Living with a broken wrist: what you'll actually need
This page is about getting through the next six weeks at home with one arm in a cast: washing, eating, dressing and the jobs that suddenly need two hands. It isn't about the fracture or its treatment. The fracture clinic looks after that, and what they tell you comes first.
You don't need much. A few tools cover the jobs that really do need a second hand, like opening a jar or cutting a sandwich without it sliding away. Most of the rest is doing things in a different order for a while. The lists below follow the order people usually run into problems: washing and eating in the first days, then cooking, buttons and nails as the weeks add up.
Before you start
- Work out which hand you have left. If the cast is on your writing hand, cutting, writing and brushing your teeth all move to the other side. If it's the other hand, most of what follows is about holding things still.
- Ask the clinic about water. Find out whether the cast or splint can get wet and whether a splint comes off for washing. If it has to stay dry, have a cast cover in the house before the first shower.
- Switch to clothes that go on with one hand. Elastic-waist pants, loose tops with sleeves wide enough to pass over the cast, slip-on shoes, and a sports bra or a front-closing one. Shirts with small buttons can wait.
- Get jars and packets dealt with now. Ask someone to loosen tight lids, tip rice, cereal and pasta into containers with flip-top lids, and move shampoo and dish soap into pump bottles.
- Unstack the kitchen. With one hand you can't lift a pile of plates and slide out the bottom one. Keep one plate, bowl, mug and pan on the counter or a front shelf.
- Set up your phone for one hand. Turn on voice typing and the one-handed keyboard. A charging stand you drop the phone onto is easier than plugging in a cable while the phone slides around.
First week
What to have ready
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Waterproof cast cover
Budget option: Silicone waterproof arm cast cover, adult, $9.99 (price as of Sep 27, 2026 at 4:47 pm ET) · See on Amazon (opens new tab)
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Non-slip mat
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Rocker knife — A rocker knife has a curved blade that cuts when you press down and rock it from end to end, so you don't need a fork to hold the food still.
Budget option: YPCBYNBS T-Grip Rocker Knife,Adaptive Knife with Rocking Grip for…, $9.49 (price as of Sep 27, 2026 at 4:47 pm ET) · See on Amazon (opens new tab)
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Electric jar opener — An electric jar opener is a battery-powered unit that sits on top of a jar and twists the lid loose when you press a button.
Budget option: Automatic electric jar opener for 1.2–3.5" lids, $21.99 (price as of Sep 27, 2026 at 4:47 pm ET) · See on Amazon (opens new tab)
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Under-cabinet jar opener
Budget option: Liliaafar 10 Pack One Handed Adaptive Equipment One-handed Gadget…, $9.99 (price as of Sep 27, 2026 at 4:47 pm ET) · See on Amazon (opens new tab)
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Elastic no-tie laces — Elastic no-tie laces replace ordinary shoelaces with stretchy ones that stay fastened, so lace-up shoes become slip-ons.
Budget option: RJ-Sport elastic no-tie laces with lock, $7.99 (price as of Sep 27, 2026 at 4:47 pm ET) · See on Amazon (opens new tab)
Checklist
- Shower with the cover on and the arm held out of the spray. A good cover keeps out splashes, but check the packaging before you trust it in a bath. Sitting down with the arm resting on your knee makes it easier to stretch the seal over with one hand.
- Put a non-slip mat under whatever you're working on. A bowl that doesn't slide and a jar that doesn't spin do most of the job your other hand used to do.
- Pick one jar opener, not both. The electric kind sits on top of the lid and runs on batteries. The under-cabinet kind needs someone to screw it in place; after that you push the lid into the V and turn the jar.
- Cut at the table with a rocker knife. You press down and rock instead of sawing, so you don't need a fork to hold the food still. Pasta, chicken and toast are easy. A thick steak is still easier to have sliced for you.
- Swap the laces early. Elastic laces turn the shoes you wear most into slip-ons. Threading them takes two hands, so ask someone to do it once.
- Hand off the jobs that are slow and awkward. Washing your own hair and changing the bed are fair things to ask for in the first week.
Weeks 2–6
What to have ready
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Adaptive cutting board
Budget option: One-handed cutting board with spikes, bread stops and grater, $35.99 (price as of Sep 27, 2026 at 4:47 pm ET) · See on Amazon (opens new tab)
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Electric can opener
Budget option: Handheld one-touch electric can opener, $13.99 (price as of Sep 27, 2026 at 4:47 pm ET) · See on Amazon (opens new tab)
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Button hook
Budget option: Button hook with zipper pull, 2-pack, $6.99 (price as of Sep 27, 2026 at 4:47 pm ET) · See on Amazon (opens new tab)
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Zipper pull
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Suction-base nail clipper
Budget option: One-handed nail clipper, $17.99 (price as of Sep 27, 2026 at 4:47 pm ET) · See on Amazon (opens new tab)
Checklist
- Start cooking again on a spiked board. The spikes hold a potato or an onion while you cut, and the raised corner holds bread while you spread butter. If the board has no rubber feet, set it on the non-slip mat.
- Open cans without holding them. Look for an electric opener that sits on top of the can and travels around the rim by itself.
- Use a button hook for shirt fronts, not for the cuff on your free arm. The hand that would hold the hook is the one inside that cuff. Leave it buttoned and slide your hand through, or have someone sew that button on with elastic thread.
- Clip a pull onto jacket zips. It gives you a bigger tab to hold, but starting a zip at the bottom still takes two hands. Zipping the jacket partway and pulling it on over your head, or switching to fleeces and pullovers, avoids the problem.
- Trim the nails on your free hand. By the second or third week they need it. A clipper on a suction base stays put on the counter: slide a fingertip under the blade and press the lever down with the other arm's elbow or forearm. A nail file or a salon visit works too.
- Keep the tools after the cast comes off. Lids and knives can stay awkward for a while after, so hold on to the jar opener and rocker knife. The clinic will tell you what your hand should be practicing.
What the budget options add up to
About $134.41 for 9 of the 9 items above. You won't need all of them — the checklists say which matter first.
We may earn a commission when you buy through these links. It never decides what we list.
What people regret buying
- A cast cover bought without measuring — covers are sold by arm length and by the size of the top opening, and one made for a short cast lets water in over a long one. Measure from your fingertips to a few inches past the top of the cast before you order.
- A whole box of one-handed kitchen gadgets — over a few weeks, most people use a rocker knife, a non-slip mat and one jar opener. Pan holders, one-handed peelers and gadget bundles tend to stay in the drawer. Buy more only when a specific job stops you.
- A can opener that still needs a second hand — many countertop electric openers expect you to hold the can up to the blade while you press the lever. The kind that sits on top of the can and goes around on its own is the one that works one-handed.
- A suction-base tool for the wrong counter — suction cups hold on glass, glazed tile and smooth laminate, and slip on wood, unsealed stone and textured tops. Check where a suction clipper or board will live before you choose one.
Buying this for someone else?
- Which arm, and is it their writing hand? A cast on the dominant side means help with cutting, writing and fine work, not just holding things still.
- What the clinic said. Whether the cast can get wet, roughly how long it stays on, and whether today's splint will be swapped for a cast. A cover that fits a splint may not fit the cast that replaces it.
- Their counters and cupboards. Suction bases need a smooth surface. An under-cabinet jar opener needs a cabinet edge you can screw into, and someone to do it.
- Delivery timing. The cast cover and a jar opener matter in the first days. Order them so they arrive before the first shower and the first jar.
- Ask before you fill their kitchen. An adult with a broken wrist usually knows which two or three jobs are getting in the way. Ask, then buy for those.