Broken Arm

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

There are three bones in your arm, including your:

• Humerus (upper arm bone).
• Ulna (the bone in your forearm on the medial side — the same side as your pinkie finger).
• Radius (the bone in your forearm on the lateral side — the same side as your thumb).

It’s possible that an injury could break all three of your arm bones at once, but it’s much more common to break only one of them at a time.

You might need surgery to repair a broken arm. Some people can recover without surgery and only need a cast, splint or brace. You’ll need physical therapy to regain your arm’s strength and ability to move.

Types of broken arms

In addition to saying which of your arm 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 humerus fracture or a segmental radius fracture. 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 arms?

Forearm fractures are one of the most common types of broken bones, especially among kids and teens. Experts estimate that around 1 in 100 children breaks their ulna or radius each year.

Humerus fractures are much less common. In fact, they’re less than 10% of all broken bones.