Friendly Service announcement: DO NOT PUNCH WALLS (pic)

Discussion in 'Injuries and Prevention' started by Nolan Froese, Oct 6, 2015.

  1. Nolan Froese

    Nolan Froese Valued Member

    I have a small disclaimer before I say anything: I know it was stupid and not logical. I knew better, but I was angry at the time because I probably had one of the worst days of my life. There is no excuse for bad behavior, however, and this has screwed up a lot of plans for me in my life. It has been more than a little embarrassing to tell my coaches/instructors/friends/family I broke my hand punching a wall. So I'm aware how idiotic my behavior was.

    The purpose of this post is a friendly reminder not for anyone else like me to take their anger out on stuff that does not say ouch as my friend put it. I'm not here to laugh or joke about this (you're more than welcome though). I cannot work, school is tough and this is putting on a hamper on my living situation. This also hampers my training, but fortunately, this will heal and I will be able to train again. Knowing what happened to me I ask for any aspiring kids like me (aka fools) not to punch walls out of anger. You can cry, yell or jump up and down, but in God's name not this. You are no different than me in this case; the wall wins.

    Another thing I'd like to address I've had a lot of advice since I broke my arm from idiots on how to punch walls that have demonstrated a worrying lack of understanding on the issue. Even with correct technique if you punch a wall your hand will break. I do not care how tough your hand is it is not tougher than a support that holds tens of thousands of pounds. If you hit hard and it is a legit sturdy substance something will budge, and I guarantee it will not be the wall. I've done karate, boxing and I've heard a lot of theory on how to hit. I'm just going to put out the theory if you hit hard; you're going to break your hand. I do not care how good your technique is or conditioned your bones are.

    After it is healed and the pins are pulled out I'm hoping to do some strong rice bucket training and maybe towel pull-ups so I can get stronger hands.

    I still can not believe I was such an idiot in the first place though. Sigh.
     

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  2. Mushroom

    Mushroom De-powered to come back better than before.

    Nice!

    I broke the same bone on my left hand this time last year.
    Didn't need pins though, but it has healed with a slight bump.

    http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1074927159&postcount=5


    Just rest and not move that hand for the first couple of weeks, as motion from the top of the fingers can shift the bones a little. (which hurts).

    Get a long thin stick to give your hand a quick scratch (its going to itch).

    I was told to not wash/get the cast wet. Considering only the top half of my fingers were exposed, I did my best to keep them clean. Usually with a wet wipe and a scrubber...but be warned. It's still going to smell a bit.

    After a couple of weeks, do some mini exercises with the fingers, a bit of wriggling, some light squeezing of the cast. But obviously not much, you can feel your fingers getting stronger in the cast as it heals.

    Post Cast Removal. Basic hand exercises at first, such as simply making a fist, then increasing the pressure as you get more comfortable.

    TENNIS BALLS! Great for recovery. I essentially carried one in the hand at all times, rolling it around, squeezing it, bouncing it off the wall for co-ordination.
    I would squeeze using the whole hand and with just a thumb and finger (working it down as I go along)

    I was then given a stress ball and some play dough to try squeezing exercises.

    Enjoy!
     
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2015
  3. Latikos

    Latikos Valued Member

    That's the reason, why I don't punch too hard against walls ;)

    Gets that's a lesson you at least won't forget too easy :-/

    I once had got a swelling from doing the same; since it was during training my teacher knew why and nearly slapped me :eek: :rolleyes:
    Luckily it was only a swelling and after some icing went away fast enough.
    He was very mischievous though, that half my hand turned blue lol

    So certainly a good tip not to punch walls, no matter how tempting.
    And it can be tempting. At least for me.

    Just curious here: When I had broken my arm I got physiotherapy, both after the operation that put a plate in and now, where it got removed.

    Sure, fingers aren't the same as an arm but still - weren't they restricted in their movement, so that physio therapy might have been a good idea?
     
  4. Mushroom

    Mushroom De-powered to come back better than before.

    I had one physio session for my hand. Essentially it was to focus on strengthening the hand/fingers/wrist and grip. Whilst also being careful as the bones are still fusing together on a molecular level.

    Seeing my friends with broken arms (one had a spiral fracture of his humerus (upper arm), he was still able to use his hand. Just not able to grip as hard (obviously more difficult if it was a forearm break)

    With the hand break (this one being my 2nd) the entire hand is immobilised for about 4-6 weeks and restricted with a soft cast for another 2. So like everything else (as you most likely know) that causes muscle weakness.
    It took me a while but using the tennis ball just aided my dexterity (rolling it about etc)
    bouncing and catching for reaction use. Strength was still an issue in regards to weight lifting etc.

    I still felt pain though after 2 months during Boxing due to the impact. So it was a long road till that was gone, just due to the fragility of the bones.
     
  5. Latikos

    Latikos Valued Member

    In my case it was my ulna (the smaller of the bones in the forearm) that was broken twice.
    I wasn't allowed to use the arm after the operation for six weeks - so yeah, I know how weak muscles get :D
    I'm still not back to my former strength (I had constant problems after the operation, so I needed to take breaks over and over), which wasn't much even then.

    My physio therapy is to get the arm mobile again (was wayyyy more acute, when the plate got in, then it is now. I could hardly rotate the arm at all back then) and they also do massages on it, to get the muscles to loosen up again; same for the fascia ; apparently some are glued together. The physio isn't sure there is anything that can be done there.
    Guess, that makes it something else to ask my doc the next time I see him.

    Seeing how you can hardly use your fingers with the broken bones, I would have thought that there would have been some physio as well, for the same reasons.
    Purely from the perspective of a layman, of course! I obviously don't work in that area nor have I read about it too much.
    (If it's up to me I will never break any of my bones ever again ;) )

    Thanks for the feedback!

    (I hope, I used the correct words here. Sorry if I chose some wrong ones!)
     
  6. Mushroom

    Mushroom De-powered to come back better than before.

    Speak to Late for Dinner for all your healing info and needs. :p

    I think that the lack of physiotherapy for my hand is due to the amount of use it goes through in general everyday life and the severity of it. I didn't have torn muscles/ligaments..unlike my knee* so it was essentially just a strength issue.

    I still have a bit of an problem with the hand, bench pressing still hurts now and again. As all the pressure is right where the break is/was.
    (never doing a Suicide-grip on 80kg ever again)

    *tore 3 ligaments in my knee. Physio took about 2 months.
     
  7. Nolan Froese

    Nolan Froese Valued Member

    Pins come out October 21st. I can use my hand my fingers are almost back to full mobility except for my pinky. That should get better when the pins come back.

    I'll probably do jiu jitsu again and boxing a little after when the pins come out and when full mobility comes back. I'll probably wait another month or two before I start rolling or sparring/bag hitting.
     

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