How to Treat a Colles Fracture
Avoid moving your wrist as soon as the injury occurs., Assess the symptoms you have., Find a splint that you can use to keep your wrist immobile., Place your arm on the splint., Wrap the splint and your wrist., Ice your wrist., Take over-the-counter...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Avoid moving your wrist as soon as the injury occurs.
If you have fallen or something else has happened where you think your wrist has fractured, it is important to keep it from moving around too much.
You don’t necessarily have to go see the doctor that day if the pain is not too severe and the wrist doesn’t look deformed; however, you should go to the doctor by the next day.In the meantime, make sure not to use your wrist or move it more than you have to.
If the pain is severe or the wrist looks deformed (the bone is sticking out or you think it might have fractured in more than one place) you should go to the hospital immediately.
Do not eat or drink anything (even water) if your wrist is malformed and likely to need to be put back into place (closed reduction).
In that case, anesthesia will need to be administered and you might experience nausea that would cause you to vomit during or right after the reduction. -
Step 2: Assess the symptoms you have.
Symptoms include: pain at the wrist, bruising at the wrist, swelling at the wrist, deformity of the hand or wrist, and numbness or tingling of the fingers.
There is also a potential for paleness of the extremity or fingers, but this is usually due to complications.
If there is paleness or lack of mobility of the fingers, the fracture will require a visit to the doctor.
Those with Colles fractures also usually have a history of a fall, usually in which they used an outstretched hand to brace themselves for the fall.
This may include high impact trauma in a younger patient or lower impact trauma in an older osteoporotic adult. , You should look for something that can keep your wrist from moving.
The splint should be as long as your forearm, wrist and hand.
If you don’t have a proper medical splint at your house (or wherever you are when the injury occurs) you can use other objects that are wide, flat, and the right length.For example, if a ruler runs the length of your hand, wrist, and most of your forearm, use a ruler as a splint.
A folded length of newspaper that runs past your elbow and to the middle joints of your fingers works as well.
The general rule for splinting is that the joint above the fracture (ie: the elbow) and all the joints below (fingers and thumb) need to be immobilized to protect the fracture.
Bear this in mind when splinting. , Do not try to straighten your wrist out when you place it on the splint; you should leave it at the angle it is bent at after your injury.
If you try to straighten it out, you could actually make the fracture worse.
Instead, rest your wrist and arm on the splint.Pad the hollow areas between your arm, wrist, fingers etc and the splint to make sure the fracture is supported and not deformed by the wrapping. , Wrap your lower arm and wrist in gauze or an Ace bandage.
You should wrap it tight enough that it won’t move but not so tightly that it cuts off circulation to your hand.If you don’t have gauze or an Ace bandage on hand, you can use a scarf or bandanna to keep your wrist in place against the splint.
Work from above the break down.
Check the circulation in your fingertips after wrapping by pressing on the fingernail.
If the color does not return promptly, loosen the bandage and re-wrap. , Use an ice pack or bag of ice to ice your wrist.
Place the ice pack on top of your wrist, making sure that the ice covers the area where the fracture occurred.
The ice will help to bring the swelling down and will keep further swelling from happening.
Don’t place ice directly on the skin.
You should already have your wrist wrapped, so this shouldn’t be an issue.
You can leave the ice pack on your wrist for up to 10 minutes, then give your skin a chance to return to its normal temperature. , You can take acetaminophen to help you deal with the pain caused by your fractured wrist.
You may also consider taking ibuprofen and acetaminophen together to combat the pain and swelling at the same time.Do not do this, however, if your wrist is malformed and likely to need to be put back into place (closed reduction).
In that case, anesthesia will need to be administered and having pain medication in your system can interfere with that.
If you choose to take pain medication anyway, be sure to inform your doctor. , When you head to the hospital, you should hug your arm to your chest to keep it from moving around while you are in the car.
If you have a sling, put your arm into it so that you don’t have to worry about your wrist moving around too much.You can also make a sling out of a scarf or other piece of clothing. -
Step 3: Find a splint that you can use to keep your wrist immobile.
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Step 4: Place your arm on the splint.
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Step 5: Wrap the splint and your wrist.
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Step 6: Ice your wrist.
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Step 7: Take over-the-counter (OTC) pain medication.
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Step 8: Hold your wrist still on the way to the hospital.
Detailed Guide
If you have fallen or something else has happened where you think your wrist has fractured, it is important to keep it from moving around too much.
You don’t necessarily have to go see the doctor that day if the pain is not too severe and the wrist doesn’t look deformed; however, you should go to the doctor by the next day.In the meantime, make sure not to use your wrist or move it more than you have to.
If the pain is severe or the wrist looks deformed (the bone is sticking out or you think it might have fractured in more than one place) you should go to the hospital immediately.
Do not eat or drink anything (even water) if your wrist is malformed and likely to need to be put back into place (closed reduction).
In that case, anesthesia will need to be administered and you might experience nausea that would cause you to vomit during or right after the reduction.
Symptoms include: pain at the wrist, bruising at the wrist, swelling at the wrist, deformity of the hand or wrist, and numbness or tingling of the fingers.
There is also a potential for paleness of the extremity or fingers, but this is usually due to complications.
If there is paleness or lack of mobility of the fingers, the fracture will require a visit to the doctor.
Those with Colles fractures also usually have a history of a fall, usually in which they used an outstretched hand to brace themselves for the fall.
This may include high impact trauma in a younger patient or lower impact trauma in an older osteoporotic adult. , You should look for something that can keep your wrist from moving.
The splint should be as long as your forearm, wrist and hand.
If you don’t have a proper medical splint at your house (or wherever you are when the injury occurs) you can use other objects that are wide, flat, and the right length.For example, if a ruler runs the length of your hand, wrist, and most of your forearm, use a ruler as a splint.
A folded length of newspaper that runs past your elbow and to the middle joints of your fingers works as well.
The general rule for splinting is that the joint above the fracture (ie: the elbow) and all the joints below (fingers and thumb) need to be immobilized to protect the fracture.
Bear this in mind when splinting. , Do not try to straighten your wrist out when you place it on the splint; you should leave it at the angle it is bent at after your injury.
If you try to straighten it out, you could actually make the fracture worse.
Instead, rest your wrist and arm on the splint.Pad the hollow areas between your arm, wrist, fingers etc and the splint to make sure the fracture is supported and not deformed by the wrapping. , Wrap your lower arm and wrist in gauze or an Ace bandage.
You should wrap it tight enough that it won’t move but not so tightly that it cuts off circulation to your hand.If you don’t have gauze or an Ace bandage on hand, you can use a scarf or bandanna to keep your wrist in place against the splint.
Work from above the break down.
Check the circulation in your fingertips after wrapping by pressing on the fingernail.
If the color does not return promptly, loosen the bandage and re-wrap. , Use an ice pack or bag of ice to ice your wrist.
Place the ice pack on top of your wrist, making sure that the ice covers the area where the fracture occurred.
The ice will help to bring the swelling down and will keep further swelling from happening.
Don’t place ice directly on the skin.
You should already have your wrist wrapped, so this shouldn’t be an issue.
You can leave the ice pack on your wrist for up to 10 minutes, then give your skin a chance to return to its normal temperature. , You can take acetaminophen to help you deal with the pain caused by your fractured wrist.
You may also consider taking ibuprofen and acetaminophen together to combat the pain and swelling at the same time.Do not do this, however, if your wrist is malformed and likely to need to be put back into place (closed reduction).
In that case, anesthesia will need to be administered and having pain medication in your system can interfere with that.
If you choose to take pain medication anyway, be sure to inform your doctor. , When you head to the hospital, you should hug your arm to your chest to keep it from moving around while you are in the car.
If you have a sling, put your arm into it so that you don’t have to worry about your wrist moving around too much.You can also make a sling out of a scarf or other piece of clothing.
About the Author
Jean Ramos
Brings years of experience writing about lifestyle and related subjects.
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