5 Things you’ll struggle to do with a broken arm

It broken; your arm that is. So they wrapped it up, thwacked a cast on and said ‘see you in 6 to 8 weeks’.

You leave the hospital feeling a little sorry for yourself but by the time you get home you are starting to feel more positive. It won’t be that bad… it will get you out of being designated driver for a while and thanks to LimbO, at least showering won’t be a problem.

But just in case you were wondering, there are some things that aren’t so easy when you are sporting a cast…

1: Get yourself dressed.

Have you ever tried to button a shirt with one hand? Or lace your shoes or put on a tie? These are all standard two-hand activities. Pullover jumpers and slip on shoes will have to suffice until you have developed your own unique way to fasten buttons with one hand.

2: Do your hair.

Hair drier in one hand, hairbrush in the… oh wait a minute… that’s not going to happen. There is no longer an option for both, you have to pick either ‘brush’ or ‘dry’ at any one time.

3: Cook with ease.

You might think you only need one hand to chop, slice and sauté but try it with one hand out of action and you’ll realise just how much of a team player your one remaining good arm used to be… it relied on your other hand for support so now you’ll need to live on ready meals of devise new preparation techniques.

4: Scratch an itch.

It’s ok at first, but once that cast has been on a week or so, you’re guaranteed to feel that itch. You can poke as many rulers down the inside of your cast as you like, but there will be a time when no matter what you do, you just won’t be able to reach it.

5: Clap.

The first time you try this, you’ll probably have become lost in the moment and forget you are wearing a cast at all. As you begin to applaud, you’ll send a few shockwaves of pain through your body before deciding that a one armed knee slap will make a good substitution.

But look on the bright side, it’s not for long!