Wrist Pain, Cannot Flick Wrist Or Rotate Palm. History Of Ulna And Radius Dislocation Fracture. X-ray Necessary ?

Posted on Sun, 16 Oct 2011

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 Answered on

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : my daughter has a past history of ulna and radius dislocation fracture five years ago in her left wrist. She fell rollerskating friday night and has been complaining of minor pain in that wrist since. Today it is achy and she is experiencing wrist pain on the pinky side of her hand and wrist. She can not rotate her hand palm up without pain and can not flick her wrist. There is is mild swelling along the pinky side of her hand and wrist. With her palms facing down pressing the bones just below the elbow causes her to actually come to tears. Compressing bones in the hand does not hurt only as you approach the base of the ulna. Is this worth an xray or give it a few days of ice and rest to wait and see?

Answered by Dr. Rhea Chanda (19 minutes later)

Hi there,
Thanks for the query.
I think that this current condition of your daughter's definitely demands an xray.Keep her wrist immobilised.Splint it with a scale/ruler or a straight hard object if you have anything at home.Ice the wrist.Do not try to rotate or massage.
She should definitely get an xray.At the least,a hairline fracture should be ruled out.She might need a cast/slab to keep the joint immobilised.Give her paracetamol for the pain.

Hope I have answered your query. If you have any follow up queries I will be available to answer them.

Regards,

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T