"Wrist Fracture Recovery"

In December 2017 I had a fall from my horse which resulted in a fractured wrist and fibula. The wrist fracture was set and supported in a cast but unfortunately it did not stay in place and I had to have surgery. There had been a period of very icy conditions and A&E had a very high number of patients with fractures so were under a lot of pressure but I received excellent care with minimal waits in A&E and once it was decided that the fracture wasn’t healing well enough on it’s own a surgeon had scheduled surgeries on a Saturday 2 days before Christmas to catch up with the backlog so I was seen very quickly. 

The hard work began a few weeks after surgery when I had to start work on physiotherapy to regain the function in my wrist and hand. I was referred to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary Physiotherapy Outpatients department where I was advised on the various exercises I had to practice to build up mobility and strength again.

Unfortunately I had a set back when I developed problems with the nerves in my wrist which meant my recovery was slower than I had hoped. I am an active person and found it quite challenging firstly not to get despondent due to my worries that I would not get back to the level of function I needed to live life in the way I want to and secondly not to bash on and do too much too soon. I attended physio at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary from February 2018 until May 2019, initially my physio appointments were every 2 weeks and as I gradually Improved and regained more function we moved to monthly appointments. I really cannot praise the treatment I received highly enough, my physio was extremely supportive and gave me the advice I needed to progress my recovery with confidence and to encourage me when I had times when I didn’t feel I was improving quickly enough. I have had over a years worth of physio and stuck diligently to the exercises I was given with the result that I have thankfully regained pretty much full function of my wrist and am no longer limited by the injury. I am very grateful that I was able to receive an extended period of physiotherapy as I truly believe that I would not have recovered to this level without it, Thank you very much to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary A&E, OPD6 and to the amazing physiotherapy department.