Damaged wrist

[Flute56]

Two days ago I bashed my left hand on a swing door when I was opening it and it didn't hurt but a few hours later it was very painful and I couldn't lift anything with that hand so I saw the rest was broken so I went to get an X-ray and the x-ray said nothing broken but just badly sprained. My wrist and hand was putting a splint and I was told to just go home and see my GP if I needed further advice. 1 end of the wrist is extremely painful so I was convinced that there was a hairline fracture but the doctor said nothing showed up on the x-ray but it is still extremely painful when any pressure is put to it so I'm going to my GP to ask for a further examination and I would like to know what the x-ray said if there's any tendon damage or anything like that and the reason why it is more painful at one end of the wrist and the other and also this Hospital doctor said to me it will be better within seven to ten days and I don't think she should say that because how does she know people get better at their own rates. I spoke to a friend of mine he used to working a hospital and she said are you sure that doctor was an orthopaedic doctor because sometimes when their short of staff they get another Doctor Who isn't and orthopaedic doctor just to cover I said I want someone to explain what they saw on the x-ray not just fog me off with oh it's not a fracture because I don't know if I've got tendon damage or what she didn't say and I'm on very strong the painkillers which masks the pain which means I can use the hand but because I'm using the hand with the stronger painkillers once they wear off my wrist will be twice as painful because I've been using it and putting stress to whatever is wrong with it so I'm going to get a second opinion because this doctor at the hospital said to me what job do you do and I said I work with computers can I type oh yes she said you can type what I can't type no way it's going to put stress on the finger stress on the the wrists and everything that don't think she should have said that

Did you say at the time? Actually I can't move my fingers so how will I type?

It's only been 2 days and they said nothing is broken.

Give it 10 days and see if it's feeling any better then.

I rolled my ankle which took over a week to start feeling better then 9 weeks in total to stop hurting.

Splint, antiinflammatories and give it a little time, OP!

An xray won't show tendon or soft tissue damage but it will show whether it is broken or not. It's been 2 days, strap it up, keep taking the painkillers and try not to use it if you can.

The Dr probably said that it should get better within 7-10 days as that is the average time that it takes for most people. What did you want them to say, 'Sorry, I have no idea when it may get better'?

An unrecognized fracture, also known as an occult fracture, can be mistaken for a sprained wrist. A fractured scaphoid bone in the wrist is a common example of this.

The other reason for going to the GP is to see if I've had a fractire as noted above

The treatment probably wouldn't be any different though, either way.

A bad sprain is more painful than a broken bone in my experience.

I first sprained my left ankle 11 years ago and it's never been right since. The worst sprain I managed was just before Covid lockdown #1 and the xray showed no break this time but several healed fractures from my many ankle collapses in the preceeding 5 years - all of which I'd treated as a mild sprain.

So if you're being told it's a sprain it's most likely a sprain. Pain alone is not an indicator of it being broken.

You are correct, scaphoid fractures can be hard to see on plain film soon after injury. They are sometimes more obvious upon reimaging after a period of a few days. You should return to ED and explain the pain you still have. Management of a scaphoid fracture depends on where the fracture is but it can in the worst circumstances be serious as the blood supply to the bone can be compromised and surgery is needed. You should definitely get it checked out and not leave it
Student Radiographer

According to the internet a fractured wrist is put in a plaster cast

Recommendations | Fractures (non-complex): assessment and management | Guidance | NICE

They don't tend to do this initially, these days

This is utter rubbish. It depends entirely on the location and type of fracture. Casts are still very much the norm in most cases.

Sadly I fell in the summer and thought I had a broken finger. When to have it x rayed and they said to wait and see and that a part of it was difficult to judge but no obvious fracture.

Fast forward and I did what they said and let the swelling go down and went back 10 days later and it is broken and has healed at an angle and I can’t write with that hand. I have to type with my middle fingers. Minor injuries said they couldn’t do anything as bones healing and it can’t be rotated back and now waiting for surgery which will be a year apparently. So go back. Minor injuries clinic?

8 years ago I broke a bone in my foot and they didn't give me a plaster cast they gave me an air boot

When the doctor at the hospital examined me she asked me to squeeze my hand and move my fingers which I could do and probably that is why she said I could type but typing with requires pressing down on the keys and I don't know what that would do to the actual injury because it's one thing occasionally pressing your fingers down or wiggling your fingers and it's a whole different matter going to work doing an eight-hour job typing for all those eight hours and I wouldn't want to risk anything happening by doing that all day long

@Flute56
Sprains can be much more painful than breaks
You seem quite determined it's broken do you usually see the worst in a situation?
How many professionals have seen you about it?

I have only been to the hospital and seeing the hospital doctor

Are you an anxious person?

Yes, as I said it depends entirely on the location and type of break as to how it is managed. You will only get more answers by consulting someone who can see you and decide what is best to do to investigate and diagnose as necessary though.

However tomorrow's appointment at the GP is to say when do you think I should return to work and get a doctors letter because that's what I need because my place of work only lets you have a week off if you need more than that you need to get a doctor's letter and I can only get that by having an examination because how can the doctor tell whether you need more time off without seeing you

@Flute56 you didn't answer my questions, are you an anxious person / see the worst?
I can "get inside my own head" about situations and it can make pain worse or make you overthink

I fell while I was running in the summer and fractured my elbow, I also had pain in my wrist so they x-rayed to look for a scaphoid fracture. Nothing showed on the x-ray but gave me a splint they asked me to go back a week later for another x-ray as scaphoid fractures aren't always obvious at the time. Again nothing showed but my wrist was still painful, after a couple of weeks I stopped wearing the splint and just used it as normal. It still catches me occasionally but active recovery is very much recommended now if it's possible, my elbow fracture has healed as well but I worked hard to ensure I regained the movement in the joint.

I didn't take any time off for my elbow and possible wrist fracture. I have a desk job with typing all day and I was just a bit slower!

If you're fit to work go back. If you aren't fit to go back get your GP to issue a sick note which will probably be issued via a phone consultation . I doubt if the diagnosis will affect the recovery time anyway.