PT GUIDE TO WRIST FRACTURE

A wrist fracture is a break in one of the bones near the wrist. In the United States, 1 out of every 10 broken bones diagnosed is a wrist fracture. Injury can occur as a result of a trauma, such as falling while playing sports or simply tripping when walking down a sidewalk. Children are susceptible to wrist fractures because of the high-risk sports they commonly play. A child may sustain a wrist fracture falling off a bike, playing football or soccer, or falling off playground equipment. Wrist fractures are also common in women after menopause, and frequently occur in the elderly population due to falls. A physical therapist can help individuals who have sustained a wrist fracture regain normal wrist motion, strength, and function, and learn how to prevent future fractures.

What Is Wrist Fracture?

A fracture is a crack or a break in a bone. Wrist fractures due to falls happen most often when people stretch the arm straight out to catch themselves as they fall. The wrist is made up of 8 small bones called carpal bones, and 2 bones in the forearm called the radius and the ulna. A wrist fracture is diagnosed when any of those bones breaks or cracks. The most frequently fractured bone is the radius, the bone in the forearm that is closest to the thumb.

There are 3 types of bone fractures:

• Type 1 – a "nondisplaced" fracture, where the bone is broken but is still in a normal position.
• Type 2 – a fracture where a fragment of bone is shifted from its normal position.
• Type 3 – the most serious type of fracture, with multiple breaks of the bone or bones.

Type 1 and 2 fractures usually are treated without surgery. Type 3 fractures, however, usually require surgery.

How Does it Feel?

A fractured wrist is usually painful and movement is affected. If you have sustained a wrist fracture, you may experience:

• Pain in the area of the fracture, which could be anywhere in the wrist, depending on which bone was affected. The pain can radiate from the wrist into the fingers, and even into the forearm.
• Swelling in the wrist and possibly in the hand, usually on the top surface of the wrist and hand.
• Tenderness to touch in the wrist.
• Difficulty and pain when moving the wrist or fingers      

How Is It Diagnosed?

An x-ray is the best way to diagnose a wrist fracture. If you have sustained a fall and are experiencing any of the symptoms mentioned above, you need to visit an emergency room, an urgent-care center, or your physician to get a complete diagnostic x-ray.

If a physical therapist suspects that you have a wrist fracture, the therapist may arrange for an x-ray and refer you to an appropriate physician. Your physical therapist can check for damage to other joints and muscles, and make sure that the nerves and blood vessels in your wrist, forearm, and hand have not been affected by the broken bone. In most cases, people with fractures visit a physician with a specialty in managing bones and joints (an orthopedist). Depending on the type of fracture, the physician might prescribe a cast or a sling to immobilize the area for a period of time until the fracture is healed. The amount of healing time varies, depending on the individual and the type of fracture, and can be anywhere from 4 to 10 weeks. If the fracture is severe, surgery will be required. The recovery time may be longer following surgery, depending on the severity of the injury.

How Can a Physical Therapist Help?

Your physical therapist will work with you following a wrist fracture to help you regain normal wrist motion, strength, and function, and will provide education and training to help you prevent future fractures.

While Your Wrist Is In a Cast or a Sling

While your bone heals, your arm will be in a cast or a sling to keep it still and promote healing. During that time, it is important to ensure that the arm does not get too stiff, weak, or swollen. Depending on the amount of activity that is allowed for your type of fracture, your physical therapist will prescribe gentle exercises to keep your shoulder, elbow, and fingers moving while you are in the cast or sling.

Most people with wrist fractures will slowly return to exercising the other arm and the legs, so that the rest of the body doesn't get out of shape while the fracture is healing. Your physical therapist can help you adapt your exercise program, so that you can maintain your overall strength and fitness without interfering with the healing of your wrist.

When the Cast or Sling Is Removed

After your cast or sling is removed, your wrist will most likely be stiff, and your arm will feel weak. Your physical therapist will examine your wrist, and select treatments to improve its function and restore strength to your arm.

Your rehabilitation will include treatments to:

Reduce Pain. Your physical therapist might use either warm or cold therapeutic treatments, or electrical stimulation, to help control pain or swelling in your wrist, hand, or arm.

Relieve Stiffness. Your physical therapist may use skilled hands-on techniques (manual therapy) to enable your joints and muscles to move more freely with less pain.

Increase Your Strength and Ability to Move. Physical therapists prescribe several types of exercises during recovery from a wrist fracture. Early on, your physical therapist can help you begin to gently move your elbow, using "passive range-of-motion" exercises. As your arm gets stronger, you can exercise it yourself without weights ("active range-of-motion" exercises). Once the bone is well-healed, you can begin to perform resistance exercises, using weights or elastic bands. In addition to prescribing range-of-motion and strengthening exercises, your physical therapist can help you retrain your muscles to react quickly when you need to protect yourself from a fall.

Get Back to Your Daily Activities. Your physical therapist will help you remain independent by teaching you how to perform your daily activities (eg, dressing, working on a computer, and cooking), even while wearing a cast or a sling. Once you can move your arm freely without pain, your physical therapist may begin adding activities that you were doing before your injury, such as using your arm for dressing, grooming, and housekeeping. Your physical therapist will design your individualized program based on an examination of your wrist, goals, level of physical activity, and general health.

Prepare for More Demanding Activities. Depending on the requirements of your job or the type of sports you play, you might need additional physical therapy tailored to meet specific demands. Your physical therapist will develop a specialized program to address your unique needs and goals.

Prevent Long-Term Disability. Everything your physical therapist prescribes for you will help prevent long-term disability by:

• Returning the arm to a strong level of fitness.
• Restoring full movement and strength in a safe manner, while healing occurs.
• Assessing the fracture to make sure that you can return safely to previous home and work activities.
• Guiding you to a safe return to sports and other physical activities. A return too early after a fracture may increase the risk of another fracture.
• Recommending protective equipment, such as wrist guards, for use during sports.

Can this Injury or Condition be Prevented?

In addition to helping individuals prevent long-term disability following a wrist fracture, physical therapists can help different at-risk populations prevent fractures.

• For the aging population, avoiding falls and other trauma is the best way to prevent fractures. Physical therapists are experts at determining your risk of falling, and can teach you how to perform balance exercises and take precautions to avoid falls. They also can perform work and home safety evaluations to make sure that your daily environment is safe.
• For postmenopausal women with osteoporosis leading to a higher risk of wrist fracture, a physical therapist can teach weight-bearing exercises to help build stronger bones. Your physical therapist also may refer you to a nutritionist for vitamin D supplements or other dietary changes to help make your bones stronger. Education in proper posture and body mechanics and joint protection techniques can be helpful in preventing strain on the wrist and arms.
• For children, wearing proper protective gear, such as wrist guards, can reduce the risk of a wrist fracture when playing certain sports. Making sure that playground equipment your child uses is safe and built on a soft surface can also reduce the risk of wrist fractures due to falls.

PT'S GUIDE TO PELVIC FRACTURES

A pelvic fracture is a break in 1 or more bones in the pelvis. It is sometimes referred to as a "hip fracture" or "broken hip" because it occurs in the bones that make up the hip area. A pelvic fracture causes difficulty walking or standing. It can also cause abdominal pain, bleeding from pelvic cavities, and difficulty urinating. Pelvic fractures in the United States are relatively rare, making up 0.3% to 6% of all fractures. Pelvic fractures are most common in people 15-28 years of age. In people younger than 35, males suffer a higher incidence of pelvic fractures than females. In people older than 35, females suffer pelvic fractures more often than males.

What is a Pelvic Fracture (Hip Fracture)?

A pelvic fracture is a crack or break in one or more of the pelvic bones, which are located at the base of the spine. The pelvis is often referred to as part of the hip. (When you "put your hands on your hips," your hands are actually resting on your pelvic bones.)

A pelvic fracture can result from a low-impact or high-impact event.

Low-impact pelvic fractures most commonly occur in 2 age groups: adolescents and the elderly. Adolescents typically experience fractures of the tips of 1 of the pelvic bones, resulting from an athletic injury (football, hockey, skiing) or an activity such as jogging. Pelvic fractures also can occur after minor falls in people with osteoporosis or even occur spontaneously when bones are weak. The elderly frequently suffer fractures of the thicker part of the pelvic bones. These "pelvic ring fractures" result from falling onto the side of the hip. These falls can be caused by balance problems, vision problems, medication side effects, general frailty, or unintended obstacles such as pets underfoot, slippery floors, or rumpled rugs. Low-impact pelvic fractures often are mild fractures, and they may heal with several weeks of rest. Physical therapy is very helpful in restoring strength and balance in these cases.

High-impact pelvic fractures most commonly result from major incidents such as a motor vehicle accidents, a pedestrian being struck by a vehicle, or a fall from a high place. These pelvic fractures can be life-threatening, require emergency room care, surgery, and extensive physical therapy rehabilitation.

How Can a Physical Therapist Help?

Pelvic fracture recovery often involves surgery or long periods of bed rest. In the case of athletes, avoidance of sport activities is recommended until pain has resolved. During these periods of rest, which are usually weeks to months, a person often loses strength, flexibility, endurance, and balance abilities.

Physical therapists can help you recover from a pelvic fracture by improving your:

• Pain level
• Hip, spine, and leg motion
• Strength
• Flexibility
• Speed of healing
• Speed of return to activity and sport

When you are cleared by your physician to begin physical therapy, your physical therapist will design a specific treatment program to speed your recovery, including exercises and treatments you should do at home. This program will help you return to your normal life and activities and reach your recovery goals.

The First 24-48 Hours

Your physical therapist may help you learn to use crutches so you can move around your home without walking on the leg of the injured side. This will more commonly apply to low-impact pelvic fractures, as in athletes. More severe pelvic fractures will require a wheelchair, in which your physical therapist can instruct your safe usage.

Reduce Pain

Your physical therapist can use different types of treatments and technologies to control and reduce your pain, including ice, heat, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, taping, exercises, and special hands-on techniques called manual therapy that gently move your muscles and joints.

Your physical therapist will choose specific activities and treatments to help restore normal movement in the leg and hip. These might start with passive motions that he or she applies to your leg and hip joint, and progress to active exercises and stretches that you perform yourself. Treatment can involve hands-on manual therapy techniques called "trigger point release" and "soft tissue mobilization," as well as specific stretches to muscles that might be abnormally tight.

Improve Strength

Certain exercises will benefit your healing at each stage of recovery, and your physical therapist will choose and teach you an individualized exercise program that will restore your strength, power, and agility. These exercises may be performed using free weights, stretch bands, weight-lifting equipment, and cardio exercise machines such as treadmills and stationary bicycles. For pelvic fractures, muscles of the hip and core are often targeted by the strength exercises.

Improve Balance

The hip area contains many muscles that are vital for balance and steadiness when walking or performing any activity. Your physical therapist will teach you effective exercises to restore strength and endurance to these muscles so that you can regain your balance.

Speed Recovery Time

Your physical therapist is trained and experienced in choosing the treatments and exercises to help you heal, get back to your normal life, and reach your goals faster than you might be able to on your own.

Return to Activities

Your physical therapist will collaborate with you to decide on your recovery goals, including return to work and sport. Your treatment program will be designed to help you reach these goals in the safest, fastest, and most effective way possible. Your physical therapist will use hands-on therapy and teach you exercises and work re-training activities. Athletes will be taught sport-specific techniques and drills to help achieve sports-specific goals.

Prevent Future Problems

Your physical therapist can recommend a home exercise program to strengthen and stretch the muscles around your hip, upper leg, and core to help prevent future problems, such as fatigue and walking difficulty. This program may include strength and flexibility exercises for the hip, thigh, and core muscles. Your physical therapist will also review with you and your family ways to prevent falls in your home. These fall-prevention strategies may include clearing the floors of loose obstacles (throw rugs, mats), using sticky mats or chairs in the shower, preventing pets from walking near your feet, and using non-slippery house shoes, as well as installing grab bars or rails for the shower, toilet, and stairs.

If Surgery Is Necessary

If surgery is required, your physical therapist will help you minimize pain, restore motion and strength, and return to normal activities in the speediest manner possible after surgery.

Can this Injury or Condition be Prevented?

Pelvic fracture can be prevented by:

• Warming up before starting any sport or heavy physical activity. Your warm-up should include stretches taught to you by your physical therapist, including stretches for the muscles on the front, side, and back of the hip.
• Increasing the intensity of an activity or sport gradually, not suddenly. Avoid pushing yourself too hard, too fast, too soon.
• Following a reasonable and safe nutritional plan. Nutritional factors can contribute to osteoporosis, which can put you at higher risk of pelvic fracture.
• Maintaining good balance skills. Balance problems can increase the risk of falling and thus increase the risk of incurring a pelvic fracture. Physical therapy can help maintain and improve balance ability, which can help prevent falls.
• Driving safely to avoid motor vehicle accidents.
• Clearing your house of obstacles that you could trip over, and eliminating slippery walking surfaces.