Radius Fracture

The radius is one of two bones in your forearm. When holding your hands out in front of you with palms up, the radius is the bone on the outside or on the side your thumb is pointing to. This bone may break from falling on an outstretched hand or from blunt force trauma. Symptoms include pain, swelling, bruising, and/or weakness with wrist movement. The goal of treatment is to realign the bone to allow for proper bone healing.

The radius is one of two bones in your forearm. When holding your hands out in front of you with palms up, the radius is the bone on the outside or on the side your thumb is pointing to. This bone may break from falling on an outstretched hand or from blunt force trauma. Fractures of the radius can occur at the wrist, the elbow or in the middle. This article will focus on the middle segment. The radius plays a role in forearm rotation, so any fracture to this bone will affect your ability to rotate your arm and bend/straighten your wrist and elbow.

As previously mentioned, radius fractures usually occur when you fall on an outstretched arm or when you receive a direct blow to your forearm. There are different ways the bone can break. The bone can slightly crack or break into many pieces. If the bone breaks into a number of fragments, the pieces can still be aligned in their normal positions or be far out of place (displaced fracture). Sometimes, bone fragments can stick out through the skin (open fracture), which is very serious and requires immediate medical attention.

Symptoms include pain, swelling, bruising, and/or weakness with wrist movement. There may also be noticeable deformity of the forearm. The goal of treatment is to realign the bone to allow for proper bone healing. Non-surgically, your doctor may try to realign the bones back into place in the hospital, which is called a reduction. After reduction, you will be placed in a split or cast and sling to immobilize the arm and allow the bone to heal. However, most injuries that involve displaced fragments require surgery to properly align and stabilize the bones. Surgeons typically perform an open reduction and internal fixation procedure using plates and screws. First, the surgeon will reposition the bone fragments into their normal alignment. Next plates and screws are used to hold the fragments in place to help the bone to heal in its proper position. Other procedures include open reduction and internal fixation with rods and external fixation. Your surgeon will decide the best course of treatment based on your injury and your needs.