Broken wrist

[THE ROLLING STONES]

Three year ago I broke my wrist. I have two plates and seven screws in my right wrist and that is my strong hand. I have a very hard time in racking the slide back on the semi autos. Would any of you folks no of any exercise to help me. Thanks for any and all help.

THE ROLLING STONES

 

[bigggbbruce]

So you can't hold the pistol in your strong hand and grip the slide with your weak hand and rack..

All you need to do is hold your wrist straight.

 

[shotgun693]

Instead of holding the grip and pulling the slide. Hold the slide and push the grip.

 

[10ring]

A while back I was unable to shoot for almost a year due to a shoulder injury resulting in two surgical procedures. So I think I "feel your pain."

Frankly, I would suggest that you talk to or work with a physical therapist to find the best solution. You may need to build up different muscles and may need some pretty specific exercises to accomplish your goal.

Or develop a love of revolvers.

 

[BMCM]

So is this a pain issue or a weakness issue?

If pain I'd see your Ortho guy about it. Could be arthritis setting in post surgery. I was also told by my ortho guy that the surgical screws in my ankle can loosen and back out over time and cause some trouble/pain. after a year or so they can be removed if they become troublesome.

If weakness is the issue... I suggest general strength training.

When I was shooting competively on the service shooting team, many of us used a gizmo called a Gripmaster. The Gripmaster lets you exercise each finger individually. For a pistol shooter using this thing we'd crank down fully with the three gripping then work the trigger finger separately while holding full tension with the other three. Helps to train you to completely isolate your trigger finger movement from the other three fingers while increasing your overall hand strength.

Other than hand/grip strength, overall arm strength would benefit from weight training. Wrist curls & bicep curls with a manageable dumbell weight would be a good starting place.
Also, it would be a good idea to check with your orthopedist before starting and weight lifting routine.

Cheers
Bill

 

[timn8er]

Here's a device that may be of help to you while you're getting the strength back in your hand.

Safest way to rack your pistols Handi-Racker

 

[85V65Sabre]

Here's a device that may be of help to you while you're getting the strength back in your hand.

Safest way to rack your pistols Handi-Racker

+1
Cabelas stocks them $19.99.[emoji106]

 

[85V65Sabre]

Buy a revolver.

That's enough of that kind of talk here in the semi-auto section.

 

[shouldazagged]

I'm strictly a revolver guy these days, but the trick of holding the slide and pushing the frame forward is significantly easier. I used to rack them both ways, and the hold-and-push technique makes a difference.

 

[cpeblue]

Beretta 92, same manual of arms as our 3d gens but no mag safety disconnect and even my wife has no problem racking the slide .

 

[rwsmith]

Raise the gun close to the body.....

Instead of holding the grip and pulling the slide. Hold the slide and push the grip.

+1

Raise the pistol close to your body.

Reach over with your off hand and grab the slide.

Push the pistol forward holding the slide to rack and let go.

It's best if you can do this w/o blocking the port in case you have to clear a round. But for racking the first shot, I like it. It's not that I CAN'T rack it normally, but the serrations eat my fingers up and I just like this better. Besides, it keeps the gun close to me where I like it. Kind of like 'fanning' a semi.

 

[BigBoy99]

If you have a semi-auto with a flat front sight, put the front of the sight or the front corner of the slide against something hard like a table top of door frame and push the gun to operate the slide. This is the method taught if your hand get injured during a fight and you need to cycle your slide.

 

[gibekim]

Loosen it up

I have weak hands an wrists due to age and arthritis. Had difficulty racking a 1911 myself at times, especially with a red dot mounted on it. My solution was to use the lightest recoil spring that I could get by with for the ammo that I was using. (too light can be hard on the gun with factory loads.) Secondly, I frog lubed the heck out of the gun. Frame, Slide, barrel etc.
Made a world of difference.

PS - cocking the hammer first also helps.

 

[Double-O-Dave]

I really think you need to see the surgeon who did the work on your wrist. If s/he is not available, I'd see a board certified hand surgeon to get their opinion.

Best of luck to you,

Dave

 

[flagman1776]

Elastic wrist support? I have a disability & have to use an OTC wrist support with serious calibers.

 

[Shorty091261]

I had a similar situation a number of years back with hardware installed in my wrist. Once the bone was healed, I continued to have pain in the wrist, because the plate and the bone did not flex the same. Once the bone was completely healed, my surgeon removed the plate and screws, and apart from a slight reduction of range of motion, it's been as good as new since. The removal procedure was very quick and easy, and he only casted me a short time until it was healed. As for racking technique, I both pull the slide, and push the grip. Even my wife is able to rack a good sized auto loader with this method. Good luck! Let us know how you make out.

 

[Duelist]

A few years ago, my brother broke, in his dominant hand, both the radius and ulna just above the wrist joint in a skiing fall. His biggest issue was what to do one handed, weak side, during his recovery.

He hasn't indicated a problem with shooting since, but I also haven't asked. Neither of us has ever really been into heavy kicking pistols, and his carry guns are a P32 and some little Walther 9mm, so I don't know if he would have any trouble with them since they are both pretty easy to cycle.

Good luck! That sounds like it really sucks.

 

[Murdock]

My "day job" is occupational therapy (OT), and as a Certified Hand Therapist (CHT) I treat conditions like yours for a living.

Three years is a long time to be living with the level of loss of function that you describe. Did you have therapy following your surgery? If you did, what kind of shape were you in when you were discharged?

Following a fracture of the distal radius bone (the most common type of wrist fracture) the last two things to recover are grip strength and the ability to bear weight on the palm of the affected hand. While people tend to recover most of their hand and wrist function in the first 90 days following surgical correction, strength and full weight bearing can take many months. I tell my post-surgical wrist fracture patients that 13 months or so is quite common before feeling completely normal again, provided that things went well. Adding other fractured bones into the mix, such as the distal ulna bone or one of the small bones of the wrist, can complicate things greatly. There are also ligament injuries that can be very significant which do not appear on X-rays.

By all means consult with an orthopedist who specializes in the hand. While waiting for that appointment (in my area the wait for a non-emergency orthopedist appointment can be as much as 3 months) get an appointment with either an occupational therapist or physical therapist who has advanced credentials as a Certified Hand Therapist (CHT). Don't wait; you have lived with this long enough.

Contrary to popular understanding, it tends to be occupational therapists rather than physical therapists who do hand and wrist rehabilitation. About 85% of CHT qualified therapists are occupational (OT) rather than physical (PT) therapists. To the public, it all seems to be physical therapy, but it ain't.

You can find a CHT on the Hand Therapy Certification Commission website, HTCC.org. Click on "Find a Therapist."

In the mean time PM me your address or fax number and I will send you a sheet of exercises that you can try when I am back in the office tomorrow.

 

[THE ROLLING STONES]

Thanks you all for the info.


THE ROLING STONES