Mid-hhumerus fracture

Hi all,

Just found this site, great to know there are others in the same position and recovering,  and that  I'm not going insane out of worry/boredom!

I have a mid-humerus fracture (fully displaced) - left arm, it was caused by a fall from my horse onto frozen ground which happened on the 24th Jan.  Went straight to the ER and the bones were realigned and set in a slab plaster cast which went from the top of the shoulder to mid way across the forearm in an L shape.  I spent 2 nights in hospital to ensure bones didn't move out of place and to check nerves were OK.
The main worry in these cases is apparently nerve damage, as if this is not dealt with immediately it can lead to loss of arm motility - or so the doc's told me.  Before the bone was aligned I had pins and needles in my thumb and index finger but once they were reset this feeling dissipated.  However, I did have a 'strange' feeling in these areas for a few weeks which I was told was due to bruising of the radial nerve.  I was told to wiggle my fingers, make a fist and move wrist over and back.

I had to go back to ER after 1 week as forearm and hand were badly swollen and they were afraid the bone had moved - ended up I was doing too much and was told to rest i.e. do absolutely nothing for 2 weeks...

I had to sleep sitting up with no support under the elbow, this is to allow gravity help with the bone alignment, if you have support under the elbow the lower humerus bone can be moved upwards.  I found sleeping on the sofa with a nest of pillows around me and a chair back facing into the pillow for support (to stop me rolling out!) of great help.

After 2.5 weeks I went back to hospital for a check-up as it hadn't been decided whether or not an operation was needed.  They managed to loose my original x-rays and the surgeon did not instil much confidence in his answers so wanted to leave me for another 4 weeks to see how things were progressing.  At this stage I was going crazy as I did not want to have sit around doing nothing for 6 weeks before they decided I needed an op or not and then have to start recovery from scratch!
3.5 weeks from break -  I went to an upper arm ortho specialist for a 2nd opinion, he was great and elevated all my worries.  He examined my arm and wanted to leave it in the slab plaster for another week or so to give it plenty of time to heal - he was able to tell me straight away no op needed!  The mental relief was amazing I practically skipped out the door... 
He gave me good advice re slab plaster which at this stage had loosened at the shoulder, I found my arm swelled while I was sleeping due to the pressure of this pulling at my inside arm.  He said to wrap an 4inch elastic bandage around the plaster and tighten it in so it was more comfortable - it worked.

Week 5 - after being re x-rayed he removed the slab plaster and grabbed the fracture area moving it over and back (thankfully he didn't tell me he was going to do this in advance!).  He announced the bone was 'solid as a rock' although from the x-ray you wouldn't think so.  A plastic clam shell brace has been fitted which I can remove when having a bath/shower - must support arm in L shape when doing this.  I have to leave this on for another 4 weeks and then back for another check-up.  I've left the brace on for a few days now as a bit scared of taking it off, but tonight I'm heading for the bath - yipee!  He said to move the forearm up an down from the elbow, I've had to do this with my other hand as I don't have the strenght to lift it at all - I'm doing reps of 10 numerous times during the day when sitting down.  My bi/tri-ceps must not be strong enough yet.  Does anyone know how long it takes to start getting strength back here??

I'm feeling a bit sore, especially when getting out of bed (went back to lying down position 2 days ago) but don't mind that as long as I'm improving.
I found the slab plaster caused more pain to my back and shoulders than the break!  I've a friend that has being doing acupuncture on it and it has helped relax muscles but the left shoulder is def'n lower than right at the moment.

Would appreciate and advice on PT, or how long it takes to get full strength back?

Hope everyone recovers asap!

jojo go over to the humerus fracture recovery thread and post there