Broken Wrist

[kayinaylesbury]

Due to start Camino from SJPDP Sept 4th - just broken my wrist coming down from Crough Patrick in Ireland. Feeling bit worried that I won't be ready as plaster will be on for 6 weeks.

Kay

 

[dazzamac]

Sorry to hear that you've injured yourself. I would suggest that the best person to ask if you're good to go would be your doctor. While a quick glance at the calendar suggests that you have eight weeks before you're due to start, the muscles and other soft tissues in your wrist will likely still be healing after the plaster comes off. When my mother broke her wrist, the muscles were weakened after several weeks of restricted movement.

 

[Abbeydore]

OUCH :!:

Oh dear Kay,it's still going to be sore I'm afraid, & you'll probably have one of those removable splint-thingys too! & you won't be able to put any weight on it either.......well that's all the bad news out of the way.......still reckon you'll have a marvelous camino.
Buen Camino
David

 

[FrancesK]

Ow you poor thing!

I agree with dazzmac, you need to check with your doctor. At the end of the day though it comes down to what you think you can achieve and if you want to have a crack at the hike regardless then go for it...just be prepared that their may be consequences!

I hiked 3mths after having shoulder surgery. I got the OK from the surgeon. If i had my time again, i would wait longer though because 3mths in and i was still in rehab so i should have been doing a set of exercises 3-4times a day whilst hiking. The problem was that its so easy to make excuses when on the camino (much better things to be doing than rehab!). So, when i got back home i was 2mths behind sched and my shoulder is taking a lot longer to reach a 'normal' state. That said, i had a bloody fantastic time on the camino and the shoulder gave me very little trouble.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Hola. Sorry to read this. There was a thread last year where some-one else had a boken arm and found themselves in the same sad position. However it is your wrist, so you can still walk as much as you feel able. Maybe buying a good wooden walking pole would help if you are used to using the hiking poles. I suspect that you will be stuck with using only one pole for some time.
The main problem will be getting your pack on and off solo. Hopefully you will be able to do that without too much problem once your cast is off.
Main thing is to keep up with whatever practise you can, keep hoping and praying and as others have said - listen to the medical advice. Hope you can start as planned.
Buen Camino

 

[Cvtminch]

Hi Kay,

How inspiring that you are going on your own! My husband is supportive of me going without him but prefers I find at least a companion to go with for his peace of mind. I know many go solo and make friends on the Camino, and everyone's been saying it's safe to go alone, but I can understand where he's coming from. May I ask why your husband isn't doing the walk with you? And what are your main reasons for going?

I will not be going for a while as I am still finishing grad school so I have not looked into affordable hotels in Santiago. When I was there last month, the tour I was on placed us in a really nice hotel called Sercotel Los Abetos Santiago - but I just looked it up and it turned out to be 350€ a night! May be a nice treat though after the pilgrimage to reward yourself

Best wishes to you!

 

[William Marques]

I broke my arm on one Camino and was able to carry on. I am not a doctor but I suppose there are many different levels and types of breakage so as has been suggested your doctor will be in the best position to tell you what you should not do. With his advice it will then be up to you to decide whether you can walk the Camino this year.

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Oh Kay!!!!! You'd have to ask your Dr probably. I broke my wrist two years ago, and needed quite a lot of physio when I first came out of plaster to restore range of movement etc, so really needed to be at home for that. I found I was also quite protective of the wrist initially, and couldn't make myself walk on uneven ground for a while. But it might depend on the kind of break you had...
The good news is, the Camino will still be there next year, though that might not seem like much consolation at present.
Margaret

 

[Kiwi-family]

Were you thinking of doing handstands the whole way to Santiago? :wink:

 

[Deleted member 3000]

In 2005, Agatha of Canada slipped in a shower, broke her arm, and was back on the camino the next day! She became something of a legend, and when she walked the following year, everyone seemed to know her! I don't recommend it, however ...