Wrist & Hand Fractures

A hand fracture occurs when one of the bones in your hand break. The bones constituting your hand are phalanges (small bones in the fingers) and metacarpals (the long ones within the palm). A fracture of any of these bones can put your hand out of alignment and requires instant healing or treatment. At times, you will not even realize breaking a bone of your hand – the scaphoid bone of the wrist. It is a boat-shaped bone situated on the top end of the thumb side of your hand.

Don’t misunderstand the fractured scaphoid with a sprained wrist and visit a doctor at the earliest.

Causes

• Twisting injuries
• Fall
• Crush injuries
• Motor vehicle accidents
• Sports injuries

Symptoms

• Swelling
• Unbearable pain
• Visible deformity
• Inability to move wrist and fingers

Diagnosis

The orthopedic specialist will carry out some imaging tests to diagnose a fracture of your hand/wrist, such as:

• MRI
• X-Rays
• CT-Scan

Treatment

Non-surgical Treatments

Brace or splint: Your doctor may advise you to wear a splint or braces overnight for several weeks to keep the bone in place.

Immobilization: Using casts, your hand is kept immobilized for 4-6 weeks to allow the fractured bones to move back to their original position.

Pain-killers: Some doctors also suggest pain relief medications like Ibuprofen and Naproxen that reduce unbearable pain.

Surgical Treatments

When none of the above-mentioned conventional treatment options works for treating the wrist/hand fracture, your orthopedist will suggest undergoing surgery. There are two types of surgery performed based on the severity of your condition – closed fracture reduction and open reduction.

Closed Fracture Reduction: In this process, the orthopedist gives you anesthesia and fixes the bone back to position using wires.

Open reduction: This method is used in more severe cases. It is an internal fracture fixation method where your orthopedic surgeon will fix the fractured bones in place using screws and metal plates.

Talk to us to understand the severity of your wrist/hand fracture and avail the most suitable treatments.