Broken Wrist What is a wrist fracture? By Jonathan Cluett, M.D.,

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A broken wrist is among the most common broken bones. In fact, wrist fractures are the most commonly broken bone in patients under 65 years of age (after that age, hip fractures become the most common broken bone).
Usually, when a doctor i describing a wrist fracture, he or she is referring to a fracture of the radius (one of two forearm bones). There are other types of broken bones that occur near the wrist, but a 'wrist fracture' generally means the end of the forearm bone has been broken.

How is the diagnosis of a wrist fracture made?
A wrist fracture should be suspected when a patient injures their wrist joint and has pain in this area. Common symptoms of a wrist fracture include:
Wrist pain
Swelling
Deformity of the wrist
When a patient comes to the emergency room with wrist pain, and evidence of a possibly broken wrist, the first step is to obtain x-rays of the injured area. If there is a broken wrist, the x-rays will be carefully reviewed to determine if the fracture is in proper position, and to assess the stability of the bone fragments.