Colles Fracture Treatment | Colles Bone Fracture Surgery

Bone fracture refers to the condition wherein the bone is broken. This usually happens when you are involved in an accident that results to you tripping, falling or colliding with a hard surface. The classification of fractures differs based on their location. These fractures are actually named based on the area where the broken bone is. A fractured wrist, arm or hip is a common thing that could happen to people after an accident. Kids are really prone to experiencing fracture injury due to the fact that they always love to move around. They never stay in one place and they are most likely not the type to care about what would happen to them in case they do this or that. Older people are also likely victims of fractures due to their brittle bones that easily break. They would need more calcium phosphate to strengthen their bones once more. Some types of exercises would also be advisable so as to get the bones used to moving. These are necessary steps in older people so that their body would still be able to move without putting them at too much risk of bruising or breaking just about any bone in their body. Rehabilitation would not be so easy among older people as easy as it is among the younger ones who can still expect their bones to grow.

What are Colles fractures?

One of the types of fractures that you need to know about would be Colles fracture. This is also called as the distal radius fracture. In laymen’s terms, this is simply known as a broken wrist. Coles fracture wrist is basically a fracture in the forearms, particularly in the larger bone in the area. When diagnosed, the break in the Colles bone fracture usually happens at the lower end of the bone.  Thus, you would likely feel the pain in the area where the thumb side is. The wrist is one of the most commonly broken bones in the body. According to the statistics in the US, there is one Colles wrist fracture for every ten fractures in the country. It is quite easy to break and get a Colles injury due to how prone a person is to falling. When you are about to fall and you would attempt to break that fall, your instinctive response would be to stretch your hands first. Once you already come in contact with the floor or any hard surface, you might even hear your wrist crack, a signal that you might have broken wrist bones. If your arm or wrist collided with something hard, you will also likely break your wrist as well and get a fractured radius.

Who gets a Colles fracture distal radius?

Athletes and some other people who love contact sports are the usual victims of this Colles type fracture. These sports include inline skating, biking, skiing, and the like. Osteoporosis would make a person even more vulnerable to this fracture of wrist. There are also cases of Colles fractures which are more serious than others. These are the type that will damage wrist bone even more. These serious fractures usually have a long Colles fracture healing time. The right Colles fracture (1) does not only occur on the wrist but also the wrist joint; (2) breaks in more than one place; (3) has fragments that have pierced through the skin; (4) and has damaged the ligaments surrounding the area by tearing them apart.

What are the Colles fracture symptoms?

There are many ways to tell of you really have a fractured wrist bone. These are the following symptoms that can immediately signal Colles fractures:

• Tenderness
• Pain
• Bruising on the wrist area
• Swelling
• Deformed wrist, like being bent or crooked
• How is the Colles fracture diagnosis done?

Only the doctor is qualified to do the diagnosis in you to see how to heal your distal radial fracture. You will need to undergo a physical exam to thoroughly check your wrist. The damage that it has should be determined. An x-ray would be required for the doctor to closely see what the radius bone fracture looks like. At first, your broken bone would be hard to detect without the help of any device. Only a good medical facility can help give you a complete diagnosis. The doctor cannot advice a treatment by simply looking at the Colles fracture symptoms.

When do I need to go to the emergency room?

There are some cases when the fractured wrist would be cut off from the regular blood flow. In other cases, the break in the wrist would also damage the nerves near it. You have to be rushed to the emergency room if you can no longer feel your arm, wrist or hand; if you already feel extreme pain in your wrist; and if your hand and fingers have already grown pale. Damaged nerves are among the possible Colles fracture complications that you might encounter. First aid would be necessary and immediate medical attention should be sought afterwards.

What Colles fracture treatment is possible?

When you have a really bad fall that landed you on a strong impact against the floor, your broken wrist might be misaligned. On how to heal a misaligned wrist, your surgeon needs to put the fragments back in their right spot. The resetting process to treat Colles fracture would be a very painful process. You have to be psychologically prepared for this even if you will have anesthesia. You would need anesthesia and some Colles fracture emedicine like pain relievers after the surgeon has reset your wrist. These medicines are really necessary to help you cope up with the pain after the fracture surgery. Surgery would be even more necessary for impacted fracture.

During Colles fracture treatment, you would also need certain things such as:

Colles fracture splint. You will need to use this for a week, at the most. After your wrist goes back to its normal size when the swelling goes down, you will need to put your hand in a fracture cast.
Cast. This needs to be worn for six to eight weeks. Your doctor will determine how damaged your wrist bone is and will tell you when to take the cast off. X-ray. This should be done regularly to check the progress of the Colles fracture rehabilitation.

What are the other things that you need to do to reverse Colles fracture?

Put the broken wrist in an elevate position most of the time. You can prop it up with a pillow or put your hand on the back of the chair at the same level as your heart. Do this to help relieve the pain and the swelling. Put an ice pack on your wrist for 20 to 30 minutes. Do this in an interval of three to four hours for about two to three days. This is also something advisable for buckle fracture in kids.
Do some stretching and strengthening exercises. These are good Colles fracture therapy. These will practice your elbow, fingers, and shoulder. The therapy might even help you on how to treat Colles fracture quick but you should consult your doctor about exercising first. Compression fracture in younger people might be addressed by exercise routines, but you also need to ask the approval of your doctor. Consulting everything with him can help you avoid painful mistakes with your injury.

What should I do while I am on rehabilitation for my wrist?

While you are on rehab, you need to take note of certain things. Like scaphoid fracture, you also need to take good care of your wrist. You can help hasten your recovery time if you will do the following things:

On average, Colles fracture recovery time would take about eight weeks or even longer. The more damaged your broken wrist is the longer it would take to mend it. In some cases, the wrist might even need more than six months to fully heal. Do not overwork your healing wrist. If you will force the use of your wrist, you might only be making your problem worse. It might take longer for your wrist to recover. Discomfort, a little pain, and some stiffness can be felt even years after your doctor have told you that your fractured bone has fully recovered. This is normal in most cases, a reminder of your injury. The cast on your arm should stay dry. This is only one of the reminders from your doctor. Be an obedient patient and follow every order that your doctor told you after your consultation or surgery. Consult your doctor immediately if you feel numbness in your hands or if you feel even more pain after the cast was removed.