my messed up wrist

[nalo]

About six weeks ago I was coming home wasted from a party and decided to climb the outside of my apartment building. Luckily, it was raining and I didn't get very high (~ 4 feet) before I fell. I landed on my feet and kind of rolled backwards. I put my left hand out behind me to catch myself as I toppled over and bent my wrist back really really hard. It hurt a lot, so I promptly went inside and passed out. When I woke up the next morning, my wrist really hurt and my palm was cut up and bloody. I went into my roommate's room "Dude, my wrist hurts... Do you know what happened to it?" She explained to me about the climbing and the falling and I pretended to remember the incident. This wasn't the only time that I bent back my wrist like this, either. One time I fell campusing on the underside of some stairs, and another time I sucked at snowboarding. The snowboarding injury left me with a big purple bruise on the back of my wrist, just caused by repeated falling and bending back. I went to the doctor after the first two injuries, but not after this one (just switched jobs, no insurance yet). The point is, it's six+ weeks later now and it still hurts.

I am still unable to climb. My full open-hand crimp works ok, but thats it. palming a sloper is absolutely out of the question. I'll get insurance in another few weeks, is it worth going to see a doctor about a two month old injury?

 

thanks for any insight

nalo

[bigwalling]

About six weeks ago I was coming home wasted from a party and decided to climb the outside of my apartment building.

 

 

Yes! Rock On.

[Rad]

Options:

 

1 - Join AA, stop climbing, and cry in your coffee.

 

2 - Amputate with dull penknife, die from infectious complications, and have family apply for Darwin award.

 

3 - See the MD. What harm can the doc do? Perhaps you'll get a referral to a PT who can actually get you functional again.

[Distel32]

well you've probably torn or badly strained your ligaments, sprain action.....

 

rest it, ice when it hurts....

 

PM Bob

[catbirdseat]

I've found that it is easy enough to hurt myself even when I am sober, so I generally avoid drunkeness these days. I know that doesn't help you in your present situation. You probably want to go to the ER and get it X-rayed, or at least looked at, just to make sure it isn't broken.

[Jim]

It took my wrist about 7 months to heal from a nasty sprain via a bicycle fall. I would have bet it was broken it hurt so much. Rest, rest, rest. Otherwise chronic injury.

[ChrisT]

Might be a hairline fracture - my daughter had three of those on both wrists.

[bouldergirl27]

My ex-fiance broke both wrists campusing under some stairs, he had to go through some painful (and expensive)PT, but he got back to climbing like a mad man, slopers and all. So a Dr. vistit probably wouldn't hurt.

[StickBoy]

Broke my wrist last Dec. snowboarding. I didn't go to the doc for two weeks cause I thought it was sprained. Spent the next 7 months in a cast cause it was broken. Climbing is harder with a cast on. Go to the doctor and good luck.

[icegirl]

totally get it checked, could be a scaphoid fracture.

[nalo]

ummm what's a scaphoid?

[chelle]

One of your wrist bones... Go get it checked out.

[Bogen]

if you are an american without insurance, this must be a big deal. If you can't go to a doctor...

X-rays would be nice in case bones need to be set, or chips removed, but if you feel like doing it yourself, immobilize it for at least a couple weeks, take it really easy for several months - this means light motion and work, just enough to cause an ache but NEVER enough to cause a flare of pain. You must NOT exacerbate (worsen) the problem. There are alot of little bones, and tendons and ligaments all interacting and rubbing against each other in your wrist - a cracked bone or torn ligament coupled with inflammation is bad, grinding it around in there is much worse. NO CLIMBING! heal first, try again later.