Broken wrist

Broken wrist overview

The wrist is made up of eight small bones and the radius and ulna. The bones form multiple large and small joints. The shape of these joints allows the wrist to move through its plains of motion. The most commonly broken bone of the wrist is the radius. When the wrist bone is broken, there is pain, swelling, and decreased use of the hand and wrist. Often the wrist appears crooked and deformed. Broken wrists take the form of several bone pieces that are well aligned. Other broken wrists are unstable, which implies that the bone fragments tend to displace or shift. Broken wrists are often treated with a plaster cast. The purpose of the cast is to ensure that the bone is correctly aligned when it begins to heal again. In some circumstances where the broken wrist is more serious, a surgical procedure may be required.

Broken wrist types

Depending on the type of impact a bone can break in several different ways. A simple break is a break that does not pierce the skin. Symptoms include severe pain that becomes worse over time and with movement, swelling, bruising and an inability to carry weight. A simple break is the most common type of broken wrist. An impacted break is often caused by falls in this type of broken bone, one end of the bone is forced into the other. A spiral fracture is a break around the bone. This type of broken wrist is often caused by the twisting effect of many sporting activities. Comminuted fractures, where a bone breaks into fragments, or compression fractures are the most common types of broken wrist sustained in road traffic accidents due to the large forces involved.
We are experts in helping all of those who have sustained broken wrist. Please contact us to see how we can help you recover compensation and receive the correct levels of rehabilitation to make your recovery as quick as possible.

Broken wrist repair process

A simple fracture takes on average 8 weeks to repair. As with all injures the timescales for a broken wrist to heal depends on the exact nature of the break along with other factors such as your age. There are four main stages that a broken bone goes through to heal. Firstly a haematoma is formed by the blood vessels in the bone. Secondly, a cartilage callus forms on the site of the haematoma to act as a splint. Thirdly, a bonus callus replaces the cartilage. Finally the bony callus forms a permanent patch on the site of the fracture.

Broken wrist next steps

If you wish to see if you have an accident claim as a result of a broken wrist, please contact us. Please also use the information on the pages below to find out more.