Our orthopaedic specialists evaluate the location and severity of a fracture, among other factors, when considering the right treatment options for you. For minor fractures, a cast can support your wrist while it heals.

Casting
For certain fractures, such as those in which the bones don’t move much, your doctor may recommend wearing a plaster cast for a number of weeks. A cast helps broken bones stay in the correct position while they heal.

If a fracture has caused your bones to move only slightly out of place, your doctor may choose to gently move the bones into the correct position without surgery. This procedure is called a closed reduction. If you need a closed reduction, we typically do it before putting the cast on.

Physical therapy
As your wrist heals from a fracture, it may feel stiff. Our physical therapy and rehabilitative team guides you in exercises that help strengthen your muscles and improve your range of motion. These exercises can make it easier to use your wrist, in activities such as writing, in the weeks and months after a fracture.

Sometimes, more serious or complicated fractures require surgery to realign or stabilize your bones. At Stanford, our orthopaedic surgeons are highly trained to perform intricate procedures to treat the most complex fractures. With skills in minimally invasive and open techniques, we always choose the least invasive procedure that fits your needs.

To surgically repair wrist fractures, our doctors use the latest techniques to carefully place bones back into their natural position. This procedure is called an open reduction.

Sometimes, our specialists use metal tools, such as pins, screws, or plates, to hold fractured bones in place. These items help your bones heal correctly by acting as an internal cast.

Your doctor may perform a bone graft, in rare cases, to reconstruct parts of a bone that are crushed beyond repair. In bone graft surgery, doctors rebuild the fractured area using healthy bone tissue from your ribs or another part of your body.