Ever wondered why your shoulder starts to ache after a broken wrist or hand injury? Maybe you have a cast on your wrist, or had an elbow surgery, but notice your shoulder hurts more than anywhere else. Shoulder pain after a broken wrist, hand injury, or arm surgery is a common concern.
If you’ve experienced it, you’re not alone.
In this post, I’m sharing a few reasons behind why you might get shoulder pain after a broken wrist or arm fracture. Plus we’ll look at 4 tips to put a stop to the discomfort.
But if you’d rather watch than read, then check out my 4 Tips to Stop Shoulder Pain After a Broken Wrist or Hand Injury YouTube video here.
Reason 1: Decreased Shoulder Movement
When you’re healing from a broken hand or wrist, your whole arm is inactive. You’re likely not using it at all.
You’re probably not using your hand or fingers to reach into cabinets, pick up something up off the floor, or scratch an itch on your back. Your whole arm isn’t getting the normal daily movement it is used to.
To make matters worse, that can often be for several weeks.
This lack of movement can cause shoulder stiffness, or worse a frozen shoulder.
Tip 1: Start Moving
The first solution to stop your shoulder pain, or at least reduce your discomfort, is to start moving again.
Move your shoulder through its full range of motion, or at least within your current comfort range, several times a day. Focusing on key movements such as slowly reaching overhead for shoulder flexion and reaching behind your back for internal rotation.
If you can’t rotate your forearm because of a cast then at least move your shoulder into extension.
The general rule is if it’s not in a cast, move it!
And as your shoulder loosens up you can eventually begin more complex movements like reaching across your body. In fact, check out my video on shoulder and arm exercises with a cast for more ideas here.
Reason 2: Arm Position
Another reason why you might have shoulder pain is arm position.
Are you always protecting your arm by keeping it close to your body? This causes your shoulder to stay in internal rotation for prolonged periods of time leading to severe tightness and stiffness.
Or are you always holding it up in the air? Your shoulder muscles are contracting for long periods of time. It’s like holding a couple of pounds up in the air all day long.
So your shoulder might be hurting because your arm is stuck in the same position or positions all the time.
Tip 2: Change Arm Positions
And that brings me to the second tip which is to change your arm position frequently. Whether it’s during your finger exercises, watching tv, doing daily activities, or sleeping, avoid keeping your arm in the same static position.
One simple way is to slide a larger pillow under your armpit. This can immediately decrease shoulder pain and gets the shoulder out in a little more abduction and external rotation.
Another tip is to place your shoulder out to the side more into abduction and prop your elbow up with a few pillows and do some of your finger exercises that way.
Applying a hot pack or cold pack to your shoulder can also take the edge off.
If you are looking for a comfortable arm position to sleep then check out my video on how to sleep with a broken arm here.
Reason 3: Compensation
If you’re determined not to let things stiffen up, or you have no choice but to use your arm, your shoulder might be working overtime.
If your hand and forearm rotation is restricted, compensatory movements could be placing more strain on your shoulder.
Typically what happens is your shoulder has to move out to the side in abduction to compensate for the lack of hand, wrist, or forearm motion in order to complete the task.
One reason for the pain could be that you are over using your deltoid, your trapezius, or your supraspinatus which is one of your rotator cuff muscles.
Tip 3: Reduce Compensation
And so the 3rd tip is to minimize compensatory movements as much as possible. I know this can be easier said than done for a lot of activities.
A few strategies that can help are to temporarily move frequently used items to a location, such as a countertop, that is easily accessible so you don’t have to move your arm in weird positions.
Another tip is to slide objects closer to you before you try to lift them, but more importantly be mindful of compensation so you can correct it quickly.
Reason 4: Potential Shoulder Injury
And my last reason why you might have shoulder pain after a broken wrist, or hand injury, is the possibility of an actual shoulder injury.
Typically a broken wrist is from a fall, but not always.
My point is if the mechanism of injury is severe enough- a fall, a car accident, or biking accident where multiple injuries could have been sustained, there may be a chance you injured your shoulder too!
Think about whether your shoulder became painful immediately after your arm injury, or if it gradually developed weeks later. Soft tissue injuries might not show up right away.
Tip 4: Consult Your Doctor
Therefore, my 4th tip is to consult your doctor to rule out the possibility of a severe shoulder injury and see an occupational or physical therapist to check the integrity of your rotator cuff.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are several reasons why your shoulder starts to ache after a broken wrist or hand injury.
Luckily, you now have several helpful tips to decrease your shoulder pain so you can focus on healing your wrist.
If you know someone with a hand or wrist injury please share this post with them!
