NO MATTER YOUR AGE, young or old, wounds, fractures, and breaks take longer to heal if they are to the lower leg/ankle/foot or forearm/wrist/hand. These areas are furthest from the heart and so action in the area of the hip where the lower leg and foot are concerned – and the shoulder where the forearm and hand are concerned – help to promote better circulation and nutrition to the areas and thus faster healing.
In the 1930s a young doctor in Austria who trained as a fracture specialist decided to do a little experiment. He divided his roughly 100 patients who had wrist fractures and casts into two groups. Following the surgery he prescribed simple shoulder shrugs to one group and no exercise to the second group. No matter the severity or type of fracture, the group performing the shoulder shrugs healed faster. The young doctor was Hans Kraus who went on to immigrate to America in the late 30s and became well known as the BACK DOCTOR and the SKI DOCTOR in NYC where he established his practice.
Statistics say that in the U.S., 250,000 to 500,000 women break a hip or spinal bone every year… 90% of the time due to a fall. One in four men and one in two women over age 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis.
According to P. Dean Cummings, MD at Banner Hospital in Tucson AZ, osteoporosis is NOT a natural outcome of getting old but that osteoporosis, or thinning and weakening of the bones, can make it harder for fractures to mend. More than 15% of fractures in older people heal slowly or don’t heal at all because the quality of the bone is lower and there is less blood supply to the bone.
Recently I received a call from the gentleman that cuts my hair. He is in his 60s and had fallen and fractured his forearm. The weekend Urgent Care folk had given him a splint and told him it would take about 6 weeks to heal. 
He was calling to cancel my upcoming appointment. UGH!
The next day he called to reschedule my appointment. YEA! The sports doctor he saw for follow-up the next day threw the splint in the garbage and told him to get back to work. Since I have known him for many years I told him what I would tell all of you. I explained over the phone how to treat the trigger points in his forearm, what exercises to do and since he had a warm pool available to use the resistance and buoyancy of the water to move the entire shoulder and arm. Water makes it possible for the injured part to move easier which promotes faster recovery. Five days later he was 
back to performing a miracle every hour on me and all his other happy clients.
Bonnie Prudden Myotherapy, which helps relax the muscles, opens up the pathways and follows with specific exercise which makes way for better circulation, reduced swelling, less pain, and increased range of motion resulting in faster healing.
TAKE NOTE: Even if a cast is required, treating the exposed areas will still help with faster healing. If your problem requires an arm sling make sure that you pay attention to keeping the shoulder mobile. I’ve had patients come in after having had their arm in a sling for lower arm problems and who ended up with ”frozen shoulder” which they didn’t have before the injury.
Get moving and happy healing!
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If you have questions or need help, email me at enid@bonnieprudden.com.
For more information about Bonnie Prudden®, Bonnie Prudden Myotherapy®, workshops, books, self-help tools, DVDs, educational videos, and blogs, visit www.bonnieprudden.com. Or call 520-299-8064 if you have questions or need help. Enid Whittaker, Managing Director, Bonnie Prudden Myotherapy®
