![]() ![]() Fractures of the distal radial shaft, mistakes in management. However, failing to restore normal alignment causes limitations in forearm function. What is the long term outcome? If the injury is healed with the bones in proper alignment, patients recover very well and return to their pre-injury mobility. The pins hold the joint in the correct position while the torn ligaments have time to heal. In a Galeazzi fracture, the radius is fixed with a plate and screws, while the DRUJ is repaired with a few pins that get removed after 4 weeks. The broken radius bone will be repaired with a plate and screws, with attention made to restore (or just maintain) the shape of the bone. Any alteration to the angle of the bone will lead to dysfunction of our forearm. Remember that this bone must rotate around the ulna to allow us to perform daily functions like turning a doorknob or opening a jar or using toilet paper. In most other cases surgery is recommended, even if the bone is just a little bent. If the bone is already aligned, then alignment needs to be maintained by protecting the bone). If theres just a hairline crack in the radius and the bone is perfectly aligned then a cast may be the only treatment required (the goal of all fracture care in orthopedics is to obtain and maintain good alignment. In adults, its a different story.Īn isolated radial shaft fracture almost always requires surgery. A splint or cast is used to hold the forearm in alignment while the bone heals over the next few weeks. The injury can be fixed by re-aligning the bones usually while the child is sedated (put to sleep with medicines). In kids, most of the both bones forearm fractures and the isolated radius fractures can be treated successfully without surgery because a kid's bones are young and still growing, and they will heal very well. ![]() How is a Forearm Fracture of the Radius treated? Treatment is different for kids and adults. However, to complicate things a little, the ligaments can also be damaged without showing any of the signs we just mentioned, and thus the only diagnose this injury would be with an MRI, or by testing the stability once someone is sedated (because it can be painful). These findings all suggest that the ligaments which hold the DRUJ together have been damaged. It requires careful examination to see if there is too much space between the radius and ulna at the wrist, or if the ulnar styloid (tip of the ulna bone) is broken, or if the ulna has shifted backward (dorsal) in the wrist. The DRUJ injury is difficult to identify on x-ray because this is a dislocation (an injury to the wrist joint), not a broken bone, and therefore there wont be a clear fracture on x-ray. Remember, that whenever you see a radial shaft fracture near the wrist, doctors will be suspicious for a DRUJ injury. Doctors will get X-rays of the wrist and forearm to definitively diagnose the injury. Basic x-rays will show the broken Radius. People report wrist and forearm pain, with swelling and possibly a bent forearm (it just doesnt look straight). How is a Forearm Fracture of the Radius diagnosed? A broken forearm or a Galeazzi Fracture is first suspected by listening to the history of a person's injury and their symptoms. ![]() This DRUJ is normally held together by ligaments on the front and back of the wrist, these ligaments can tear when too much force is imparted into the wrist (for more info on DRUJ injuries, see talk). In a Galeazzi Fracture, the radius bone breaks near the wrist (the 1/3 of the bone closest to the wrist), and the ulna bone is actually dislocated at the wrist. It usually occurs when someone falls onto an outstretched hand or receives a direct blow to the forearm, like in a car accident. A Galeazzi Fracture is a specific pattern of injury to the radius and ulna that is commonly seen in adults. In kids, a fracture of the radius and ulna is called a "both bone forearm fracture" (see talk). In the forearm the Radius and Ulna are so closely connected, that when the Radius breaks in the middle, the ulna is almost always injured too. In this talk we look at Broken Forearms (same bone, different location). This is called a distal radius fracture ( see talk), and its the most common type of broken wrist. Its common for the radius to be injured by itself (the ulna is ok) near the wrist joint. ![]()
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