Overview

What is a broken wrist?

A broken wrist, or a wrist fracture, can occur with any of the 10 bones that make up your forearm and wrist. These include your:

• Radius:The larger of the two forearm bones.
• Ulna:Smaller of two forearm bones.
• Carpal bones: These are eight small bones forming the base of your hand.

The most common fracture of the wrist bone is the radius. This is referred to by hand surgeons as a distal radius fracture.

What are the types of broken wrists?

There are different ways through which one can maintain a fracture in the wrist area. These include:

• Colles fracture: A Colles fracture occurs from a fall on an outstretched hand with your wrist bent backward. The end of your radius is tilted backward, towards the back of your hand.
• Smith fracture: You fracture the Smith, as it is called, by falling on an outstretched hand with it flexed. Your radius is bent downward toward the palmar surface of your hand at the break.

Wrist fractures are often subclassified by hand surgeons, but traditionally, they simply differentiate between the following two:

• Intra-articular fracture: One that involves your wrist joint
• Extra-articular fracture: One that does not involve your wrist joint.

An open fracture is one whose breakage has penetrated the skin, and thus, it usually requires immediate medical attention, as it will have a high risk of infection. A comminuted fracture is a type of fracture where a bone breaks into more than two pieces.

What are the signs and symptoms of a broken wrist?

• Sharp and steady pain.
• Swelling
• Tenderness.
• Bruising.
• Stiffness.
• A curved wrist or other misalignment of the bone.
• Numbness in the tips of your fingers.

What is the cause of a broken wrist?

The most common cause of a wrist fracture is a fall onto an outstretched hand with the wrist bent back or forward to break your fall.

A break to the distal end of the radius often happens for different reasons in young people compared to people older than 60. For younger people, high-energy injuries usually cause fractures. These may include falls off ladders, car accidents, and sports-related injuries.

For people older than 60, low-energy injuries, such as falls or getting up from a standing position, more commonly result in fractures.

What are the risk factors?

Osteoporosis can weaken your bones, making wrist fractures more likely. Other risk factors for those over age 60 include:

• Low bone mineral density, also known as osteopenia.
• Assigned female at birth (AFAB).
• White.
• Biological family history.
• Early menopause.

What are the complications of this condition?

Complications of a fracture in your wrist may include:

• Rupture of a tendon in your arm.
• Carpal tunnel syndrome.
• Compartment syndrome.
• Complex regional pain syndrome.
• Arthritis in your wrist.

How is a broken wrist diagnosed?

A healthcare provider will perform a physical examination by feeling the wrist and gently bending it in different directions. He or she will ask you about your symptoms and your medical history. He or she will want to know how you injured your wrist.

A good diagnosis will be made through a wrist X-ray request from your provider. In some other injuries involving your ligaments, tendons, nerves, and muscles, you could need to undergo some imaging tests. Such tests include a CT scan or an MRI scan (computed tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging scan).

How is a broken wrist treated?

Some are only treated with surgery, but this also depends on the rate of recovery of the bones and the level of injury caused. Physical therapy also aids in fast recovery.

Nonsurgical treatments

• Splint: The doctor may place a splint that may aid the bones to get close to each other, offering support to the injured wrist.
• Cast: Immobilization in a cast may assist the bones in remaining in the right position.

Surgical treatments

Surgeries for a broken wrist require putting screws and plates on the broken bones, and wiring or pins may also be used to hold them in place.

• Closed reduction: Doctors employ closed reduction to correct minimally displaced wrist fractures. This method allows them to rectify the bone's abnormality without cutting through the skin.
• Open reduction: The doctors will make an incision on the skin and align the bones through the opening.

Can a fractured wrist be prevented?

Many wrist fractures are due to high-energy falls and other trauma; therefore, wrist fractures are not easily prevented. However, good bone health can significantly reduce the risk of wrist fractures among those over age 60. Talk to your healthcare provider about how you can keep your bones strong, especially if you have osteoporosis.

When should I call my doctor?

If you think you may have injured your wrist and broken your bone, you should seek medical treatment. However, if your injury is not so painful and no bones seem to be out of place, you can probably wait a day. Meanwhile, you can immobilize your wrist with a splint and apply ice and elevate it until you can see your provider.

If your injury is very painful or if you have some noticeable deformity, you should get a ride to your provider's office or an urgent care center.

To seek an expert consultation for any orthopedic condition.

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