Coping with injury to dominant hand

March 7, 2007 5:31 AM

Broke my wrist last night (right wrist--I am right-handed). I live alone and am seeking tips for coping with activities of daily living with very limited use of my dominant hand.

Not a really bad fracture, but I'm discovering unanticipated difficulties in carrying out routine tasks. Any cool techniques those who've gone through similar experiences have evolved for stuff like washing hair, tying shoelaces, washing dishes (no dishwasher here), etc. etc.?

posted by Kat Allison to Grab Bag (8 answers total)

Best answer: Get a big fat rubber band and use it to keep a thick plastic bag over your cast (rubber band goes on the arm just above the cast, tuck some excess bag inside cast to create a seal) while you shower or do dishes. You'll have limited dexterity, but take your time with the fine china and you'll be ok. The truth is, you won't be at 100% until the cast comes off, but it's not as tough to muddle through daily life as you might think.

Here's not one but two previous threads on cast advice.
posted by sonofslim at 5:53 AM on March 7, 2007

If you don't actually have a cast yet then INSIST that your doctor talks to you about water-friendly cast options. It will make your life so much easier, notably when you itch underneath your cast you can shower/just pour water down it. Swimming is also good exercise (I know it hurts now but in a week or two it will feel just like a normal arm that isn't allowed to move).

Also, remember to rip off enough toilet paper before you sit down, if the dispenser is on your right side you will probably have trouble reaching or grasping.

I had a full arm cast on my non-dominant arm over the summer when I was 10, they said it could safely get wet and I spent a lot of time in the pool, which was really helpful overall.
posted by anaelith at 6:23 AM on March 7, 2007

Agreed on the waterproofing, if you can. For me, one of the most annoying things was washing my hair with one hand. No matter what, at times it's going to be an annoying and frustrating experience. Hang in there.
posted by miss lynnster at 6:53 AM on March 7, 2007

When I opened up my right arm two summers ago, the only thing I could do with it was hold things. The muscles simply were unable to do anything else; even signing my name became a whole-arm motion. I had to become, effectively, left-handed. I was doing construction and mechanic work at the time, and the biggest problem was mapping the twisting motion that on the right hand is tightening, but for the left is loosening.

The biggest help in making the left imitate the right was realizing that the brain pretty easily maps mirrorwise - I can sign my name pretty well with my left hand, backwards. I you visualize how you'd do something backwards with your right, then map it over to your left, you'll be doing it forward.
posted by notsnot at 8:04 AM on March 7, 2007

(Lemme guess -- broken navicular from a fall on an outstretched hand?)

Am I correct in assuming you're in a thumb spica cast? The problem is that the thumb is isolated and immobilized, but the fingers can still pinch stuff between them.

I broke the wrist on my dominant (right) hand during college -- engineering school, no less -- and by far the biggest challenge to me was writing. I tried, and gave up on, writing left-handed -- kinda funny to see advanced calculus and free-body diagrams done in the penmanship of a 4-year-old! Instead, I learned to grasp the pencil between my pointer and middle fingers. For bonus utility, I would hold a click-eraser between my middle and ring fingers for quick error correction. Worked really well.

Other than that, it sucked: Washing my hair was a pain. Brushing my hair was a pain. As were eating with utensils, brushing my teeth, buttoning my shirts, tying shoe-laces, etc. You just have to do them mostly left-handed and suck at them. Use the fingers on your right hand where you can. After a month or so, you'll get better.

The cruel irony is that by the time you get kinda decent at doing stuff with your left hand, you'll be healed and the cast will come off. And then you'll see just how amazingly good you are at everything with your right hand. (And any budding illusions of becoming ambidextrous will go right out the window!)

Also, it didn't occur to me to ask about a water-friendly cast. Do that!

Hope you heal up soon!
posted by LordSludge at 8:19 AM on March 7, 2007

Best answer: I asked a similar question a few years ago, and someone pointed out a one handed shoe lacing technique that came in really handy.
posted by cmonkey at 8:54 AM on March 7, 2007

Best answer: I've got a cast on my foot at the moment, and the best accessory I bought is a waterproof cover that has a rubber gasket at the top. Since my cast has to be removed every week, getting the waterproof kind was never mentioned as an option. I didn't even know there was such a thing.

But the gasket sealed waterproof cover is the greatest thing, because it means I can still take a shower. It was $25 dollars at my surgeon's office, and totally worth the price.
posted by dejah420 at 9:10 AM on March 7, 2007

Response by poster: Thanks to everyone for all the help! The previous threads pointed out to me were also very helpful (i was kind of zonked on Vicodin when I tried searching for similar [that's my excuse, sticking to it]). I did get one of those gasket-topped bags that dejah420 mentions, and it works pretty well, although the opening on the gasket is so tight as to be painful after a few minutes (though I'm assuming it will stretch out with time). Thanks again, all!
posted by Kat Allison at 9:01 AM on March 9, 2007