Fans have been divided over the news of opener Travis Head rejoining the Australian Cricket Team for the World Cup finals tomorrow against India, approximately two months after he suffered a hand fracture during a match against South Africa.
Although Head has received the green signal for returning back to playing cricket, the question still stands- what are the side effects of straining a fractured hand that has not healed properly. To answer this question, the team of OnlyMyHealth spoke to Dr Vinayak Ghanate, Consultant Orthopaedics, Manipal Hospital, Pune, Baner.
Straining A Fractured Hand
“From what is being reported, it seems that Head suffered a proper bone fracture, particularly a phalangeal and metacarpal fracture. Such fractures usually take a good six weeks to start functioning again. Then follows physiotherapy,” explained Dr Ghanate.
So, in total, anyone who has suffered a similar hand fracture should take at least 10-12 weeks before straining their hand. “Seems like Head is returning after eight weeks, so his situation is borderline. But usually in the case of cricketers, the team’s sports physician calls the shots and must have given a clean chit to Head,” added Dr Ghanate, who himself has been involved in the World Cup matches very closely, and was the players’ doctor for all the matches in Pune. S
“If you start straining your hand too much before it has healed properly, chances are that the fracture point is still weak and can break again under the slightest strain. Additionally, there is a chance that the functional capacity of the hand may never be the same as before,” he shared.
Tips To Recover From A Fracture
Beyond resting your hand for the next twelve weeks, there are a number of other steps you can follow to make sure that your bones heal properly and bounce back to normal. Dr Ghanate listed:
- Take a healthy and nutritious diet, along with calcium and vitamin supplements. It doesn't make us better from any disease, but it is required to recover from that disease.
- If the fractures are healing well at the six weeks point, then getting back to early physiotherapy and exercises usually helps in gaining the full functional capacity of the hand. This is because along with the broken bone, the surrounding muscles, tendons, nerves, and vessels also need to recover.
- When opting for physiotherapy, make sure you choose a qualified hand therapist.
Dr Ghanate concluded that you can live a hassle free life after recovering from a bone fracture once your hand’s functionality has returned to 90-95% of its initial capacity. But for sportsmen and athletes, it needs to be even more.