Broken Humerus

Broke my arm bouldering Tuesday night. Hurt like hell first day, but now I'm already pain-free as long as I don't move it. I have a complete transverse break, mid-shaft and can feel the bone moving around in my arm...I am opting out of surgery for now. Doc said it might be unavoidable, but we should try since there is a risk for life altering nerve damage with the surgery. Anyone else have this type of break and what kind of outcome did you have? Surgery? How long till you were climbing again? I'm bored out of my mind here sitting at home and can't stop thinking about how weak I'll be when I finally heal...ughh what an inconvenience! Right at start of season too...

"" but now I'm already pain-free as long as I don't move it.""

Thats the way it goes.....with them broken bones.

I broke mine, nothing Humerus about it ether!

Mine didn't need surgery, the Doc said it aligned itself pretty good...

Healed pretty quickly, 12 weeks... then some PT.

Its a big bone, and after all is said and done, I have had no problems with it...... if all the other broken bones were this EZ life would be good.

Good luck to you

Lejla, that's a weird kind of fracture for climbing unless something fell on your upper arm. No bone cyst or pathological fracture, hopefully. That's also a tough one to heal well. Surgery may be quicker for healing. Sorry.

I broke my funnybone 18 years ago when I was 12 after flying out of a ski boat when we hit a rock wall. I was spotting and apparently so was our driver!! Anyway it was right below the ball and what they called a greenstick fracture, so there was some bone still somewhat holding it together. After somehow waking up 30 feet under water, I was able to swim to the surface. Floating in water though It literally felt like my arm got ripped off!! No pain, it just felt gone. After kicking water to shore and standing on a steep bank I tried to lean on that hand to mantle back on our boat (that was sinking at that point). I knew it was broke when it folded like 90 degrees!!! After that it was a month and a half in a sling and I still have never had surgery on it. As for today, It does give me problems. It healed slightly crooked. I don't know the anatomical terms but its slightly kinked and slightly twisted. L vs R, I cant reach quite as high for holds directly above my head. pull-ups and bicep curls with a straight bar are practically impossible because of the twist in my left arm. I definitely have to use individual dumbbells and pull-up bars with a lot of sweep. Also people say its very noticeable when I swim. My arms look like they are doing two completely different things even though it feels right. Lastly I developed a random Super sharp stabbing pain on the outside of the break. Its almost like a muscle is being plucked by a sharp point even when I am not moving. Its right where you get a flu shot injected. It only started doing it in the last 5 years and seems to come and go a few months at a time. Other than all that I feel great!!! Around where it broke is like twice the diameter it used to be and supper strong. Overall I am glad my orthopedic surgeon suggested to hold out for surgery and all the potential damage it may add to the injury. But I must say that for the past few years now I frequently consider getting it cut and straightened.... If it will make the sharp stabbing pain go away.

CTB wrote:I broke my funnybone 18 years ago

Leo, it is a weird fracture...I was bouldering and my arm blew. My foot was stuck in shelf and threw off the trajectile of my fall. I landed essentially on my back with my butt on the very edge of the crash pad. My right elbow hit the ground and the humerus snapped in half. Pretty much a freak accident, as I had climbed (and fallen) from it many times without anything like this happening.

Quick update: No surgery. Doc said the bone had aligned itself pretty well since some angulation is allowed for normal function. It is crooked, but barely noticeable outside of an x-ray. I started climbing again 8 weeks after the break, but only inside and very easy. At around 11 weeks I started climbing outside again. I completed some PT in order to gain range of motion in the shoulder which had gotten pretty tight from being immobilized for so long. Also working on retraining the muscles to fire correctly in the shoulder/back.
My ROM is equivalent to my left side now and though at times I feel the fracture site some, it is not painful by any means. The muscles have completely atrophied and I am working on gaining back some strength. Overall I was surprised at how quickly and easily climbing has come back. I feel confident that I'll be back to my previous climbing ability within a month.

CTB, your bone must be at a much worse angle than mine. I don't seem to have any of those issues, at least I have not noticed them yet (though I'm not in a place to be doing pullups yet). Surgery might be a good idea in your case. I have a giant lump around the fracture site also, but my doctor says it will get smaller in time and that once I build some muscle back it should help to mask it. Massaging the area regularly helps, in my opinion. I actually feel all the scar tissue moving and stretching when I hang on the arm. It feels so weird! That sucks that you are still some having issues with it after so many years...my doctor made it seem like once it heals, it'll be 100% back to normal. I have never broken a bone before, so nothing to base my healing on. Glad you're doing well otherwise.

Funky mechanism of injury. I'm glad to hear you are healing well. Youth helps with that. Remodeling will probably get you close to normal within the year, assuming no further injuries. If it was my arm, I'd probably not boulder with risk of falling on it for that time period.