“How long does a wrist sprain last?”

“I recently hurt my wrist. I went to the doctor who said it was sprained. How long will it take to heal?”

A sprain is a torn ligament. There are huge differences in the degree of tear ranging from minimal to a complete tear. a complete tear isn’t going to heal to provide any stability to the joint(s). The degree of tear will give a better idea of how much it may heal and how long it may take.

The location and degree of ligament tear will also determine what treatment, if any, would improve recovery times and outcomes. As an example, we commonly see significant tearing of the small spinal ligaments after a car accident in our Texarkana clinic. These may generically be referred to as whiplash injuries, but that doesn’t tell the extent of these serious injuries.

Factors That effect Speed Of Healing

Many other factors can have a big impact on recovery times beyond the severity of the sprain. A good example would be someone with type 2 diabetes would generally have slower recovery times.

Other personal factors may also have a big impact on healing.

Some examples would be a person’s age, other health problems, lifestyle factors, work duties, things they’re doing at home, and the person’s commitment to getting care as recommended by the competent health care provider that understands musculoskeletal injuries and treatments.

Getting The Right, Full Diagnosis Is Important

It should also be mentioned that often a diagnosis of sprain may be given without evidence of a tear but more of a generic, “You have joint pain and a reasonable mechanism of injury, let’s call it a sprain.” This may or may not really be the injury. It also may not be the complete injury but only part of it meaning that other things could also be injured.

In general, a mild stretching of the ligaments in the wrist might take a few months to be reasonably strong again, even though the healing will continue longer.

The treatment, when necessary, can often speed up the process. In more severe ligament tearing, the ligaments will not heal completely and will result in some degree of permanent injury. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the pain will occur every day and limit many activities – but it might. Each sprain in each person is different.

This is why it’s so important to see the right healthcare provider for appropriate evaluation, treatment if necessary, and recommendations.