What is wrist fracture?

Wrist fracture is an injury that often occurs when falling, or other sudden mechanical stress on the hand. It's a common problem for athletes, especially newcomers (25% of sports injuries), as well as people who lead an active lifestyle. Often patients who seek care for a fracture of the wrist, become and children. To diagnose this injury is not easy, it is easy to accept for the injury. Treated is damage to the hands for quite some time and subsequently requires a long process of rehabilitation.

The wrist is a complex combination of the eight bones of small size. Bones arranged in two rows and serve to enable the complicated and varied motions of this part of the hand. Bones are connected by muscles, a significant number of ligaments that attaches the wrist not only mobility, but also a sufficiently large strength. Still strong and sharp blow in this place can lead to various types of injury, including fractures. Most commonly broken wrist bone when someone's falling on a stretched hand with an open palm.

This is the cause of fractures complicated by displacement. Some of the bones of the wrist are injured most often, other fractures (radius flexion of the type of the navicular bone) occurs because of the movement leading to such a strong impact on the atypical hand.

The difficulties of diagnosis in cases of wrist injuries

Wrist fractures are classified depending on how many and which ones of the bones broke the victim.

Signs that allow to suspect a fracture of the bones of the hand are the following symptoms:

1. Sharp and severe pain in that area.
2. Distinctive sound (crunching) at the time of movement.
3. Education "bruises" in the injured part of the hand.
4. Swelling and edema at the site of injury.
5. Deterioration of General health. In children it may be accompanied by an increase in temperature.

The pain in the damaged place can be so strong that the victim is unable to move the fingers and even the whole hand. If the fracture occurred with displacement of the bones, the deformation is noticeable when viewed.

Wrist fracture is an injury that requires special attention in the diagnosis. Therefore, regardless of whether there were in patient of these symptoms, or, on the contrary, signs of problems at the point of impact or drop a minor, to a medical institution for setting or confirmation of the diagnosis is necessary. In order to determine the nature, location and type of fractureyou need to make an x-ray, and sometimes not even one. If there is a displacement of bones, doing x-rays in three projections. The most complicated of injury is best examined by MRI.

First aid when falling on a straightened arm and in other cases a strong impact on this area.

Immediately after a fall or blow to the wrist of the injured place must make a cold compress.

The best solution would be to use ice. If a person leads an active lifestyle or do sports, it is advisable to buy frozen packages. Because injuries often happen where to get ice impossible.

If other methods of cooling no, you can use any improvised tools: a cloth soaked in cold water, the frozen package of food from the fridge.

Immediately after injury is necessary to ensure limb mobility. It is very important to prevent further damage and to ensure that the victim did not experience excessive pain. Fixation hands must be done very carefully to avoid worsening the problem.

After that you should immediately bring the injured person to the hospital.

The treatment of wrist fractures

The effects of a fall or other traumatic actions may be different. Treatment completely depend on the specifics of the injuries. First of all, is the setting (mapping) of those parts of the wrist that was broken. This procedure requires anesthesia and is performed in a hospital. If destruction of bone is strong enough, you may need surgery.

Then the injured part of the hand create conditions for complete immobility with plaster bandage or splint (brace).

If damage is significant, then the treatment requires a more thorough measures for fixation of bones:

1. Sets the external fixation device.
2. Use the screws without holding elements.

In fact, and in another case required surgical intervention.

Like complicated are rare, in most cases, these injuries are treated without surgery.

At the same time, a significant problem for the wrist fracture is severe pain. This is especially true for elderly patients, children or people who have a hypersensitivity to pain. In such situations required the use of painkillers. The purpose of analgesics must be done by the physician basedthe individual characteristics of the patient.

The recovery of bones in the wrist area is quite a long time. The hand remains fixed from eight to eleven weeks. After treatment is completed, it is necessary to take another x-ray. This will give the opportunity to make sure that the bones healed properly, there was no offset.

The need for rehabilitation after treatment of a wrist fracture.

After a period of immobility in the forced motor activity of hands, even in the case of correct recovery of the bones will be weakened. Therefore for a complete cure you need a responsible approach to the rehabilitation course, which will be prescribed by a doctor-physiotherapist.

The recovery process includes:

• massage;
• physiotherapy;
• a set of special exercises.

Massage for recovery of motor activity of the hands will help to function normally, the ligaments and blood vessels.

Additional points

Physical therapy needed to strengthen the muscles, a long time were without motion, and to restore the possibility of movement of the wrist.

Exercise.. for the recovery of motor activity and strengthen the muscles of the hand after wrist fracture:

1. Careful flexion-extension of the wrist.
2. Weave "braids", pinching, and other such movements.
3. "Rotation" in one hand of the subject with the faces (cube or box) small size.
4. "Games with small and not too hard a tennis ball. It can gently drop on a hard surface. Arm movement should not be too strong.

Regular and careful execution of these and other exercises of physiotherapy will contribute to a better recovery of the hand. The number and intensity of exercises must be increased. But it should be done gradually, and continue training until complete recovery of motor function of the injured extremity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4O9Z_36YYU

It is unacceptable to self-medicate and perform any treatments without consulting your doctor. The recovery period can begin only after the fused bones are strong enough.

And certainly should not seek to return to sports training. Serious exercise is permissible only when the middle carpal joint will be properly restored and developed. It is better to allocate for rehabilitation after injury sufficient time, than to encounter problems further damage.