Fractured Wrist Complete list of fracture information Fractured Wrist Picture Fractured Wrist A Wrist Fracture is a fracture or break in the radius just above the wrist or one of the smaller carpul bones (scaphoid, lunate, hamate or Capitate. Most Fractured Wrists happen when someone tries to break a fall with their hand the weight of their bodies causes the radius to fracture just above the wrist.

Symptoms of a fractured wrist

• There is a good deal of wrist pain.
• Tenderness and a small area of swelling at the base of the thumb, on the outside of the wrist.
• Moving the hand, particularly in the direction towards the thumb, will exacerbate the pain.

Treatment of a fractured wrist

• A splint or cast may be used to treat a fracture that is not displaced, or to protect a fracture that has been set. Usually a cast is worn for several weeks depending on each patient’s fracture and ability to heal the broken bone.
• Other fractures may need surgery to properly set the bone and/or to stabilize it.
• Fractures may be stabilized with pins, screws, plates, rods, or external fixation.
• Plates and screws that can be placed through an incision on the bottom or top of the wrist are often used to hold the bone fragments in place and may allow early use of the hand and wrist. 
• External fixation is a method in which a frame outside the body is attached to pins which have been placed in the bone above and below the fracture site, in effect keeping it in traction until the bone heals.
• Sometimes arthroscopy is used in the evaluation and treatment of wrist fractures.
• On occasion, bone may be missing or may be so severely crushed that there is a gap in the bone once it has been re-aligned. In such cases, a bone graft may be necessary.