My arm hurts. Should I see a doctor or will it away?

[ModestPenguin]

My arm hurts. I may have broken it, I may have spraigned my wrist, I my have carpel tunnel, I may be a big baby and should sleep it off.

Friday afternoon I had a meeting for my schools Improv Club. We played the dating game and I as bachelore number 3 was a furby. In order to get our bachlorette to guess what I was I exclaimed "That Tickles! Teehee" and waddle/vibrated myself off of my chair into a bad bad bad bad abd stage fall resulting in my landing with all of my weight on my left forearm. At the time my wrist was unresponsive and swelled slightly. It hurt but after 20-30 min it was a lot better and by the next morning it was pretty much fine.

Saturday I slept.
Sunday I spent the afternoon with my girlfriend, and went swimming.

This afternoon at work I typed from 3-6 finshing up my mailing list database (doing so on my macbook at work because I do not have a computer at work)
I've been doing from 1:30 to 3:00 typing monday-thursday for over a month.

Right now my arm is throbbing as is my wrist and I am considerign as to what my plan of action should be.

I am anti going to the orthopedic doctor because it happens to be my girlfriend's dad anf its slightly awkward.

will be checking this thread throughout the evening. if anyone has any great things to help me please email me.

modestpenguin@mac.com

Thanks so much!
ow.

 

[macenforcer]

I just got over carpel tunnel. It was painful but it hurts at the thumb and wrist. Your arm will feel numb too. Go to the Dr. man.

 

[ModestPenguin]

*whine* not what I wanted to hear. Someone tell me I'm a baby pleaaaase.

 

[macenforcer]

*whine* not what I wanted to hear. Someone tell me I'm a baby pleaaaase.

You're being a baby by not going to the doctor. Going to the doc doesn't make you sick, it makes you better. Ignoring it makes it worse.

 

[Kodex]

From your description and a pretty good medical background with the Army it sounds like you have a fractured wrist. If you choose not to get it treated it will most likely heal on its own in 4-6 weeks however you may experince pain in the wrist for the rest of your life. I suggest you go to your normal doctor and have x-rays preformed, this isnt something that a special will be required to treat. Do yourself a favor and get proper treatment before it heals incorrectly.

 

[ModestPenguin]

Okay. I'll go and see him tommorrow. I'm just wondering if anyone has enough expertise to help me figure out what my problem is.

Thanks Macenformer, you're right.

 

[Old Smuggler]

Yeah i would definitely go to the doctor
but i would stay away from that Dr. Kevorkian, i heard bad things about him

 

[ModestPenguin]

From your description and a pretty good medical background with the Army it sounds like you have a fractured wrist. If you choose not to get it treated it will most likely heal on its own in 4-6 weeks however you may experince pain in the wrist for the rest of your life. I suggest you go to your normal doctor and have x-rays preformed, this isnt something that a special will be required to treat. Do yourself a favor and get proper treatment before it heals incorrectly.

Thanks Kodex. Thats what I was looking for. too bad it's not what I watned to hear. I guess this means 6 weeks in a cast?

 

[xsedrinam]

If this happened over 24 hours ago and you're still experiencing pain and inflammation, any kind of discoloration or change in shape in either injured area, please do the right thing. Go see a Doctor . Doesn't matter if he's your girlfriend's father. He won't break his Hippocratic Oath just because of that.
Orthopedic Overview

"When to Seek Medical Care
If you have severe pain, deformity, numbness, or are unable to move your wrist, you should call your doctor for an immediate appointment or go to an urgent care clinic or a hospital's emergency department.

If there is no deformity and the pain is manageable with over-the-counter pain medication, you may want to wait 12-24 hours before deciding whether to call the doctor. If symptoms persist after a day, see a doctor.

If you have obvious deformity, numbness, or severe pain, you need medical attention.

If there is obvious deformity or severe swelling, there may be a broken bone that needs to be moved back into its normal position.

There also can be a dislocation where the bones are no longer in the correct position although they are not broken."

 

[Kodex]

Again it might be a sprain a brused bone or a torn muscle. I doubt the would have the do a full cast most likely a wrap or a brace. Again i am NOT A DOCTOR I can only speak from past experince.

 

[katie ta achoo]

You don't want to mess with your arms unless you want major pain for the rest of your life.

Because I was a stupid idiot and kept playing violin and viola even with bad tendinitis, my wrists are almost always sore, and I can make them crack, just from moving my fingers.
I can also feel the weather changing.. and it hurts like no else.

Good luck, and I hope it heals fully.

 

[ModestPenguin]

Only on macrumors.

you guys rock.

will get parents to take mt to the doctor in the morning

I am unsure as to wether or not there is any swelling.

the horror stories have convinced me.

Thanks again.

Will keep you informed.

 

[Kwyjibo]

In general I would advise to walk it off for a little longer.

RICE, Rest Ice Compression Elevation

I would have iced it and wrapped it the first day and for the weekend and probably avoiding all that stressing of it, but thats just me.

A quick test for swelling would be to hold up your too wrists next to each other ... swelling it usually pretty obvious.

I mean you could have "sprained" something and it'll go back to normal with a little love, but who knows.

 

[beatsme]

Thanks Kodex. Thats what I was looking for. too bad it's not what I watned to hear. I guess this means 6 weeks in a cast?

not necessarily.

I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but several years ago I fell on my elbow with the full weight of my body. I'm not a heavy guy but I hit hard enough to chip a bone in there, which constituted "broken elbow." Anyway, it hurt like hell for about a week or so, and I had to have my arm in a sling (no cast) for about 10-15 days.

what I'm getting at is that if it is a break, depending on the severity you may only wind up with a sort of splint, one that's designed to keep your wrist mostly immobile...the kind of thing you see at the bowling alley on league night.

EDIT: but having said that, if it's still bothering you tomorrow and you can afford it, see a doctor and get some x-rays.

 

[Music_Producer]

Obviously, go to the doctor. Your girlfriend's father is an orthopaedic surgeon, not a proctologist .. so don't worry

An x-ray would reveal if there is a hairline fracture, or its simply a sprain or tendon injury. Wrist injuries (if severe) can take several months to heal.. because we use it all the time. Don't worry though.. its probably and hopefully just a sprain.

 

[wimic]

every injury is clearly an isolated case that can hardly be compared to someone elses. I've broken my arms three times... the first time, i fractured both of my wrists the same time (rollerblading). my body created these dark balloon type things (which i later found out were bubbles of blood) over the injury to protect the broken bone. the last time this swelling did not happen. so it's hard to say what might be wrong.

here's my personal indicator that i use for determining the severity of my injuries...

1) is your everyday activity hindered because you're in too much pain?
2) is the motion in your arm restricted? (ie. you can't move it - not because it hurts too much, but because you actually CAN'T move it)
3) is there any swelling or bruising?
4) are there any protrusions around the injury? (ie. a bone sticking out)
5) are you bleeding excessively?

if you answered yes to any or all of the above questions i would get it checked out by a doctor.

hope this helps.

wendy