A Broken Wrist is a fracture of any one of the bones that comprise the wrist. The wrist is made of 10 bones. These include all of the carpal bones, which are the small bones that join the forearm to the rest of the hand and provide the wrist with a good deal of mobility. Also, bones of the wrist are considered to be the distal (further away from the body) forearm bones, the radius and ulna. While a Broken Wrist can be a break of any of these bones, by far the most common site of break is at the distal radius bone. A Distal Radius Fracture can present in many forms, and will guide the strategy of treatment that is decided on in order for healing and recovery to take place. A Broken bone can be displaced or nondisplaced, which will determine if the fracture is stable or unstable. Fractures may be even more severe and cause the bone to break in multiple places and essentially splinter the bone. The two most common types of Distal Radius fractures are categorized by the angle of the break. These are:

• Colles Fracture: A Colles Fracture will be the direct result of falling straight onto the palm causing a FOOSH injury (Fall On Outstretched Hand). In this type of fracture, the part of the radius that broke is tilted upwards toward the backside of the hand
• Smith Fracture: less common than a Colles Fracture, a Smith fracture break is in the opposite direction, with the broken fragment directed the other way, towards the palm.