Broken Hand

A broken hand is a bone fracture (broken bone) in your hand.

There are 27 bones in each of your hands. Providers group them by their location and function:

• Carpals: The small bones that connect your hand to your wrist.
• Metacarpals: The bones in your palm that give it its shape.
• Phalanges: The individual bones that make up the segments of your fingers and thumb.

You might only need to wear a splint or cast while your hand heals. Some broken hands need surgery to repair the bones.

Injuries that cause broken hands also commonly damage other tissue in and around your hands, including your:

• Ligaments.
• Tendons.
• Muscles.
• Nerves.
• Blood vessels.

Types of broken hands

In addition to saying which of your hand bones is broken, a healthcare provider will assign the fracture a type or classification.

Providers classify some fractures by the break’s shape or pattern:

• Transverse fracture.
• Oblique fracture.
• Spiral fracture.
• Segmental fracture.
• Comminuted fracture.
• Buckle (impacted) fracture.

Some types of fractures are classified by how they happen:

• Stress fracture.
• Avulsion fracture.

For example, you might have a transverse metacarpal fracture or an oblique phalanx fracture. Some types of broken hands have their own unique name. Boxer’s fractures are a specific type of metacarpal fracture that happen when you punch something hard (like a wall) with a closed fist.

All of the different names and types are ways for your provider to quickly and specifically say which bone is broken, and what the injury did to it.

How common are broken hands?

Hand fractures are some of the most commonly broken bones.

Metacarpal fractures are especially common. One in 10 of all broken bones is a metacarpal fracture. They’re also the most common hand injury for people ages 18 to 34.