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Distal radius fractures in the athlete

  • Hand and Wrist Sports Medicine (E Tolo and L Dwyer, section editors)
  • Published:
Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

Distal radius fractures are one of the most common upper extremity fractures. Athletes with distal radius fractures are treated according to the same principles as non-athletes but present several unique considerations. At all levels of sport, injured athletes desire to return to play as rapidly as possible.

Recent Findings

Earlier operative fixation may allow an athlete to return to play more quickly. Volar locking plates are most commonly used for operative treatment of distal radius fractures due to their stability and low incidence of complications.

Summary

Although the majority of distal radius fractures in athletes are treated non-operatively, operative intervention is offered when required to restore and maintain acceptable skeletal alignment. Return to sport is individualized guided by fracture stability, athlete age, and wrist-specific demands for competition.

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  1. Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave, Campus Box 8233, St Louis, MO, 63108, USA

    Casey Beleckas & Ryan Calfee

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  1. Casey Beleckas
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  2. Ryan Calfee
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Correspondence to Ryan Calfee.

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Casey Beleckas does not have any conflict of interest.

Ryan Calfee reports research support from Medartis outside of the submitted work.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Hand and Wrist Sports Medicine

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Beleckas, C., Calfee, R. Distal radius fractures in the athlete. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med 10, 62–71 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12178-017-9385-8

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