

Physical examination assesses the soft tissues surrounding the joint and determines if the surrounding nerves and blood vessels have been injured. Pain, swelling, bruising, and deformity are common symptoms of a Colles Fracture, depending on the type of fracture and its characteristics.Ī careful history including the mechanism of injury establishes suspicion for a Colles fracture. What are the symptoms of a Colles Fracture?

High energy falls, such as from a motorcycle, occur in the 18-25 age group, and low intensity falls, such as from tripping and falling occur in senior citizens with brittle bones. There is a bimodal peak of incidence of Colles fracture. For example, in a true Colles fracture, the fall occurs in the forward direction with the wrist extended to break the fall, and in the rarer Smith’s fracture, the fall occurs onto a flexed wrist.Ĭolles fractures can also be caused by direct trauma. The position of the hand is important in determining the type of fracture that results. What are the causes of a Colles Fracture?Īlthough Colles Fractures are a heterogeneous group of injuries, the etiology is usually the same: a fall on an outstretched arm.
#COLLES FRACTURE HEALING TIME SKIN#
Distal radius fractures can also pierce the skin resulting in an open fracture. When the distal radius is broken into many small pieces of bone as in a crush injury, it is deemed a comminuted fracture. These intra- or extra-articular fractures can either be displaced or alignment can be maintained. A fracture of the distal radius can be intra- or extra-articular, depending on whether the fracture extends into the wrist joint. Smith fractures, Chauffer’s fractures, and Barton’s fractures- other types of distal radius fractures- are also included under the umbrella of distal radius fractures.ĭistal radius fractures are further classified based on certain characteristics. At present time in the United States, and for the purposes of this article, we will refer to all distal radius fractures as Colles Fractures. It is commonly called a “broken wrist” although the distal radius is the location of the fracture, not the carpal bones of the wrist.įractures of the distal radius are extremely common and historically several methods of classification have been proposed. Knight help you with a Colles fracture?Ī true Colles Fracture is a complete fracture of the radius bone of the forearm close to the wrist resulting in an upward (posterior) displacement of the radius and obvious deformity. 3 What are the symptoms of a Colles Fracture?.2 What are the causes of a Colles Fracture?.
