Table of Contents
You might need surgery to implant pins, plates, rods or screws to hold your bones in place while they heal. A bone graft might be used to help healing. These options might be necessary if you have: An open fracture.
Can a broken hand heal without cast?
Technically speaking, the answer to the question “can broken bones heal without a cast?” is yes. Assuming conditions are just right, a broken bone can heal without a cast. However, (and very importantly) it doesn’t work in all cases. Likewise, a broken bone left to heal without a cast may heal improperly.
How do doctors fix a broken hand?
Treatment options include: Cast, splint, and brace. Immobilization limits unnecessary movement, which promotes proper healing. It also ensures that your bones line up correctly. Pain medication. A doctor might have you take over-the-counter medication to control pain. Surgery. A broken hand usually doesn’t require surgery.
How can I heal my broken hand at home?
How can you care for yourself at home? Put ice or a cold pack on your hand for 10 to 20 minutes at a time. Follow the cast care instructions your doctor gives you. Take pain medicines exactly as directed. Prop up your hand on pillows when you sit or lie down in the first few days after the injury.
How do you splint a broken hand?
Splinting the hand Control any bleeding. First, treat any open wounds and control any bleeding. Place an object in the palm of the hand. Then place a wad of cloth in the palm of the injured person’s hand. Apply padding. Secure the padding. Seek medical help.
Can you still move your hand if it’s broken?
If you think you might have a broken hand, see a doctor immediately, especially if you have numbness, swelling or trouble moving your fingers. A delay in diagnosis and treatment can lead to poor healing, decreased range of motion and decreased grip strength.
How long do you wear a cast for a broken hand?
Depending on the location and stability of the fracture, you may have to wear the cast for 3 to 6 weeks. Some types of fractures can be protected by wearing a removable splint or by being “buddy strapped” to an adjacent non-injured finger.
What happens if a broken hand goes untreated?
When a bone fracture is untreated, it can result in either a nonunion or a delayed union. In the former case, the bone doesn’t heal at all, which means that it will remain broken. As a result, swelling, tenderness, and pain will continue to worsen over time.
What does a hand fracture feel like?
Fractured hand symptoms involving the metacarpals include pain, swelling, general tenderness along the site of the injury, and bruising. These metacarpal fractures symptoms may be more pronounced as the patient makes a fist or even loosely grips items.
How long does broken hand take to heal?
Usually, it is for about 3 weeks. Most fractures heal well. After healing, your knuckle may look different or your finger may move in a different way when you close your hand. Some fractures require surgery.
What helps a broken hand heal faster?
Vitamins and minerals including calcium and Vitamin D are essential to bone health. A diet rich in those nutrients, including dairy products, green vegetables, cod liver oil, certain fatty fish and eggs can help boost bone health and speed healing.
What should you do if you fall on your hand?
Use rest, ice, compression, and elevation (RICE) for pain and swelling. Do not use your injured hand or wrist for the first 24 hours after an injury, if possible. An elastic bandage can help decrease swelling. The wrap will also remind you to rest the injured hand or wrist.
Is a broken hand an emergency?
Normally, broken bones of the hand, wrist, ankle, or foot may be treated at the local urgent care center. On the other hand, the severity of the injury even though they are only located on the limbs might warrant a trip to the emergency room.
Should you wrap a fractured hand?
If you’ve injured your hand, bandages can reduce swelling, restrict movement, and provide support to the muscles, bones, and joints. Certain hand injuries may heal better when bandaged. These include: fractures, sprains, and strains.
What is a hairline fracture in hand?
A hairline fracture, also known as a stress fracture, is a small crack or severe bruise within a bone. This injury is most common in athletes, especially athletes of sports that involve running and jumping. People with osteoporosis can also develop hairline fractures.
Can you bruise a bone in hand?
But bones and muscles can also get bruised. This may damage the hand but not cause a bruise that you can see. Most bruises aren’t serious and will go away on their own in 2 to 4 weeks. But sometimes a more serious hand injury might not heal on its own.
What happens when you fall on your hand?
Injuries You May Suffer if You Landed on Your Hand After a Fall. Your hand contains over two dozen bones and many more ligaments, any one of which can be broken or torn as a result of bracing a fall. The most common fractures victims may suffer when landing on their outstretched hands include: Broken hand.
How do you know if you broke or sprained your hand?
Pain becomes worse when you apply pressure or move the injured limb. Severe swelling, or bruising over the top of the bone, numbness or tingling. A “cracking” (not “popping”) sound at the time of the injury. The area looks lopsided or “deformed,” or the bone is poking through.
What does the hospital do for a broken hand?
Treatment for a broken arm or wrist When you get to hospital the affected arm will be placed in a splint to support it and stop any broken bones from moving out of position. You will also be given painkilling medicines for the pain. An X-ray is then used to see if there is a break and how bad that break is.
How does a broken hand heal?
Once your doctor diagnoses the hand fracture and possible damage to other tissues, you will need to immobilize it for a while for the bones to heal. If there is no other damage to your hand and the fracture is not complicated, the standard treatment is a hand cast or splint for 3 to 6 weeks.
