OT: Hurt my wrist

[JadeNight]

Hey guys, this is so random. Monday night at work I hurt my wrist really bad. I was pushing freight and one of the products came in its display box. It was yard chairs. All you have to do is break open the perforation so customers can grab the chairs. Any way, while I was punching open the perforation, I twisted my wrist to the side and smashed it full force hulk smash into the box. It really hurt to the point where I had to stop what I was doing for a min. Then, I went to put out something else. I then noticed my wrist started to bubble and I showed my boss who got me an ice pack. Basically that entire night my wrist hurt beyond belief and the swelling got worse and a big blue bruise started to form. That night when I got home and went to bed my arm started twitching and falling asleep.. Which isn't normal. Worried I had broken something, I went to the walk in yesterday and they just said I bruised it very deeply and it's also bruised on my tendon. They wrapped it but I can't keep it wrapped all day. It's summer here and my hand gets very itchy ugh.

I've never broken anything before and even though this isn't broken it hurts like hell. The swelling is still there and it's turning purple now. If I use my wrist too much unwrapped (which happens because it's my right wrist and I'm right handed) a pain starts shooting up my arm to my shoulder Has anyone ever had an injury like this? Or has some sort of pointers to help it recover? This just sucks and is frustrating. I don't want to wear this wrap to work and draw attention but at this point it's probably inevitable

[Collie]

Did they do x-rays and everything to be sure it isn't broken? Maybe a second opinion would be good. It is really important to keep it in place with some sort of splint or wrap though. If the pain is so bad it's keeping you awake at night you need to ask for some medication for that. Also, since this happened at work look into workers comp to pay for the treatment and maybe take a couple of days off.

[Collie]

Also some muscle relaxers for the muscle spasms. I experienced the same thing after I got in a car accident.

[mdgirl1977]

I have done that a few times! It sucks. There are lots of nerves and muscles and we move our hands non stop so it is really critical that you brace it so it heals. I got one of these and it helped a lot and isn't as obvious:

http://www.cvs.com/shop/health-medic...m-skuid-138099

I got a cheaper one, but it looked like that. easy to adjust and remove. and it stabilizes your wrist pretty far up but you can use your hands still. I am sure a drug store or walmart near you will have something similar.

[Collie]

Yeah, the link mdgirl posted is similar to what I wore when I had severe wrist pain from my job at Starbucks (repetitive motion = no bueno). It does a good job at keeping everything stabilized, much better than just some bandages.

[Afdpt]

I'm a physical therapist and agree with bracing it for the time being. Hopefully they x-rayed to ensure nothing was broken. There are lots of structures at the wrist, its possible you've strained a tendon or sprained a ligament, as well as bruising. Pressure from the swelling is going to increase your pain as well. Ice for 15-20 minute increments several times a day and use anti-inflammatories while bracing it to keep everything stabilized while it's healing.

[JadeNight]

Thanks for all the input! It makes me feel better to know that I'm for the most part taking the proper steps. I should invest in something more stable than this wrap bandage. I worked tonight and my arm is throbbing. I've moved it far too much over the last 8 hours

And yes, I got X-Rays and nothing in there in broken, surprisingly. I have really tiny wrists.

Luckily I've had most of this week off from work, Tuesday, Wednesday and now tomorrow. I'm a bit wary of an accident report being written because in my state they will drug test and I probably won't pass (because I smoke weed for my anxiety) so if I test positive I wouldn't get compensated and in fact I would lose my job

[Collie]

They drug test you if you fill out an accident report? That's messed up!!

[JadeNight]

They drug test you if you fill out an accident report? That's messed up!!

Yeah, it's stupid. It's the states way of determining the validity of the accident because the state won't pay out for anything that happens to a person if they are "under the influence" and even though I obviously wasn't high when it happened, THC is in your system for a good 3 weeks-a month.

[crd08]

I would keep it in a brace as annoying as it is. Is there anyway your job can give you maybe some light duties for a while so you aren't further straining it? They should be willing to work with you so you wont file an accident report. Even though you say you can't, they don't know that.
I worked with a guy who broke his knee on the job, filed a report and they drug tested and fired him. He was a good worker and was not at all high when it happened. I felt really bad for him, as he only smoked occasionally as well. I think most places do drug test when you file for workers comp, but every state is different.

[JadeNight]

I would keep it in a brace as annoying as it is. Is there anyway your job can give you maybe some light duties for a while so you aren't further straining it? They should be willing to work with you so you wont file an accident report. Even though you say you can't, they don't know that.
I worked with a guy who broke his knee on the job, filed a report and they drug tested and fired him. He was a good worker and was not at all high when it happened. I felt really bad for him, as he only smoked occasionally as well. I think most places do drug test when you file for workers comp, but every state is different.

Hey there! I kept it in a brace the last few days and yesterday it stopped hurting for the most part. Today it feels fine, it's just discolored a really weird shade of green and still raised! The only thing is that my hand is shakier. But all morning I've been moving it around and grabbing things and bending it no problem. I pressed down on it with my finger and no pain. I'm going to leave the brace off and see how it goes for today. The job i am working at today I am new at and if I can manage without it, I'll do that

That totally sucks about your friend. I dont understand how the laws can be so black and white. Obviously if he smokes once in a while, the levels must have been so low. I had to drug test for one of my new jobs after I got back home from Australia and when I found out I needed to drug test I had smoked 2 days prior and had been smoking maybe every other day that week. My anxiety and depression got pretty terrible (still is, if I'm honest) and I was up all night thinking or upset that the only thing that calms me down and let's me sleep without feeling like crap the next day, is weed. Well, for a job you have 24 hrs to take the test so I drank probably twice my weight in water all day and night and I passed. However, in RI you only have 8 hrs to get drug tested for workers comp so there would be no way to get around it. I hope your friend since has found a new job!

[jkl81]

I think it's this way a lot of places, maybe everywhere. I think we need to get smarter about this issue. I don't understand how it's any of your employer's business what you do off the clock, and how whether or not you smoked a little weed 2 days ago has anything to do with if you should be eligible for worker's comp. It would obviously be a different situation with a worker who was in an accident as a direct result of their use of any substance, legal or not, or who was impaired on the job. The best news is that this healed up fairly fast. It must have been a deep bruise and nothing else damaged. I don't know what the shakiness is about, but I assume it will go away as you continue to get better.

[JadeNight]

I agree with all that JD. And you were the lucky one that got the hourly play-by-play of the swelling of my wrist lol. I'm on break at work and I've had no problems with it unbraced