these are general guidelines and may not apply to you and your fracture. Ask your doctor for specifics in your case. Your doctor knows that returning to activities is important to you. Finally, osteoporosis is a factor in many adult wrist fractures, as many as 250,000 per year in the US. It has been suggested that people who suffer a wrist fracture may need to be screened for osteoporosis, especially if they have other risk factors. Ask your doctor if you need to be screened or treated for osteoporosis.
How long does it take for a torn ligament to heal in the wrist?
Depends on the severity or “grade” the ligament tear . Grade I involves “micro” damage of the wrist expect recovery with conservative care.Before I go any further a short explanation about the wrist ligaments which is what is injured in a sprained wrist. There are few larger ligaments on the front, back, and sides of the wrist—known as the collateral ligaments —to keep the wrist from bending too far in any direction. Wrist sprains are most commonly caused by injury of the scapholunate ligament, which connects scaphoid and lunate carpal bone. I will refer you to google wrist carpal bones to see an anatomical representation ( wrist bones, i’m Guess there are about 8 bones in the wrist.Symptoms such as pain, swelling, bruising and loss of strength or stability are common with mild (grade I) to moderate (grade II) wrist sprains, and temporary splinting with mild injuries, stiffness is normal once the ligament begins to heal. ... Severe (grade III) sprains may involve a more severe partial or completed tear, This may need to be looked at by a hand surgeon. The key point here is rehab/physical therapy for grades I & II where prospects for recovery are better. Stiffness is the greatest cause for disability. Remember, drugs never heal the tear, and when I prescribe it is only for a set period of time depending how the recovery progresses. Again, in order to answer your question I would need to know the stage the injury.Lastly, in stage III It is less likely that torn ligaments will heal once scar tissue has developed over the ends. Metal pins are usually placed to hold the bones still while the ligaments heal. The pins are usually removed four to six weeks after the procedure.Hope this helps
How long does a sprained wrist take to heal?
I hurt my wrist about three months ago. I went to the doctor the day that it happened and they took X-rays and said it was just a sprain and would heal within a month or so. But it still hurts sometimes, especially when I put weight on it. Does it usually take this long for a sprained wrist or heal, or could it be that it was actually broken?
How long does a sprained wrist take to heal?
The time it takes to heal depends on how bad the sprain is. It could heal in a few days, or it could take a few weeks. For now, take some advil and brace it so it won't hurt while using it. I have foam pads designed for the wrist that go from mid palm to halfway up my forearm. There are laces on the back so it can be adjusted to the perfect fit. Trust me. Get one like that. That type is so good that I've used it for broken wrists and was still able to use my hand just fine while it was on. Ace bandages will allow you to move your wrist and keep it agitated. The foam one that's one piece with laces is perfect. I actually have two of the things, one for each side. Yes, I know that most people want one that could be used on both wrists, but none of the others work at all compared to these.
How long can swelling last after wrist tendon surgery on the dorsal aspect of the hand?
Certainly there can be significant swelling for 6 months to a year. Two kinds of swelling….one goes down with elevation and rest and one doesn’t. The former tends to disappear more quickly.
How long does it take a sprained wrist to heal?
I fell and jammed my wrist over a week ago. A few days after the incident I went to a health clinic and got it x-rayed. The doctor said it was only sprained, but it is still in excruciating pain. Is this normal? When will it start to heal?
How long does it take for sprained wrists to heal? I sprained both of my wrists 11 days ago, and I am a piano performer with a competition this Sunday. Any recommendations for healing or reducing pain?
Sprains are generally a weeks-to-months kind of injury. The severity of the ligament damage and how soon you began a RICE (rest/ice/compression/elevation) treatment will be the main factors in how long the healing takes.I’m NOT a doctor. Go see one if you haven’t already done so. An MRI or X-ray may be needed to determine the severity of the injury.If there isn’t any bruising/swelling around the wrists, only stiffness, you may have a mild sprain or not actually sprained anything. Refer to #2.If you’re a black n blue mess, refer to #2.After 11 day’s, if you’re still in pain, bruised and/or swollen, odds are not in your favor of being fully healed in a few more days. With sprains, it’s not only ligament damage, but nerve damage that can take time to heal. Finally,Refer to #2. Best wishes for a full recovery.