How do you know if you sprained your wrist?

You will know if you sprained your wrist if after injuring it, it hurts to move it or put weight on it. Most wrist sprains will heal in a few weeks with proper care. The key is making sure that your wrist sprain is just a sprain, and not a broken bone or a torn ligament. We frequently see wrist sprains at Easy Orthopedics in Colorado.

Does a sprained wrist hurt to touch?

Normally a wrist sprain does not hurt to touch. Most of the time wrist sprains hurt if you move your wrist all the way backwards or forwards. That being said, everyone is different, and those that may have just sprained their wrist may find a tender spot at the center of the sprain. There are many ligaments in the wrist. When someone sprains their wrist, some of those ligaments can get stretched or have small tears in them. The ligaments stretching or tearing is what causes the pain. If you have a lot of pain in your wrist to touch, you may have broken a bone or torn a ligament.

What happens if a wrist sprain is left untreated?

A wrist sprain that is left untreated should heal on its own in a few weeks time. A wrist sprain will heal faster if an appropriate diagnosis is made and a wrist splint is applied. The splint acts to keep the wrist from moving, which allows the ligaments to heal themselves faster. Most of the time a removable splint which you can get at a convenience store is all that is required. Just make sure that the splint is a hard splint, and not a soft one that can bend in any direction. One major problem is that many people are diagnosed with wrist sprains when what they really have are broken bones or full ligament tears. These will take much longer to heal, and may not heal at all if they are not properly diagnosed and treated. Seeing your orthopedic doctor and getting x-rays is usually a good bet if you are concerned.

Is your wrist broken if you can move it?

If your wrist is broken you may be able to move it, but it will hurt a lot! Most of the time when someone says they break their wrist, they are referring to the end of their radius bone. Usually when someone breaks this, it hurts a lot to move. Sometimes those who are told they sprained their wrist actually broke their scaphoid, which will present similarly at first. Over time, those with an undiagnosed scaphoid fracture may find that their wrist hurts, but they can still move it.

I hope I was able to answer some of your questions about how you know if you sprained your wrist. If you would like us to treat your wrist sprain and are in the Colorado area, contact us below to make an appointment.