While the Colles fracture may sound like a very complex and intricate medical condition, it’s actually just the official term used to describe a wrist fracture. There are two bones in your forearm, and the radius is the larger one of the pair. Believe it or not, the radius is actually the bone in the arm that gets broken most often. This is due to its inconvenient placement and susceptibility to impact injuries.
A Colles fracture describes a form of radius break when the broken bone fragment is pointed in an upward direction. Abraham Colles, the revered Irish surgeon, was the first person to describe this injury and thus it was named in his honor. There are many things that could lead to a Colles fracture, but age and gender do play a role in this risk assessment.
Today we’re going to take you through the eight common symptoms of Colles fracture.
1. Pain
As you can imagine, any fracture-based injury is bound to cause a lot of pain to you. The pain will generally be centered on the area of the break but isn’t entirely localized. You might notice some pain leeching out to the surrounding areas. The pain will likely be intensified if you touch it, apply pressure, or attempt to move it in any way.
This is why doctors attempt to immobilize the affected bone so that it doesn’t constantly move which isn’t only painful but can also cause further damage.OTC drugs such as Tylenol and Advil may help with the pain caused by the injury. That being said, you should avoid taking drugs unless instructed by the physician attending to you. This is especially true if you’re currently on other medications that may cause a conflict when mixed with ibuprofen or other OTCs. Pain is hard to deal with, but complications are far more annoying.