Broken bones and fracture

A fracture needs to heal

With Auckland’s active, adventurous lifestyle a fracture can happen.  The great news we have excellent Doctors who take the right steps around managing the bone while it is broken and getting it to heal.  This almost always requires the joints around the fracture being kept as still as possible for weeks or months.

When I worked in the UK we would see every person with a broken bone was seen immediately after they came out of plaster.  This allowed us to teach people the correct way to regain their movement efficiently.

Why do problems remain after fracture?

It seems Doctors don’t encourage fracture physio once the bone is better.  I have seen people years after a broken bonewho still have stiff joints and weak muscles.  These problems are easily preventable by early physio.

In particular I see people who had a broken wrist some time ago.  Because it doesn’t move fully this has put extra pressure on the shoulder which becomes a problem.  This also happens with ankle fractures where the knee wears out more quickly than it should.

How do you recover from these problems?

The next step, once out of plaster, is to get a thorough assessment.  This will tell your physio what your injured limb can and can’t do as well set goals for your rehab.

One of our expert physios will then sort exercises and strategies to achieve these goals in the most timely fashion possible.  They will also consider the long term impact of your recovery on other joints.