How do i know if i have a fractured wrist?

Are you experiencing pain, swelling or stiffness in your wrist? Perhaps you fell while skateboarding or while trying to impress someone at the gym with heavy weights. Or maybe, like me, you tried an arm-wrestling competition with a pro and now you cannot type well. Whatever the reason might be for your injured wrist, it is essential to determine whether it is a sprain or a fracture (or maybe just something minor so that we can laugh about it later!).

Before rushing off into self-diagnosis mode using questionable online sources of health information (I am watching out for all those WebMD warriors lurking around here), let’s dive into some realistic indications that tell us when our wrists might actually be broken.

Understanding Wrist Fractures

According to medical professionals, arm fractures are among the most common injuries affecting people of all ages worldwide. In fact, nearly 10 percent of all limb fractures happen on our distal radius bone (the long forearm bone) right where it meets our hand bones. So much for having strong arms!

When such a forceful impact occurs on this area of the body- falling hard from heights like Obama slipping during his inauguration presidential parade or landing awkwardly when reaching incorrectly – there is usually enough pressure applied inside/outside this particular junction point where tiny cracks break open causing sharp shooting pains inside one’s very soul. This overall experience can really suck; so how will we know? Well:

What Are Some Symptoms Of A Fractured Wrist?

Here are some clear signals that your wrist may not just be another bruise:

  1. Immediate Ceasing Of Activities – You may feel severe loosening/popping sensation making it extremely painful and almost impossible to use/loose grip.

  2. Bruising/Swelling – You could observe sudden inflammation and discoloration accompanied by sharp pains during any movement.

  3. Visible Legions/Deformities – If you notice an apparent bone protrusion or a bent wrist with noticeable discoloration, it’s highly probable that your appeal as a pianist is now over.

  4. Numbness/Tingling Sensations- Your hand could be feeling numb and tingling sending waves of electric shocks up to the elbow area too!

How Can You Spot A Wrist Fracture?

Assuming you have some basic instinct left (we will not judge), here are different types of tests for detecting wrist fractures:

X-Ray

A routine diagnostic test consisting of taking x-rays can highlight any abnormal break areas in your bone structure (Kids ! They said they wouldn’t give me superpowers! but look at me now!)

An x-ray can also reveal what kind of fracture occurred such as:

  1. Transverse Fractures: break across the wrist`s distal end.
  2. Oblique Fractures: diagonal cracks through the surface
  3. Comminuted fractures:A shattering type where bones splinter into multiple pieces.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

If no details come out from taking an x-ray, doctors may prescribe MRI scans because they deliver higher resolution pictures useful for detailed diagnoses (you know, those ones perfect for making people wanna puke!).

Computerized Tomography (CT)

In more serious cases when surgeries are necessary, CT scans superiorly provide accurate 3D images displaying which angles and how much damage has affected various parts beneath the skin (Hint : Its pretty cool to see all that INSIDE you!)

What To Do When You Suspect Wrist Breaks

While going full medical detective mode might seem quite interesting, if your doctor or physician accepts insurances , please go see them instead; self-diagnosis only leads to wrong medication prescriptions or wasted studies with self-doubt (No, my dear. You don’t have cancer!)

Here are some steps to take:

Step 1: Pain Management

If the pain in your wrist is unbearable or slightly uncomfortable, you can ease it via things like ibuprofen or acetaminophen (kind of like a cryptic girlfriend but for health).

Hot/Cold Compresses

Applying hot/cold compresses alternatively gently on your injured wrists reduces inflammation and numbing effects

Using A Splint/Brace

It does not just make you appear cooler now than they do in those skydiving reflection dreamy moments in Hollywood films; using braces/splints immobilizes the affected area allowing swift healing because random movements merely worsen any breaking points.

Step 2: Consultation

Do not underestimate how much emergency rooms bills will frighten ya! Talking/talking-to-a-professional pays off here when unsure about what’s going on(plus if we’re totally wrong this way ,we never paid out almost $50/hr as consulting fees anyway!)

Bottomline

As fun as it may seem trying to play doctor yourself, diagnosing broken wrist urgently needs expert/professional help. Observations like determining unusual swellings/bruises – though signs that need urgency- might be misleading so observe closely…or risk having everyone laughing at yourself later.

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