Clinically reviewed by What is fracture recovery
A fracture is a broken bone, haddi tootna. Once it is set in plaster or fixed with a plate, screw, rod or wire, the bone itself usually heals well. What nobody warns you about is everything around it.
A joint held still for six weeks becomes stiff. The muscles crossing it begin to waste within days. So the plaster comes off and the arm or leg feels like it belongs to somebody else.
That stiffness and weakness is normal, expected and treatable. Rehabilitation is what turns a healed bone back into a working limb.
Symptoms you might have
- A joint that will not bend or straighten fully, feeling blocked rather than painful
- Visible wasting, so the limb looks thinner than the other side
- Swelling that returns whenever the hand or foot hangs down
- Dry, flaky skin where the plaster was, settling in a week or two
- Aching and tiredness after small amounts of use
- Fear of using it, which is common and is part of what rehabilitation treats
- Stiffness worst in the morning, easing as the joint warms up
Why it happens
- Immobilisation itself. The capsule tightens and muscle wastes within the first week
- Swelling that was never managed, leaving the tissues thickened and stiff
- Not moving the joints above and below the plaster while it was on
- Motorbike accidents and falls, the commonest reason for fractures here
- Falls in older adults with thin bones, a sign to have bone health checked
- Fractures managed without X-rays, so alignment was never confirmed
- Diabetes and smoking, which slow bone and soft tissue healing
- Waiting for pain to go completely before starting to move
When you should see a physiotherapist
Your surgeon is in charge of the bone. They decide when the plaster comes off and when weight may go through a leg. Physiotherapy works inside those instructions, so bring your X-ray reports.
Come as soon as you are cleared to move. The first two to three months after plaster removal are when range returns most easily, so do not wait.
Go to a hospital the same day if the limb beyond the plaster turns pale, cold or numb, if pain is severe and worsening, or if the fingers or toes will not move. Go the same day for a hot, red, swollen operated wound or a fever. A hot, swollen, painful calf, with or without breathlessness, can be a clot, and sudden chest pain or breathlessness is an emergency.
Al-Shama Physiotherapy Clinic
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اپائنٹمنٹ کے بارے میں پوچھیںAppointment ke liye poochein
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یہ فارم پُر کریں؛ واٹس ایپ پر آپ کی تفصیلات کے ساتھ پیغام تیار ہو جائے گا۔Yeh form bharein, WhatsApp aap ki tafseel ke saath khul jaye ga.
How it is treated
The first appointment is assessment. How much the joint moves, how the muscle is working, how much swelling there is, and what your surgeon has allowed.
- Manual therapy to the stiff joint, graded work that restores glide before anything is forced
- Exercise therapy, the main treatment. Active movement first, then resistance as your surgeon allows
- Swelling management with elevation, compression and cryotherapy, since a swollen joint will not move well
- Gait retraining for leg fractures, from walker to crutches to stick to walking unaided
- TENS where pain limits the exercises, on intact skin away from the wound
- Ultrasound on surrounding soft tissue once the wound is fully closed, where it suits your fixation
- Balance training, which is what prevents a second fall or sprain
Whether a plate or rod is needed, and whether it ever comes out, is entirely your surgeon's decision. Ultrasound, electrotherapy, needling and cupping are not used over a fresh or open wound, over numb skin, or over metalwork where they are unsuitable.
Exercises, and what to avoid
What helps
- Moving the joints above and below the plaster while it is on, if your doctor allows. For a wrist plaster that means fingers, elbow and shoulder daily
- Static muscle contractions inside the plaster, tightening and releasing without moving the joint
- Active range of movement after clearance, five short sessions a day rather than one long effort
- Elevation above heart level with the fingers or toes pumping, to clear swelling
What to avoid
- Letting anyone pull, twist or crack the stiff joint. Forcing it causes bleeding and more stiffness
- Putting weight through a healing leg earlier than your surgeon allowed
- Deep heat or hard massage on a limb that is still swollen
- Stopping once the limb feels normal, while strength is still well below the other side
What you can do at home
Elevate. Support a hand or arm above heart level on cushions, and for a leg lie down with the foot propped higher than the hip.
Ice for swelling, heat for stiffness. A cold pack for ten to fifteen minutes after exercise while the limb is swollen. Once the swelling settles, warmth before exercise makes a stiff joint easier to move. Always a cloth against the skin, and neither over an open wound or numb skin.
Skin under a plaster comes out dry and flaky. Wash gently and moisturise, do not scrub.
Exercise little and often. Five short sessions beat one long one.
Calcium, vitamin D and diabetes control affect bone healing, and those are your doctor's area.
How long it takes
Bone healing and limb recovery run on two clocks. Most upper limb fractures unite in around six weeks and most weight bearing leg fractures in eight to twelve. Children heal faster, older adults and people with diabetes more slowly. Your surgeon confirms union from the X-ray.
Stiffness responds fastest. With daily work, most of the lost movement returns over six to twelve weeks after the plaster comes off.
Strength is the slow part. Three to six months to feel normal for daily tasks, and six to twelve months after a serious fracture before heavy lifting or sport is comfortable.
Starting early and controlling swelling speed it up. Waiting for pain to vanish first slows it down.
Urdu / Roman Urdu
Choose your reading script / اپنی پسند کا رسم الخط منتخب کریں
اردوUrdu script
پلاسٹر کھلنے کے بعد جوڑ اکڑ جاتا ہے اور گوشت کمزور ہو جاتا ہے۔ یہ عام بات ہے اور علاج سے ٹھیک ہوتی ہے۔
پلاسٹر کے دوران بھی کام ہو سکتا ہے۔ جو جوڑ باہر ہیں، جیسے انگلیاں، کہنی اور کندھا، انہیں ڈاکٹر سے پوچھ کر روزانہ ہلائیں۔
سوجن کے لیے ہاتھ یا پیر اونچا رکھیں اور ٹھنڈی پٹی لگائیں۔ سوجن کم ہونے کے بعد ورزش سے پہلے ہلکی گرم پٹی مدد دیتی ہے۔
وزن کب ڈالنا ہے سرجن بتاتا ہے۔ جوڑ زبردستی کھنچوانا نہیں۔ اگر ہاتھ یا پیر ٹھنڈا، سفید یا سن ہو جائے، یا زخم میں بخار ہو، تو فوراً ہسپتال جائیں۔
Roman Urdu
Plaster khulne ke baad jor akar jata hai aur gosht kamzor ho jata hai. Ye aam baat hai aur ilaj se theek hoti hai.
Plaster ke dauran bhi kaam ho sakta hai. Jo jor bahar hain, jaise ungliyan, kohni aur kandha, unhein doctor se puch kar rozana hilayen.
Sujan ke liye haath ya pair ooncha rakhen aur thandi patti lagayen. Sujan kam hone ke baad warzish se pehle halki garam patti madad deti hai.
Wazan kab dalna hai surgeon batata hai. Jor zabardasti kheenchwana nahi. Agar haath ya pair thanda, safed ya sun ho jaye, ya zakham mein bukhar ho, to foran hospital jayen.
Treatment at the clinic, and online
INFORMATION → INDIVIDUAL CARE
A plan built around you.
Talk with Dr. Zahra Fatima, DPT. Understand your next steps, with guidance for your own symptoms and daily routine.
Talk it through
Discuss your symptoms, what you find difficult and what you want to get back to.
Understand your next steps
Use the consultation to discuss which care and exercises fit your situation.
Take your plan with you
Your online consultation includes a written plan you can refer to afterwards.
Questions people ask
Why is my joint so stiff after the plaster came off?
How long does stiffness after a fracture take to settle?
Can I start physiotherapy while the plaster is still on?
Is it normal for my leg to swell when I stand up?
Will the plate or rod have to be removed?
Related conditions
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- Recovery after hip replacement
- Recovery after ACL surgery
- Physiotherapy after surgery
- Sports injury treatment