How To Know If Your Child Has A Wrist Fracture
**Its important to know that if you suspect that your child has seriously injured himself then you should have it checked out immediately. Don’t dismiss a possible fracture because it didn’t pass the fracture test below. If your child is in pain then consider having her checked out right away.**
How to check for a fracture
Check the arm for D.O.T.S
D-eformity
O-pen wounds
T-enderness
S-welling/Bruising
Deformity
The easiest way to tell if there is a fracture is to compare the two arms together. If one looks slightly deformed at the wrist (or elbow for an elbow fracture) then you would know if there is a possible fracture.



Tenderness
The second best way to check for a fracture, if there is no deformity, is to feel gently along the side of bone of the wrist. Feel on the top and the sides of the wrist/arm. If there is any pain at a specific point along the bone then it’s quite possible that there is a fracture. If not, it’s possible that it’s just a sprain. Since a sprain is an injury to the ligaments of a joint, a person with a sprain wouldn’t feel pain if you felt gently along the bone. Regardless, you would need to have it looked at by a doctor.
Bruising/Swelling
You should be able to quickly see if there is any swelling or bruising. Also, its very possible for bruising and swelling to be present even if there is no fracture.
My wife fell on her wrist while ice-skating in the winter and it looked terrible. It was bruised all over. However, there was no fracture but she still felt lots of pain. It even hurt her when the medics felt gently along the bone. In the end, she had to wear a wrist brace for at least six weeks and have repeated x-rays of her wrist. So not all injuries that pass the fracture test are indeed fractures.
As for open wounds, while they can exist at the site of the fracture this is uncommon. So really, you are looking for any deformity, bruising, or swelling and feeling for tenderness.
Regardless of the injury, you will want to apply ice. If it’s a possible fracture then first splint the injury and then apply ice.
Important Note
Do not apply the ice directly on the skin. Wrap the ice or cold compress before applying it to the site of injury. A plastic bag of ice needs to be wrapped as well. If the splinted injury is completely wrapped in a bandage then you could apply the ice directly to the bandage.
Do not apply for long periods. Apply cold for approximately 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off.
Do not apply heat. This will increase swelling.
Next in the series: How To Create An Effective Splint For A Child In Seconds » « Read the whole series: 1,2 »
October 2nd, 2007 at 3:43 pm
[...] How To Know If Your Child Has A Wrist Fracture [...]
January 14th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
[...] It’s good to start by asking your child where it hurts. If they tell you that their head hurts then gently feel their head for any obvious injury and bleeding. A bump is common and is generally no need for concern. If they aren’t complaining of any pain in the arms and legs then chances are they have no injury there. If they do complain of pain to either their arms or legs you can easily examine them for possible fractures by following the directions in this past post. [...]
May 20th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
[...] This article was originally published on my parenting blog at Husbandhood.net [...]
May 10th, 2009 at 3:54 am
could i still be able 2 move slightly it if it was broken\fractured
June 28th, 2009 at 7:39 am
hey,
I was using this site to help with my PD assessment (your site will be on my bibliography)
your site says “Do not apply for long periods. Apply cold for approximately 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off.”
but in class we learnt that it was 20 minutes on then 1 hour off.
which one is correct?
August 17th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
i broke my arm and i could move it fine ! so don’t always believe that the doctors were amazed i could still move my arm and it was broken in 9 different places !
August 28th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
I fell off my scooter and it is swollen adn hhurts but I am typing with it right now? Is it fractured or broken or WHAT??
October 14th, 2009 at 1:14 am
i was at the park at i went on the monkey bars and i felt my right hand snap and my hand was shaking really badly so i put ice on it but its not working it hurts when i flex my hand out even if i move it . i dont know if i should see a doctor soon or what pleese help !! it happend yesterday
March 6th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
hi,
i was punching our punching bag at home and was rlly pissed off. i guess i punched the bag a little bit too hard cuz i think i might’ve fractured a single bone in my wrist. but it only hurts when pressure is applyed and when i hit something to hard the same way as i did b4. it also hurts when i move my wrist to the sides. so idk if it is fractured or just as sprain?? help my mum is takin me to docs sometime to check it out.