Diving with small fracture

[adjuster-jd]

The day before we left for our trip to Maui my daughter decided to try some gymnastics stuff. The morning of our trip she asked for an ice pack for her arm. (didnt say anything the night before). We were able to get to an ER part way through the trip (overnight stop turned into a long night...) and it appears she has a small colles fracture in her right radius. She also has a hard splint but it is not comfortable for her.
She has in a plastic splint which can go in the water - not the best thing, but it works. She has no noticeable swelling an minimal discomfort. We were able to do some snorkeling today with no problem.
We had planned to do her openwater checkout dives on this trip and I don't know if she can do all the skills or not.
What I really don't know is whether she can dive at all with the fracture. Other than the risks of limited mobility with a weak / fragile arm, what other risks do we need to consider with diving?
Thanks.

 

[shakeybrainsurgeon]

The day before we left for our trip to Maui my daughter decided to try some gymnastics stuff. The morning of our trip she asked for an ice pack for her arm. (didnt say anything the night before). We were able to get to an ER part way through the trip (overnight stop turned into a long night...) and it appears she has a small colles fracture in her right radius. She also has a hard splint but it is not comfortable for her.
She has in a plastic splint which can go in the water - not the best thing, but it works. She has no noticeable swelling an minimal discomfort. We were able to do some snorkeling today with no problem.
We had planned to do her openwater checkout dives on this trip and I don't know if she can do all the skills or not.
What I really don't know is whether she can dive at all with the fracture. Other than the risks of limited mobility with a weak / fragile arm, what other risks do we need to consider with diving?
Thanks.

The risk here isn't so much the risk of the arm for diving, but the risk of diving for the arm. A Colles fracture is a distal radius fracture that, in children, requires some considerable force to create. The level of discomfort in a child may not be a good guide...when I had a Colles fracture in first grade, I vivdly remember being able to deform my arm by leaning against a wall with no pain. I couldn't convince my parents to take me to a doctor until I showed them the funny way my arm moved! Back then, it wa six weeks in a plaster cast.

There are some unknowns here: how old is your daughter, was the Colles fracture displaced, did it have to be reduced? A poorly treated Colles fracture can result in some shortening of the radius and some mechanical wrist problems later on. A very young child with a "greenstick" non-displaced radius fracture is not likely to be a problem. A fourteen year old with a displaced fracture is more of a concern. The first concern should not be the dives, but whether the arm can be mobilized so early and often. Check with an orthopedic surgeon, not an ER and not people like us on the Internet.

 

[adjuster-jd]

Agreed. We're hoping to get her into an orthopedic doc here on Maui. We tried calling several today but being saturday, no one was in. Spoke to a local physical therapist who provided names of a couple docs. Hopefully we can get her in asap.
She is 12. I have the xrays. Fracture does not seem to be displaced except there is a "bump" that appears on one of the views (I can't see what looks like a break but then I don't know anything about reading xrays).
We will ask the doc about diving, but since docs know orthopedics and not necessarily diving, I wanted to make sure there weren't any issues I wasnt thinking of.-effects of diving / pressure, etc on the orthopedic issues).

(BTW - I have the xray images on disk if you want to take a look - send me a PM).

 

[shakeybrainsurgeon]

Agreed. We're hoping to get her into an orthopedic doc here on Maui. We tried calling several today but being saturday, no one was in. Spoke to a local physical therapist who provided names of a couple docs. Hopefully we can get her in asap.
She is 12. I have the xrays. Fracture does not seem to be displaced except there is a "bump" that appears on one of the views (I can't see what looks like a break but then I don't know anything about reading xrays).
We will ask the doc about diving, but since docs know orthopedics and not necessarily diving, I wanted to make sure there weren't any issues I wasnt thinking of.-effects of diving / pressure, etc on the orthopedic issues).

(BTW - I have the xray images on disk if you want to take a look - send me a PM).

No specific diving issues...if she can swim in a brace without pain, there is not likely to be a problem so long as the arm is checked by ortho later and perhaps re-X rayed to see if there is any progression. I am no good at looking at wrist films these days, my ER days are long gone.

By the way, don't kids have great timing for these things? :shakehead

 

[adjuster-jd]

Ya know, she told me she was doing back bends with her friend (even demonstrated one for me) and I thought of telling her she shouldnt be doing that the day before we left on a trip since she might get hurt, but I didnt say anything. So I'm feeling kinda bad that maybe I could have prevented it, but I just hated to spoil her fun at the time.. I just wish she would have told us that night so we could have gotten it checked out at home (my wife is an RN at our local childrens hospital) rather than being far away from home..

 

[adjuster-jd]

My wife just corrected me - it's a "buckle fracture" not a colles fracture...

 

[ItsBruce]

I fractured the corner of the bone in my thumb shortly before a cruise that included diving. My ortho (who I see on a somewhat regular basis) was good enough to use one of the waterproof casts and cleared me to dive. The biggest problem was getting a wetsuit around the cast. (Don't ask.) That being said, I have no clue how my issue compares to your daughter. On a more pragmatic note, I am a somewhat experienced diver and I was diving with an operator with whom I've dived a lot and at a location I've dived a lot. I knew I could do any necessary skills. I would be much more concerned with a new diver or one doing a certification. My instinct says she should not dive. Sorry.

 

[TSandM]

If she were an already certified diver, I'd say have at it -- a buckle fracture is minor, and as long as she wasn't asked to lift or haul equipment, she'd probably be fine.

But I think handling equipment is an important part of getting certified, and in addition, I'd be worried that if she moved the wrong way or did the wrong thing underwater, she might get acute pain that could precipitate great anxiety or panic. Probably worrying too much, but why take the risk?

 

[mdjh51]

I agree with TSandM

diving is not really an issue, but slinging gear around is. The temptation to use the arm will be great, and may exacerbate the injury.