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Scaphoid and chips

dooce

dooce

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Daventry
I appear to have chipped my scaphoid bone (would love to pretend that it was in a dramatic motorcycle-related injury, but I just slipped on a wooden floor that had frictional resistance of the Cresta Run) and am currently encased in plaster from base of fingers to just below the elbow. I can just about play the tenor still but you can imagine that the r.h. palm keys are a sod, and as the scaphoid is at the base of the thumb, I try not to put too much weight through it. Even so after 15 minutes it's aching badly enough for it to feel sensible to stop. I am dreading seeing the specialist and having him tell me to stop playing for 6 weeks or whatever.

Has anyone here had experience of this injury?
 
dooce said:
I appear to have chipped my scaphoid bone (would love to pretend that it was in a dramatic motorcycle-related injury, but I just slipped on a wooden floor that had frictional resistance of the Cresta Run) and am currently encased in plaster from base of fingers to just below the elbow. I can just about play the tenor still but you can imagine that the r.h. palm keys are a sod, and as the scaphoid is at the base of the thumb, I try not to put too much weight through it. Even so after 15 minutes it's aching badly enough for it to feel sensible to stop. I am dreading seeing the specialist and having him tell me to stop playing for 6 weeks or whatever.

Has anyone here had experience of this injury?
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Yup. Have broken both left and right scaphoid. First one was what my wife, the nurse, terms a PFO. Stands for Pi$$ed Fell Over. The second was a cycling accident, rode over a yawning chasm in the road and came down heavily on my hand, breaking the scaphoid. In both cases I found I couldn't play at all for a bit, but they healed up pretty well. The left one had to wait until the cast was off, then a week or so after before I could play. With the right I found I could play with the cast on after a couple of weeks, playing sitting down with the sling a tad shorter than normal to ensure I didn't put any pressure on the thumb.

In my case, I paid more attention to what my body was telling me than the orthopod. If it hurt I stopped, if it didn't, I didn't. You obviously need to make your own decision, and I'm not a medic, but that worked out OK for me.

Good luck with your recovery. It will be fine in time, the body has an amazing self repairing mechanism.
 
Yep, broke my left scafoid and it's b****y painful for such a small bone! I got mine playing rugby, well, not really, I was watching a rugby match and I decided to try and catch the ball that had been kicked into touch using an outstretched hand as I didn't want to get my jacket dirty. Big wus! In any case it was about 6 weeks before I could no longer feel it, so I wish you the best of luck.
 
Ouch!! :shocked: :( sorry to hear this hope it heals quickly

(btw - glad it wasn't a dramatic motorcyle related injury! I now have another example I can give people when they bang on about motorcyling being dangerous - life is dangerous I say! ;})
 
Yes, broke mine (right) at 17 when messing about during rugby training. It has never mended and now (33 years on) it is now a shattered mess that will never heal. Occasionally it gives pain and may one day need a serious operation to freeze the wrist.

This all arose because I thought it was a sprain and the doctor was useless. It was not properly diagnosed for over six months, by which time it was too late.

I now always say to anyone with a suspected break that it should be x-rayed and dealt with speedily.

If dealt with properly there is no reason why you should have any long term affects, but do get it seen to and do exactly what the doctor says. It is a small bone and failure to deal with properly and speedily could result in permanent damage, such as I suffered.
 
Scaphoid breaks are a problem - the bone only has a blood supply from one end, so everything that's the wrong side of the break tends to die from lack of blood. Don't mess with it and pack in before your body tells you you'e doing too much.
 
Thanks for all your feedback people - it has helped me take the injury a bit more seriously.

I thought it was just a sprain and was intending to maybe go to the doctor if it hadn't got better in a couple of days, but purely by coincidence, I was in a meeting with a nurse the morning after the fall and she told me in no uncertain terms to go get it X-rayed. Just waiting now to hear when the specialist is going to see me - from the X-ray, it's not fractured, just chipped, and it had been squashed right up against the other wrist bones, so hopefully it won't restrict me for too long.
 
Freedom! After walking around for 3 weeks in a bright blue rigid fibreglass cast, got to see the orthopaedic geezer today and he cut the ruddy thing right off and told me to just "take it easy" and get some physio. Not that it stopped me playing sax, just that it was very uncomfortable, especially when I was trying to use the r.h. pinky keys as the cast was so restrictive, so I have just been doing band rehearsals.

Has stopped motorbiking though - for a while anyway, as I can't do that wrist-twisting thing with the throttle.

Right then, off to catch up with some much-needed practice.....
 
Hi Dooce, Just for a laugh. I have done Martial arts for over 30 years had a few mishaps, broke my coxyx once showing off, broke a finger blocking a punch, got knocked out with a kick to the head.
My worst injury, dislocated my thumb pulling off my sock after a very hot and sweaty squash match.
Boy did i get some ribbing after that. Anyway its not finished, my right thumb area is a little delicate now, i was preparing a lettuce a few months back and trying to take the core out with my thumb. Tender lettuce i hear you say, well it won, and i dislocated it again. Needlesss to say my bloody sax gets a bit heavy on that thumb rest now. !! Wish you well Dooce. Look after it.
 
thehunt said:
My worst injury, dislocated my thumb pulling off my sock after a very hot and sweaty squash match.
I was preparing a lettuce a few months back and trying to take the core out with my thumb. Tender lettuce i hear you say, well it won, and i dislocated it again.
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Must make a note of that, "To disarm a ninja, use the following with care... One sweaty sports sock, and the core of the common lettuce!" :))):)))
 

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