(no subject)

[jchrisobrien]

I don't remember how, but I banged my arm last night. It is crazy swollen and has been hurting (mildly, annoyingly) all day. I'm going to try to ice it. What are the odds that it is a fracture? Most of the pressure seems to be in the muscle. Any advice?

Comments

[theamazingjb.livejournal.com]

If you can bend everything, it is probably not a break.
It could be a sprain though.
Have you contemplated taping it down to something flat to prevent movement.
(if it is really bad.)

Ice is probably the best way to go.

I broke my bum.

[silas7.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I'd advise icing your bum.

I iced my arm, it helped until the ice melted. I'll likely pick up some ibuprofin tomorrow to help it out.

Thanks!

In other news, I can almost sit again

[theamazingjb.livejournal.com]

hmmm
ibuprofen would be a bad bad idea for me

I would then have a broken bum and a swollen pumpkin face.

good luck with the arm

[rojagato.livejournal.com]

Ibuprofen and the strongest acetaminophen you can find, in tandem, every four-six hours, will bring the inflammation down and knock out the pain. Too bad CVS isn't still open.

[sbazzy.livejournal.com]

don't forget that there are a bunch of 24 hour CVSs now - not only the one at Porter Square, but now the one at Alewife.

[silas7.livejournal.com]

I grabbed some ibuprofin today, and have some arnica gel. It looks nasty, but I still have fun range of motion and it doesn't really "hurt".

I think I can rule out a fracture, but if it gets worse at all I'll opt for an appointment.

[shnells.livejournal.com]

whereabouts did you bang your arm? icing is a good idea as well as taking ibuprofen or motrin to reduce the swelling. if you can move through full range for that joint you're probably fine. you'd have to bang your arm pretty memorably to break it. if it's not fine you may want to just have it looked like.

i would suggest that mobility is a better idea than keeping it too still. if it doesn't hurt to range your arm, gentle ranging of the arm (no more than 5 reps) would be a good idea to reduce swelling too.

[shnells.livejournal.com]

just to add though, if you can't move your arm without sharp pain, you would be best off keeping it still and supported and getting it looked at.

[silas7.livejournal.com]

I have the full range of motion, it's a dull pain more than anything. I'll see how I feel tomorrow, and make an appointment for Monday if I need to.

Thanks for the advice!

[frederic.livejournal.com]

Coming from someone who ends up in your situation about every 4th class or so, it'll fade on it's own.

Generally:
Dull pains = good
Sharp pains = bad

Sharp pain, especially ones where you're not even using the area, are what you should worry about.

Ice and advil (and/or allieve) will be your friend during the first day or so. The key phrase is RICE -- rest, ice, compression, elevation. Everything to keep the swelling down. After that, you need to heal and rebuild. Ice slows this down so don't continue on that after the second day or so. Heat is what you need as warmth brings blood flow. Heating pads, warm baths, menthol rubs (ie: Bengay), and massages (or couple bengay with the massage which does wonders) all bring healing blood flow to the area.

My body usually heals dull pains away in a week. Sharper pains like bruised ribs usually take 2 weeks. Most dull pains are usually muscular like a charlie horse or not being warmed up enough and injuring from overexertion/overflexing. These sort of injuries don't show up until the next morning when you wake up after your muscles have had time to cool down and tighten up and after endorphins have stopped coursing through your blood stream. Sometimes, I don't even remember what caused the injury because at the time it was so minor in annoyance.

[silas7.livejournal.com]

I'll try some heating pads tonight before going to bed, and maybe some during the workday tomorrow. Thanks!

Arnica!!!

[dwaallicht.livejournal.com]

Arnica gel is *highly* recommended for the inflammation. Can work wonders, indeed!

Hope you recover well and quickly!

*hugs*
T

Re: Arnica!!!

[silas7.livejournal.com]

I still have some of that from when you told me about it the last time! Consider it applied.

How's the painting coming along?

[mrfph.livejournal.com]

Once I thought I just 'bumped' my shoulder, but I had really fractured it. On the other hand if you can still move your arm, I'd give it a few days to heal up on it's own. What were you doing last night...?
Good luck!

[silas7.livejournal.com]

It's still red and swollen today, but doesn't really hurt. I was just gaming at a friend's house. Maybe I banged it on their couch.

Gaming isn't just hazardous for your soul, it's physically hazardous too! Who knew?

[mrfph.livejournal.com]

what happened? were you ticked off and slammed something? :)

[silas7.livejournal.com]

I have actually made great strides in not banging things while rolling dice!

The working theory is that I am having an allergic reaction to a spider bite. I have antibiotics and antihistamines which should bring the swelling down. Here's hoping!

[mrfph.livejournal.com]

Oh, scary! Glad to hear you are taking care of yourself!

Sarah