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Preparing for your appointment
By Mayo Clinic staffYou may initially seek treatment for a broken wrist or broken hand in an emergency room or urgent-care clinic. If the pieces of broken bone aren't lined up properly to allow healing with immobilization, you may be referred to a doctor specializing in orthopedic surgery.
What you can do
You may want to write a list that includes:
- Detailed descriptions of your symptoms and how the injury occurred
- Information about past medical problems
- Information about the medical problems of your parents or siblings
- All the medications and dietary supplements you take
- Questions you want to ask the doctor
What to expect from your doctor
Your doctor may ask:
- How did the injury happen?
- Was your wrist or hand bent backward or forward when the impact occurred?
- Are you right-handed or left-handed?
- Where exactly does it hurt, and does any specific movement make it better or worse?
During the physical exam, your doctor will check the affected area for:
- Tenderness
- Swelling
- Deformity
- Open wound
- Nerve damage
- Impaired blood flow
Your doctor may also do some maneuvers to measure your range of motion and grip strength.
- Petron DJ, et al. Distal radius fractures in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed April 21, 2009.
- Fracture of the finger. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00257. Accessed April 21, 2009.
- Anderson BC. Evaluation of the adult patient with wrist pain. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed April 21, 2009.
- Woolfrey KG, et al. Orthopedic lesions: Wrist and forearm. In: Marx JA, et al. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and clinical practice. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2006. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/132876839-5/832233957/1365/124.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-02845-4..50053-6--cesec18_1919. Accessed April 21, 2009.
- Lyn E, et al. Orthopedic lesions: Hand. In: Marx JA, et al. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and clinical practice. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2006. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/132876839-5/0/1365/121.html?tocnode=51891270&fromURL=121.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-02845-4..50052-4_1733. Accessed April 23, 2009.
- Hand fractures. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00010. Accessed April 23, 2009.
- Bone X-ray (radiography). Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=bonerad. Accessed April 23, 2009.
- CT: Body. Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=bodyct. Accessed April 23, 2009.
- MRI of the musculoskeletal system. Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?PG=muscmr. Accessed May 12, 2009.
- General nuclear medicine. Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?PG=gennuclear. Accessed April 23, 2009.
- Wrist fractures. American Society for Surgery of the Hand. http://www.assh.org/Public/HandConditions/Pages/WristFractures.aspx. Accessed April 23, 2009.
- Lewiecki EM. Prevention of osteoporosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed April 23, 2009.
- Ski and snowboard injuries. American Society for Surgery of the Hand. http://www.assh.org/Public/HandConditions/Pages/SkiandSnowboardInjuries.aspx. Accessed April 23, 2009.
