I've been sorta quiet...

[Bike Writer]

Oh geeze Zoom, I feel for you. That's one big dang cast and I hope you got a sling with that. Stinks having to sleep in a position you don't like, it kinda feels like you wreck your good nights sleep. However wine and...ehem...other activities...may make up for that.

I tend to agree with seeking out another opinion on the activity allowed and I do believe that being/keeping active helps with healing, BUT only if it doesn't cause pain. When I was recovering from heart surgery I was cleared to ride a stationary bike about 10 days post surgery and I rode outside on my real bike at the 4 week mark. The breastbone is a whole different animal than an arm bone and since I am no Doc I'd make sure that one or two more Doc's agreed on a level of activity before I proceeded with it. I had different weight lifting/pulling/pushing restrictions along the way and if I unintentionally violated that I knew about it right away. Don't hurt yourself further.

Hopefully the time will pass quicker than you think it might.

[tealtreak]

Maybe you should consult with a more contemporary ortho about participating in some type of athletic activity while you are healing. My ortho is in his early 40's and specializes in sports injuries. He knows that I am normally very active. When I broke my humerous, he told me to participate in any activities within my pain free range. I hiked on the weekends and participated in my regular fitness classes during the week. I worked my good arm with heavier weights as usual and made concessions to my injured arm like doing bicep curls with a 10 oz soup can. I also worked my lower body extensively. The doctor and his staff were astounded by how fast my arm healed and how little muscle I lost in my shoulder. I attribute the fast healing and muscle retention to staying active and keeping my blood circulating.

Triple ditto! I was in a car wreck and had a cracked sternum and many cracked ribs- broken fingers, many stitches and soft tissue rips ......My youngish athletic ortho had me at PT and doing what/when I could right away and I healed very quickly (:

[malkin]

Hmmm...he never said I couldn't engage in THAT workout...

Sounds like time for 'Don't ask; don't tell' to me.

Maybe you could learn to knit with your feet?!

[Artista]

I thought that I remembered you saying that you are getting plenty of calcium and protein. It must have been in your blog. I learned while I was healing multiple broken bones over the last 1.5 years that magnesium and vitamins D & K2 are necessary to get that calcium into our bones. Many of us are deficient in those minerals and vitamins. Without them, our bodies can redirect calcium to places that cause problems like our arteries and kidneys. Colloidal and ionized minerals can also provide the trace minerals that our bones need. The jury is out on whether the colloidal or ionized form is best so I alternate between the two to cover all of my bases.

[Catrin]

+1 on what Artista said, I've been learning that bone health is about a lot more than just how much calcium we get. It has to be available to our bodies and for that we need those other minerals and vitamins that Artista mentioned. The type of calcium matters as well - from my research it appears that Calcium Citrate is the easiest to absorb and more bioavailable than some of the other forms (here is a short discussion on calcium citrate vs calcium carboniate + a few comments on other types of calcium).

[zoom-zoom]

Good to know. I do take Calcium citrate + D, but K and Mag make sense, too. I will see if DH can grab some on his way home.

[zoom-zoom]

Yeah, I've kept running for the last almost 7 years, since I know it's good for my bones. Tomorrow the roads should be less sloppy, so I can get out for a walk and some D.

[roadie gal]

Looking at that xray, I think the reason for the non-activity is that the orthopod is trying to save you from having surgery. Those Colles fractures that start out displaced like that tend to fall off again if there's any movement. If it falls off you definitely need surgery. 6-8 weeks of inactivity is much better than 3-4 months.

We see a LOT of wrist fractures at my little hospital. We always over immobilize the fractures that we have to reduce because of that.

[zoom-zoom]

Looking at that xray, I think the reason for the non-activity is that the orthopod is trying to save you from having surgery. Those Colles fractures that start out displaced like that tend to fall off again if there's any movement. If it falls off you definitely need surgery. 6-8 weeks of inactivity is much better than 3-4 months.

Yup. And everything looked good a week after the cast was put on. After 4 weeks of this I will be getting a short arm cast or maybe even an Exos short arm fracture brace. Those things look amazing and I could finally wash my nasty arm for the first time since 11/27!!!

[murielalex]

Zoom-zoom, here's to healing!

I actually got out on my bike today for the first time in two months. I only made it seven slow miles, but it's a start. I'm wishing the same for you as soon as you're able.

[zoom-zoom]

The cast is off!!! And I have DOMS...they never felt so good!

[murielalex]

Congrats!!!!!

[Catrin]

Woooot! This is great news, congratulations!

[OakLeaf]

Yaaaaay! Here's to smooth and fast rehab!