Broken Wrist

A broken wrist, or wrist fracture, can occur in any of the 10 bones that make up your forearm and wrist. These include your:

• Radius: Larger forearm bone.
• Ulna: Smaller forearm bone.
• Carpal bones: Eight small bones located at the base of your hand.

The most common broken wrist bone is the radius. Hand surgeons call this a distal radius fracture.

Types of wrist fractures

You can break a bone in your wrist in several different ways. These include:

• Colles fracture: A Colles fracture occurs when you fall on an outstretched hand with your wrist bent backward. The broken end of your radius tilts upward, toward the back of your hand.
• Smith fracture: A Smith fracture occurs when you fall with your hand bent forward. The broken end of your radius tilts downward, toward the palm side of your hand.

Hand surgeons may classify wrist fractures further into categories, including:

• Intra-articular fracture: A fracture that extends into your wrist joint.
• Extra-articular fracture: A fracture that doesn’t extend into your wrist joint.
• Open fracture: A fracture that breaks the skin and requires immediate medical attention due to the risk of infection.
• Comminuted fracture: A fracture that involves a bone that’s broken into more than two pieces.

How common are broken wrists?

In the U.S., more than 450,000 bone fractures occur every year. Distal radius fractures make up about 1 out of every 6 fractures.