How long must I wear the cast?

After a scaphoid fracture, the healing process is usually checked every two to three weeks with an X-ray. For this purpose, it may be necessary to remove the cast and then adjust a new one. Overall, however, the scaphoid must be immobilized for at least two months, and more likely three months, in the case of a fracture. Due to the often unfavorable course of the scaphoid fracture, a part of the bone may die without such a long immobilization. This would result in permanent restrictions of movement and significantly faster wear and tear of the wrist.

What are the alternatives to plaster?

Especially in case of a fracture of the scaphoid, treatment with a plaster cast is usually unavoidable. The scaphoid is a bone that heals very poorly and at the same time plays an important role in the overall function of the wrist. For this reason, a particularly long period of immobilization must be assumed.

As an alternative to a purely conservative therapy with plaster, surgery is often necessary in case of malpositioning of both scaphoid parts. The scaphoid is usually held together again with a screw. This screw, if it does not cause any problems, usually remains in the scaphoid for life.

Even after an operation, the wrist must be immobilized. If you want to do without a plaster cast completely, you can alternatively be treated with a fixed splint, rarely with a bandage. However, such a splint should allow just as little movement in the wrist as would be the case with a plaster cast.

In the meantime, there are many other materials that can replace the function of a heavy plaster. Often, certain plastic compounds are used for this purpose, which harden by themselves after application. They offer the same stability as a plaster, but are much lighter and are usually easier to remove once the healing process is complete.

Pain in plaster – Is this normal?

At the beginning of the treatment, pain in the cast is not unusual. The injury to the scaphoid causes swelling in the area of the wrist. Due to the fracture, many pain mediators (pain-transmitting substances) are released, which cause pain in the wrist area for a while.This pain is best treated with painkillers after immobilization in a plaster cast.

After a few days, however, the symptoms should improve, so that the medication can be slowly reduced and is no longer necessary after a few weeks. However, if pain occurs during the healing process, which suddenly becomes stronger again, a doctor should be consulted. Especially at the beginning of the plaster treatment, the wrist may still swell, so that the plaster may be too tight.

In this case, the cast should be checked, at the latest when the fingers of the affected hand become cold and/or bluish and pain occurs. Later complications can also cause the pain to persist or increase again. In this case, the cast should also be checked and, if necessary, an X-ray should be taken. In this way the healing of the scaphoid can be observed and possibly harmful processes can be detected and stopped.