Wrist Bone Break: Scaphoid Fracture
The wrist has small bones, and one of them is the scaphoid, which looks like a cashew or kidney bean and sits near the thumb side of the wrist. It helps the wrist bones move smoothly. When the scaphoid bone breaks, it’s called a scaphoid fracture, which is a common wrist injury.
What Causes a Scaphoid Fracture?
Usually, a scaphoid fracture happens when someone falls and puts their hand out to stop themselves. This can occur during everyday activities like walking or running or while playing sports. Sometimes, more forceful falls can cause other wrist injuries along with a scaphoid fracture.
Signs of a Broken Scaphoid
If you have a scaphoid fracture, you might feel pain in your wrist or thumb, especially when you move or grip things. Your wrist could swell or bruise, too. Since the scaphoid bone is small, the symptoms might not be as obvious as with other wrist fractures, like a broken radius bone. Sometimes, scaphoid fractures don’t show up on X-rays right away, so doctors might need other tests like a CT scan or MRI.
Getting Help for a Scaphoid Fracture
If you think you’ve broken your scaphoid, it’s important to see a doctor. Depending on how bad it is, you might go to an urgent care or the emergency room. Otherwise, a sports medicine specialist or orthopedist can help. They’ll check your wrist and might do X-rays or other tests to make sure.
Treatment for a Scaphoid Fracture
How your scaphoid fracture gets treated depends on things like your age, where the fracture is, and how bad it is. Some fractures can heal without surgery, using a cast to hold the bone in place. But if the fracture won’t heal well on its own, surgery might be needed to put it back together.
Healing Time and Recovery
It can take a while for a scaphoid fracture to heal. Fractures near the thumb usually heal faster and might not need surgery. But fractures closer to the wrist might take longer and often need surgery to heal properly.
What Happens if You Don’t Treat It?
If a scaphoid fracture doesn’t get treated, it can cause wrist arthritis later on. This can happen if the bone doesn’t heal right, leading to what’s called “nonunion.” Without proper treatment, this can cause long-term wrist problems.
Sometimes, a tear in a ligament near the scaphoid, called the scapholunate ligament, can happen along with a fracture. If it’s not treated, it can cause instability in the wrist and lead to arthritis over time. This is called scapholunate advanced collapse (SLAC wrist).
It’s important to get any wrist injury checked out by a doctor so you can get the right treatment and avoid future problems.
Please let us know if you have any questions and do leave a comment.
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Total Orthocare
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Bengaluru-560043
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