Swollen hand, wrist and arm

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

NOTE: Please do not tell me to see a doctor and get a x-ray, I already have.

Long story short, I was sitting on the floor with some buddies watching TV, playing video games and eating. Somewhere between our play-fighting, using the punching bag and wrestling with my father, I damaged something in my hand and arm. For my hand, the top of it behind the index and middle knuckles is pretty swollen, reddish and hurts to close it. However, my arm is worse as it's ~ 75% larger than my left arm, hurts to touch it even with a pen and is hard to move it without it hurting.

I went to the doctor and at first he thought it was an infection because of how swollen it is. In his words, it was very tender, almost as much more than what would be expected if I just twisted it somehow and feels as though there's a mass of fluid under the entire arm. The shoulder to elbow is pain-free but ~ 1-2 inches after the elbow and up to the hand it's swollen and hurts pretty awful. I almost smacked him several times when he put his hand along my arm because of the pain. Rotating the arm not even 30 degrees makes it hurt and it hurts the more I rotate it.

Imagine bicep curl machines where you'd extend your arm out palm-up. That's not possible without wanting to scream bloody murder, then when I contract it to a normal resting position, it hurts more and feels as though the skin is being stretched, sort of like wearing a shirt that's a few sizes too small.

He gave me some pain medications, anti-inflammatory medications, put the arm into a sling (which makes it hurt when it touches part of it) and told me to put heat pads on it. I know I should rest it but it's my writing hand, so that's not really possible. Without the sling, the arm still hurts.

I'm probably going to get the X-ray results in 1-2 days but in the mean time, anyone got any ideas how to make this stupid arm quit hurting?

According to the doctor, he thinks I've torn some tendons in my arm and is unsure if it's fractured.

I'll update when I know the results.

[Sincerely Yours ♥]

I think it might be fractured. That's exactly how my wrist was when I fractured it a couple of years ago. There's no simple way to stop the pain besides the meds you're taking, but the brace should help a lot as far as keeping it from bending uncomfortably. I hope you figure it out soon!

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

How did you put the brace on? Perhaps I'm just a wimp but touching the area with a jacket sleeve is painful, if I put on a brace (which I have) or a sling, it's still painful. Was it like this for you and if so, did you still wear it?

[Lottie]

One thing I would say is keep on top of your pain relief. Have regular doses of paracetamol/ibuprofen. I sounds daft but you'll be surprised at how easy it is to miss a dose/forget a dose/or think that you're fine so you don't need it. Never think this as it'll allow the pain to come back!

Also, plenty of rest. Don't try and use that arm for writing- if possible. It doesn't say if you're at school age but most kids would love to have the excuse of not being able to write! If it's work/uni/college then ask if they have a laptop/computer/tablet you can use to write things down on.

[escape_thereal_world]

Originally Posted by The Man And XX Master

How did you put the brace on? Perhaps I'm just a wimp but touching the area with a jacket sleeve is painful, if I put on a brace (which I have) or a sling, it's still painful. Was it like this for you and if so, did you still wear it?

Is it more painful with the brace or just feels the same? If it's more painful, then I would call your doctor and let them know. They might be able to do something else.

If it feels the same as having it off, wear it for awhile to see if the pain lessens. Sometimes you just still feel pain from moving your arm, but once the brace is on and supporting it, your arm is able to relax and starts to feel better.

I hope you feel better soon!

[Sincerely Yours ♥]

Originally Posted by The Man And XX Master

How did you put the brace on? Perhaps I'm just a wimp but touching the area with a jacket sleeve is painful, if I put on a brace (which I have) or a sling, it's still painful. Was it like this for you and if so, did you still wear it?

I never used a sling. My brace was from my hand down to almost my elbow, so it just kept it from bending wrong if I turned my hand or tried to move my hand wrong. It hurt for a while, but it got better over time. I never had pain meds, though. I don't wear it anymore since that was a couple of years ago.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

Originally Posted by Lottie

Also, plenty of rest. Don't try and use that arm for writing- if possible. It doesn't say if you're at school age but most kids would love to have the excuse of not being able to write! If it's work/uni/college then ask if they have a laptop/computer/tablet you can use to write things down on.

I'm in my 5th year of university and have a few research papers and tests/exams coming up, not to mention long lectures. Oddly enough, if I type fast, there are so many errors Microsoft Word cant tell what language I'm typing in. On the other hand, I can handwrite or print very fast. Unfortunately, one of my courses is clinical audiology and I frequently have to draw audiograms, spectograms, tuning curves, etc... during lectures.

Originally Posted by escape_thereal_world

Is it more painful with the brace or just feels the same? If it's more painful, then I would call your doctor and let them know. They might be able to do something else.

It hurts with the sling on or off, although hurts a bit less with it on because it's away from my body (having it touch my side is uncomfortable but not excruciatingly painful. Basically, if I sit at a table and put my arm on my leg, the table or whatever other object, even without putting pressure on it, there is pain. I'm still waiting for the x-ray results. I called my doctor and he just said take the pain meds as prescribed (500 mg of Naproxen 2x daily). I'm aware it's an OTC NSAID, nothing too strong and it reduces the pain as expected although doesn't eliminate it.

Anyway, hopefully it goes away soon enough. Thanks for the responses.

[Lottie]

Try using a Dictaphone to voice record the lectures so you can then refer to it later on if Ms Word has decided to autocorrect. Also, doing this means you can take your time with typing up your notes.