Wrist fracture
Mechanism:
Symptoms:
Diagnosis:
Treatment/rehabilitation:
Prevention:
- Stretching your hand out in front of you to protect yourself from a fall
- Occur when your wrist twists severely (taking the draw)
- Wrist is hit very hard (check aimed for stick hits the wrist)
Symptoms:
- Pain, swelling, and tenderness on the thumb side of the wrist
- Bruising all around the wrist
- Difficulty grabbing and gripping things, or twisting your wrist
Diagnosis:
- Doctor will look at your wrist, find any swollen or tender areas, and evaluate how well you are able to move your wrist and thumb
- Doctor will also ask you questions about how the injury happened and what your symptoms are
- Doctor will evaluate your blood circulation and try to find out how well blood is flowing to your hand and if you have any nerve damage in your wrist.
- X-rays will be ordered and since fractures don't appear on x-rays until 1-2 weeks later, you may have a follow up x-ray then and be treated as if you have a fracture until then
Treatment/rehabilitation:
- You will be given a splint or a cast may be used to protect the wrist.
- For a severe fracture, surgery may be needed.
Prevention:
- If you are taking the draw and feel that your wrist is twisting in a potentially dangerous position, adjust your positioning
- When going in for a check, be careful not to accidentally hit your opponent's wrist