My hand IS broken, whats going to happen in the future?

Question

yep i did it, broken 4th metacarpal bone in my right hand... the break is a nice one, it not really painful, minimul swealing, no bruising. the bone is broken clean in half, i saw the x-ray and it looked like a line right through the middle, and i have a few questions about this...

My first question is, what does that mean that it was broken so clean? from all the other x-rays ive seen online here, the bones are broken in sharp edges, thinking about this i think about bone strength, would a stronger bone break into sharp edges, and a weaker bone would break into a much cleaner looking break?

secondly the healing of the bone and the strength after its finally healed. Ive never had a broken bone before, so i dont know a whole lot about them, my question is, will i have problems with my hand bone breaking again because its weak from a previous break? and will it heal better because its a clean, straight break down the middle? The bone looks really good, its so good it needs no pins, or wiring.

Answer 1

Nothing at all you'll be alright... I've broken my hand before and I don't suffer any problem...

Answer 2

If you are doing what your doctor suggests you should be OK.

Answer 3

First you fealing little pain and low swelling is typical of a break because the things that cause a break don't usually do as much damage or stretching of the tendons and ligaments as a sprain or strain.

As for future problems, as long as you let it heal properly, you shouldn't have problems. As for it being weaker over all. It's hard to say, but a meta carpel is one of several small bones so you have a lot of spread out support in the wrist. If your concerned though, you need to let it heal properly, that means no sports or other things  that could potientially cause reinjury to the hand until the doctor says it's okay to resume those types of activities. As for it being a clean break, I'm no expert, but I'd say a clean break is definately less problematic the one that causes freyed or jagged edges because then there is a much better likely hood that the healing will be easier and less painful because there are no edges to hurt surrounding tissue. Of course once any bone breaks, they are by a rule concidered to be easier to break, but with a single meta carpel, I don't think I'd worry.

Now if you had broken a long bone or dislocated a joint, there would be a better possibility of future problems. While a long bone could heal, a dislocated joint may stretch ligaments to a point where they never fully return to their normal size. I doubt you stretched many ligaments or tendons in your wrist though because if you did, it would have swollen and hurt much more. With the way you explained it, the doctor probably knew right away it was a break just by what you told him. And the x-ray was more of a confirmation then anything else.

Oh yeah about the strong bones vs. weak bones, I don't think that was really a facter in your break. I think it was just the way you injured it and the type of bone it is that caused the clean break. It probably had nothing to do with bone strength or lack there of. You only really need to worry about bone strength and breaking if you have a medical condition such as brittle bones or a lack of calcium, flouride, and some other minerals I can't think of at the moment. And actually I think brittle bones is caused by a LACK of a mineral like calcium or flouride, but I don't remember exactly which.

I'm sure the doctor that helped you could tell you off the top of his head the answer to all the questions you asked here on yahoo.

Answer 4

lol i wouldnt worry

all sorts of breaks are possible so it dosnt mean that you have weak bones

and personally i have broken my right 5th meta and i have NO problems with it

in fact the my orthopedist said that it would heal stronger than it would be as just a normal unbroken bone

good luck

Answer 5

They say after your bone breaks in a certain place, the healed point would actually be stronger than it was before.

So if you never want to worry about an accidental break again, I say break every square inch of your skeletal system, and you won't have to worry anymore.

Seriously though... your 4th metacarpal should be fine...

Answer 6

ok question one is some good news since its clean that means that your bone was really strong because it didn;t splinter ...

as for the second question. NO you most likely will not have problems most bones heal stronger than they where before. and if it needs no pins then thats really good because that means that its not that bad of a break.  so  your really good as far as your bone is concered.

Answer 7

I would think that strong bones break clean and that weak bones would be brittle and chip. My cousin broke his little finger and after it healed he couldn't really move it as well and sometimes it bothers him when it gets cold but other than that he says he doesn't notice any difference. Your lucky you didn't need anything to support it while its healing cause its hard to operate with those things on.  

Answer 8

You should be fine.  

Answer 9

I've only broken my collarbone,

they said it would take 8 years to be back to full strength(this was when I was about 11), BUT I did play sports about a year later

you should be fine, you may be hindered if you are a piano player or a left handed guitar player for a while, but it will heal.

Answer 10

If the break is fine and doesn't need pins and or anything you should be fine. I broke all my metacarpals at the same time in my fright hand and within weeks of getting my cast off I could move around by myself (wheelchair--also shattered my ankle). But I play the piano and that was supposedly really great therapy for my hand. So I guess to reduce complications do simple hand exercises, your doctor can offer some if you ask, or take up the piano!

Answer 11

IMHO,fractures are caused by direct and indirect blow to the bones causing it to break...fractures can either clean,as in, it breaks without other bone fragments following together but causes damage to tissues around it or broken to pieces,as in, the bones break into several pieces like shattered glass.

Bone strength depends on the intake of calcium...low intake means...much likely to break and vice versa.It does not matter if the bone is strong or weak.....once the blow,both direct and indirect,strikes any part....it is very likely that it will break.....

for your second question,bones will heal but do not aggravate it....since doing something when the bones already healed will cause that thing to break again since it is still in the process of healing and hardening.

So doctors usually adviced that the person should do light activities and good nutrition to speed up healing.and it will heal better but don't aggravate it first....give that bone of yours to heal...

but after the bone has healed,try conditioning yourself first since it will make the body getting used to it and less risk to the healed bone....starting first with light ones first then progressing all the way to a bit vigourous activity....

Well.....that's my opinion....  

Answer 12

ur pinky finger will fall off in 5 days then the top of ur hand will begin 2 ooz purple dinosaurs and then ur hand will fall off  

Answer 13

nothing will happen

Answer 14

my hand healed well but seems to have less strength 8 years later. Also, it gets very achy on humid days. Strength of the bone would not matter how clean the break was...it is more what you did to break it that determines how jagged it is. I was playing volleyball and it was an ugly break.

Answer 15

I be it was just a fracture that went in the direction you were seeing in the x-ray otherwise there would be bruising and swelling.  When a bone breaks it tends to heal stronger where it was broken.  Also if it was a complete fracture it would be extremely more painful when moved and unstable.

Honestly a break is nothing to worry about.  I've fractured nearly a dozen major bones and they are all fine, except for my shoulder because it was an avulsion fracture which required surgery.