A broken wrist is a common bone break injury, especially in young men, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). A broken wrist can be categorized as two different injuries, a scaphoid fracture or a distal radius fracture. The distal radius is the end of the long arm bone called the radius that is near the wrist. The scaphoid is a bone in the wrist that is at the base of the thumb. A person who has injured himself may not realize that he has broken his wrist immediately after the injury and may just think it is a sprain. Symptoms that persist should be checked out and X-rayed to determine if the wrist is broken.
Deformity
A clear sign of a broken wrist is a deformity of the hand, arm or thumb immediately after the injury. An arm or finger that is bent in an abnormal way and cannot be held in a normal position is most likely broken and should be treated as soon as possible. Not all broken wrists cause visual deformities of the arm, which causes some people to think they have not injured themselves seriously.
Discoloration
A wrist that is fractured, especially one that is the result of falling on an outstretched arm, may bruise and look mottled in color. Bruising alone will not help a person to know whether or not she has broken a bone or just bruised her arm. The presence of other symptoms, an X-ray and a physical examination can confirm a broken wrist.
Swelling
The arm, fingers or hand of a person who has broken his wrist may swell, sometimes very quickly and to extremes that may be uncomfortable to see. Swelling may make moving the wrist and fingers difficult or impossible.
Pain
A broken wrist will hurt, either in the joint area of the wrist, the forearm or the thumb. The pain may get worse when trying to make a fist or holding on to an object. In addition to or instead of pain, a person with a broken wrist may feel numb or cold, especially in the fingers.
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