Distal Fracture – Overview

Transcript

A distal radius fracture is a break in one of the forearm bones as it meets the wrist. We have two bones in our forearm, the radius, on the thumb side of the forearm, and the ulna, on the pinky side of the forearm. The radius is the larger bone, and unfortunately it’s commonly broken in falls or with other trauma to the extremity. A distal radius fracture affects the radius, but because the radius provides the platform for the wrist bones and does the site of motion in the wrist, it has a profound effect on patients’ function. It’s a common and troubling injury, and it comes in a lot of different forms, from very mild to very severe fractures. Treatment therefore is highly variable depending on the mechanism of injury, the pattern of the fracture and the severity of the fracture.