That really sucks, but everyone should learn a lesson from this.
Any time you seriously sprain your wrist, you must get an MRI to make sure you haven't broken your scaphoid. I crashed a bike about a year ago, and seriously sprained my wrist as a result. I called my brother in law, who is an orthopedist, and he told me that a fractured scaphoid will usually NOT show up on an x-ray, especially one taken right after an accident where they're not looking specifically for it. Breaking your scaphoid can be really bad, because a lot of times you won't notice it's broken until the wrist stops hurting, and by then it is too late for the bone to heal properly. About three to five years down the line, the bone has worn away all of the cartilage protecting it, and arthritis sets in. In a way, you were lucky that it kept hurting and they caught it in time.
So, if you've suffered a serious wrist sprain, insist on an MRI--it's the only way to be sure. Some doctors won't do it, saying it's not necessary, but either insist or find a doctor who will do it. ER doctors will almost never offer it, because they're not usually trained in orthopedics and probably wouldn't know how to read an MRI anyway. It's expensive and a pain to do, but in my mind at least it beats arthritis (especially in the throttle wrist :-D ).
This has been a public service announcement.
Linear Mode
