A scapholunate ligament tear often follows a fall, shows a normal X-ray and gets called a sprain. Back-of-wrist pain, a click and weakness still there at 6 weeks need proper imaging: six weeks buys a repair, six months a reconstruction, six years a fusion.
After a simple elbow dislocation, most people move the elbow within a week, return to light use around 6 weeks and near full function by 3 months. The real risk is stiffness: weeks in a sling cost range you don’t get back.
Yes, a stiff hand after a cast or surgery can usually be fixed, and most of the gain comes in the first 3 months. Here’s the timeline, the two self-tests, the exercises with reps, and why time at end range beats pulling harder.
A sprained or dislocated middle finger joint usually needs 3 to 6 weeks of buddy taping, with most movement back by 6 weeks. The swelling takes 6 to 12 months. What ruins these fingers isn’t the injury, it’s resting them still.
A boxer’s fracture usually takes about 6 weeks for the bone to knit and 8 to 12 weeks for full grip strength, and most heal without surgery. A finger that scissors or any cut over the knuckle changes that, today.
A broken wrist is usually healed enough to come out of the cast at about 6 weeks, works for daily life by about 3 months, and takes 6 to 12 months for full strength. Here’s every week in between, cast or plate.
A scaphoid fracture is a break in the wrist bone at the base of the thumb, and up to 1 in 5 hide on the first X-ray. Most undisplaced breaks need 8 to 12+ weeks in a cast; a tender snuffbox after a fall means imaging, not waiting.