Broken wrist - how much time did you have off work?

[Kayoh]

I broke my wrist 2 weeks ago falling over (great timing). It was dislocated and I thought it would need pinning but fortunately they were able to realign it in the end (3 separate manual manipulations 😭), it's been very painful and swollen. I'll be in a cast for another 4 weeks.

I work in an office job which I enjoy but is high pressure and busy. I'm genuinely not sure how much time I'm likely to need off? A friend didn't have any time off for a broken wrist but I honestly can't see how I can sit in a typing for hours a day - thinking my wrist would be very painful - and I'm wondering about asking for a phased return. Just wondering how others found the later weeks of recovery.

I had no time off. My line manager told me they couldn’t replace me. Illegals, I suspect. I had very little support and I was running a whole department and in chronic pain. It’s why when I was head-hunted, I left with very little compunction.

At the very least, get them to set you up with voice activated software - Dragon or the like. And make sure you get time off for physiotherapy and so on.

I am recovering from a broken wrist at the moment. My break was bad and needed surgery. I returned to work (in office) after being off ten weeks post surgery. It will take at least a year for it to fully heal. I am on a phased return to work and it will continue into January.

The surgeon and nurses will be the best people to advise you. I was told that even typing one handed could impact the recovery of my wrist.

A colleague broke his wrist a few months ago, needed surgery on it. We work in a very manual job, lots of heavy lifting so he was placed on light duties for 4 weeks but was still doing a lot of normal jobs. You don’t need to take time off for a broken wrist, just take pain medication and take it slower

Which wrist? I broke my left one and am right handed. I went back after a week when the swelling was less, as I was able to type with both hands (gently with the left). But I'm sure if you can't do your actual job a doctor will sign you off - mine offered, but I was fine with working. It will be role dependent.

My son broke his clavicle and wrist and had a month off as his job is quite physical and he literally couldn’t do it. My sister broke her arm and took no time off. So if you can do your job then minimal time off. If not then until you can!

Crikey @Raffleyourdoughnut i would have cried if my workplace had offered me such a good deal. I had to have two surgeries and had chronic pain for 18 months. I had 2 weeks off after the second surgery only because I was on sabbatical and they didn’t need to find replacement teaching. But I work in a university and they are notoriously bad at supporting academic staff.

Not from a broken wrist but I have been forced to stop using my right hand at work for a few weeks (and was strapped so I could ‘t use it) so I learned to use mouse with left hand and typed one handed! Obviously I was slower so allowances were made, my job is more mouse heavy than hours of typing though. You adapt quickly!

I wouldn’t expect anyone to take time off with a broken wrist apart from many first day or 2 for pain, hospital and physio appts though. Anyone I know who has broken a wrist or arm has been back at work within a few days (office, computer based jobs)

@ParmaVioletTea that's exactly what I fear, I'm in the public sector so better protected in theory, but in practice I'm expecting pressure to go back as I'm the only person doing my job.

@RedRosie dominant right wrist unfortunately

If you can still do your job with your hand in a cast, go in. I got put on other duties until it healed (which took 8 weeks)

I took 2 weeks off. Physical job which I couldn’t do 100% even on return. Had no choice since I couldn’t survive on SSP

Sounds very variable then. My worry is that no allowances are likely to be made at my job for being slower or being able to do less, it'll be full on if I'm there. I think I'll request half days initially and go from there.

I’ve got a broken wrist now, no surgery needed. I was in a cast for 5 weeks and now have a splint on. I could type on a keyboard (with painkillers) after about 7 weeks.

I’ve broken both wrists. Not at the same time. I had no time off. Was slower but got the job done. I am lucky in that the breaks were clean and I had no pain while healing. The pain came when the casts came off but was fairly short lived.
I have a job that includes quite a lot of keyboard work but also quite a lot of time just talking to customers.

Are you able to travel to work safely?

I had an injury this year and I was automatically given a fit note for four weeks - but I didn’t need it because I was able to adapt and wfh. I think it is very much dependent on your job and your injury.

The first day I went back to sitting at my desk I cried at the end of the day because the pain was so bad. No one else can see how much pain your are in. At the very least make your manager aware how seriously injured you are and negotiate lower expectations for a month. When the cast comes off it will ache and be stiff - you won’t be back to 100% in six weeks.

@NotMySanta I can wfh if required. It's more that my job is literally sitting at a computer 8 hours a day - I don't think I could tolerate that yet.

My advice is, don’t be a martyr. if I had that time again, I would have gone to my GP and been written sick on stress and pain. I lived on cocodamol for about 6 months! Just getting over the general anaesthetic was tough.

I was exhausted for the 6 weeks it took my wrist (also dominant hand) to heal, and navigating the NHS and the chaos of the fracture clinic was also challenging. A 10 minute appointment took at least 2 hours in the waiting room.

I negotiated working from home whenever I could, but the Occupational Health people, and HR were absolutely hopeless. A temporarily disabled academic HoD in the middle of semester was an inconvenience to everyone, including my students. It was a decade ago, and I’m still seething!

I broke my leg (whilst working) and had 1/2 a day off in a similar role (but I worked from home as I couldn’t easily commute). I’d go back and just type single handedly or use voice to text. They’ll just have to accept you’ll be slower than usual.

Last year I had a member of staff who took 2 months off for a fractured wrist, then 3 months on part-time. All fully paid!

And I still don't believe he broke it. But I wasn't "allowed" to do a OC request for him.

Guess which sector I'm in??!!!

@Kayoh I work in the public sector too. I am very lucky to have good, fair minded managers. I did work (from home) the week before my operation to finish what I could.

I essentially needed my wrist rebuild so that was factored in on how long I was off. My GP was happy to follow the hospital's lead and provided the necessary fit notes.

Depends on your job, when I broke my arm (not wrist) I had zero time off because I was a sahm of a baby, I had to carry on regardless, couldn’t even take good painkillers because I was breastfeeding. Dh took no time off for surgery bar the actual day (on a Friday) but couldn’t type so just did non typing things (was manager) and his office manager typed for him

It depends if it's your dominant hand.
I had a colles fracture of my left wrist (the radius was fractured and displaced), the ulna was fractured, as was one of the little bones at the top.

It was reduced as an emergency. I had Monday off work but could type slowly, and was called back to hospital for emergency pinning and plating once the ortho's had reviewed the Xrays and found the radial nerve at risk. Spent Tuesday at hospital and they ran out of surgical time so had to go back on Wednesday.

I had a cast for about a fortnight and because it was pinned and plated I then had a soft, velcro cast, removable.

Once plated I don't recall much pain.

My boss refused to mark me as sick at all. I was able to work and type from the Thursday. I think it helped healing to keep my fingers moving by typing. I can work from home, so did for about 4 weeks until I was driving again.

The ortho consultant (who operated) was gung ho about me driving and told me to wear a glove once I had the velcro cast (automatic car); the registrar thought I should be off work and not driving. I stuck with the consultant's advice.

I really don’t understand needing time off for one wrist unless manual, I cannot take time off (unusual job) I have even checked email and voicemail today on annual leave

Surely it depends on the type of break, the role you have, which wrist it is etc etc. I think you have to take advice from the medical professionals and also based on how you are feeling. You can end up doing more long lasting damage by rushing back too soon.

The issue is the consultant's advice was basically "do what you feel you can, I'll sign you off for as long as you feel you need" which is kind but not hugely helpful!

@PoppyWarrior I am definitely not that person, I am very committed to my job and haven't had a sick day in the past 12 months at all. But equally I don't want to hurt myself or push through pain.

It's not a manual job but it's holding the wrist in one position (at a computer) all day that I think I'll find difficult. I actually think it would be easier if I was still in my previous job which was a mix of desk work and advice work.