A broken wrist or distal radius fractures are very common. In fact, the radius is the most commonly broken bone in the arm. The radius is the larger of the two bones of the forearm. The end toward the wrist is called the distal end. A fracture of the distal radius occurs when the area of the radius near the wrist breaks. There are different types of wrist fractures and some are more difficult to treat than others.
The most common cause of a wrist fracture is a fall onto an outstretched arm. Osteoporosis, which causes bones to become more fragile and likely to break, can make a relatively minor fall result in a broken wrist. Many distal radius fractures in people older than 60 years of age are caused by a fall from a standing position. A broken wrist can happen even in healthy bones, if the force of the trauma is severe enough.
A broken wrist usually causes immediate pain, tenderness, bruising, and swelling. In many cases, the wrist hangs in an odd or bent way.
There are many treatment options for a distal radius fracture. If the broken bone is in a good position, a plaster cast may be applied until the bone heals. Sometimes, the position of the bone is so out of place that it cannot be corrected or kept corrected in a cast. Because this has the potential of interfering with the future functioning of your arm, surgery may be required.
Our providers
Location: Change location Enter your location
Hand surgery
-
William Hugh Baugher, MD
Hand Surgery
-
John Schmitz Foley, MD
Orthopedic Surgery, Hand and Wrist Orthopedic Surgery & Hand Surgery
-
Aviram Moshe Giladi, MD
Reconstructive Plastic Surgery & Hand Surgery
-
Curtis Henn, MD
Hand Surgery & Orthopedic Surgery
-
James P. Higgins, MD
Reconstructive Plastic Surgery & Hand Surgery
-
Ryan M Jander, MD
Shoulder And Elbow Orthopedic Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery & Hand Surgery
-
Ryan David Katz, MD
Hand Surgery
-
Michael William Kessler, MD
Hand Surgery
-
Grant Michael Kleiber, MD
Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, Hand Surgery & Plastic Surgery
-
Kenneth Robert Means, MD
Hand Surgery
-
Michael Sean Murphy, MD
Hand Surgery
-
Kevin O'Malley, MD
Hand Surgery
-
Peter Innis, MD
Hand Surgery
-
George Li-Wen Yeh, MD
Hand Surgery
-
Neal Brian Zimmerman, MD
Hand Surgery
-
Ryan Michael Zimmerman, MD
Hand Surgery
Show All Hand surgery
Orthopedic Trauma surgery
-
Robert David Golden, MD
Orthopedic Trauma Surgery
-
David Matthew Hampton, MD
Orthopedic Trauma Surgery
Show All Orthopedic Trauma surgery
Orthopedic surgery
-
Farhang Alaee, MD
Orthopedic Surgery
-
Henry Robert Boucher, MD
Hip And Knee Orthopedic Surgery & Orthopedic Surgery
-
John P. Byrne, MD
Orthopedic Surgery
-
David Ahron Cohen, MD
Orthopedic Surgery
-
Jason Wilson Hammond, MD
Sports Medicine, Orthopedic Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Surgery
-
Mark David Hasenauer, MD
Hip And Knee Orthopedic Surgery & Orthopedic Surgery
-
Jessica B Hawken, MD
Orthopedic Surgery
-
Curtis Henn, MD
Hand Surgery & Orthopedic Surgery
-
Shaun Kumar Khosla, MD
Orthopedic Surgery
-
Zan A Naseer, MD
Spine Surgery & Orthopedic Surgery
-
Colleen Bauk Balkam, MD
Orthopedic Surgery
-
Sanjog K. Mathur, MBBS
Orthopedic Surgery
-
Charles Francis Mess, Jr., MD
Orthopedic Surgery
-
Megan Rose Miles, MD
Orthopedic Surgery
-
Michael Timothy Travis, MD
Orthopedic Surgery
-
Patricia Turner, MD
Orthopedic Surgery
Show All Orthopedic surgery