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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Does Using Of Uninjured Arm Interfere With The Healing Of The Injured Arm?

I fell sand broke my upper shoulder March 6.. I am 60 yo female in good health X ray showed 3 breaks, near enough joint to consider surgery. CT scan however, showed one break into three pieces. Ortho doc said therefore surgery not necessary and it is less than 1 mm of a fracture so looks good. Seems odd that x ray would be so different than CT scan. Normal? Second question: doc said to do whatever I wanted to do - drive, etc. Any chance using my uninjured forearm that is no longer immobilized all the time, might harm the healing of the injured upper arm? Third question: Will a home TENS unit speed healing? And is it good idea to user TENS on my elbow that is stiff due to having been immobilized? Will heating pad, hot showers etc also speed healing of broken bones? Thanks!
posted on Wed, 2 Apr 2014
Twitter Sat, 24 Dec 2016 Answered on
Twitter Mon, 26 Dec 2016 Last reviewed on
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Physical Therapist or Physiotherapist,  's  Response
First Ct scan is more reliable than x ray ( bone weakness in x ray can be mistaken for fracture )
using your unaffected arm can cause slight extention muscle pull in your fractured arm (it is not relavant to healing ) , tens unit is only effective in radiating pains not in stiffness treatment or healing , however
hot water and pads can increase healing

Good Luck
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Does Using Of Uninjured Arm Interfere With The Healing Of The Injured Arm?

First Ct scan is more reliable than x ray ( bone weakness in x ray can be mistaken for fracture ) using your unaffected arm can cause slight extention muscle pull in your fractured arm (it is not relavant to healing ) , tens unit is only effective in radiating pains not in stiffness treatment or healing , however hot water and pads can increase healing Good Luck