Summarize the following:
A wrist fracture can be caused by similar types of accidents and trauma that cause wrist sprains. In general, the larger and stronger bones are, the less likely they are to break in response to trauma instead, the ligaments will stretch and tear. But when they do, they often create a misaligned or crooked appearance. The eight carpal bones of the wrist are small, so a misaligned or crooked wrist may be difficult (or impossible) to notice, especially with hairline fractures, but more serious breaks are easier to tell. The most commonly broken long bone within the wrist area is the radius, which is a forearm bone that attaches to the small carpal bones. The most commonly fractured carpal bone is the scaphoid bone, which is unlikely to cause a noticeable wrist deformity. When a bone penetrates the skin and becomes visible, this is known as an open or compound fracture. Pain from a wrist fracture also depends upon severity, but it's usually described as very sharp with movement, and deep and achy without movement. The severe pain of wrist fractures tends to increase during gripping or squeezing of the hand, which is not often the case with wrist sprains. Wrist fractures usually cause more symptoms in the hand, such as stiffness, numbness or inability to move the fingers, in comparison to wrist sprains because there is a greater chance of nerve injury/damage with fractures. Furthermore, there can be a grinding or crunching sound when moving a fractured wrist, which doesn't occur with wrist sprains. Pain from a wrist fracture is often (but not always) preceded by a "cracking" sound or feeling. In contrast, only Grade 3 sprains can produce a sound or similar sensations, and that's sometimes a "popping" sound as the ligament ruptures. As a general guideline, wrist pain from a fracture will get worse at night, whereas pain from a wrist sprain will plateau and not flare-up in the night if the wrist is immobilized. As noted above, a day or two of rest and cold therapy can make a big different in a mild-to-moderate wrist sprain, but the same can't be said for fractures. With the possible exception of hairline fractures, most broken bones need significantly more time to heal than ligament sprains. Thus, a couple days of rest and icing doesn't make much impact on the symptoms caused by most fractures, and in some cases, you may feel worse once your body gets over the initial "shock" of the injury. If a broken bone in the wrist pokes through the skin, then the risk of infection and significant loss of blood are high. Get medical attention as soon as you can. A severely broken bone in the wrist may completely cut off circulation to the hand. The swelling from the blood causes what is called "compartment syndrome," which is considered a medical emergency. When this occurs, the hand will feel cold to touch (from lack of blood) and turn pale (a bluish white). A broken bone may also pinch or sever a nearby nerve, which might lead to complete numbness in the region of the hand that the nerve innervates. Although the above information can guide you to make an educated guess on whether your wrist injury is a sprain or a fracture, only an x-ray, MRI or CT scan can tell for sure in most cases unless a bone is poking through your skin. An x-ray is the most economical and common way to view the small bones of the wrist. Your doctor will likely refer you for a wrist x-ray and get the results verified by a radiologist before consulting with you. X-rays only visualize bone and not soft tissues such as ligaments or tendons. Fractured bones can be tricky to see on x-ray because of their small size and the confined space, and it can take a few days for them to be visible on x-rays. To visualize the extent of ligament damage, your doctor will refer you for an MRI or CT scan. An MRI, which uses magnetic waves to provide detailed images of structures within the body, may be needed to detect a fractured bone in the wrist, particularly broken scaphoid bones. Hairline fractures in the wrist are very difficult to see on regular x-rays until all the inflammation fades away. As such, you may have to wait a week or so to confirm the fracture, although by that time, the injury is well on its way to healing. Osteoporosis (brittle bones due to lack of mineralization) is a major risk factor for wrist fractures, although the condition doesn't really increase the risk of wrist sprains.
Look for misalignment or crookedness. Identify the type of pain. Assess if symptoms are worse the following day. Get an x-ray from your doctor.