Fractured Hand: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

Fractured Hand Overview

By Billie Tennant. Last Updated 14th June 2022. If you suffered a fractured hand whether in a road traffic accident or because of some other incident that left you injured and are not happy with a diagnosis and treatment, you may be entitled to free private medical care and physiotherapy in your area. 

Fractured hand

Fractured hand

Your hand is made up of twenty seven bones and is one of the most complex parts of your body. Sustaining a fracture to your hand is a painful experience and if the injury is severe, it could mean you lose some or total use in an affected hand. There are many variations of hand fractures with some being a lot more serious than others. If you would like to find out more about these injuries, this guide provides useful information on the types of hand fractures, common causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatments.

To find out more about a fractured hand injury and whether you would be entitled to free private medical care and physiotherapy, please click on the Select a Section below.

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What is the Definition of a Fractured Hand?

All the bones in your hand form a framework that supports vital muscles that control wrist and finger movement. If any of the bones in your hand are fractured, it can negatively impact movement in both your fingers and your wrist. A fractured bone in your hand is the same as broken bone in your hand and the types of injury you can sustain are detailed below:

  • A stable fracture – where damaged bones in your hand are aligned
  • An unstable fracture – where bones fragments have moved out of place
  • Comminuted fracture – where the bones in your hand are shattered
  • Open fracture (compound fracture) – where a piece of bone pokes through broken skin increasing the risk of developing an infection

If you suspect your hand is fractured, you should seek medical attention without delay to prevent the risk of any further damage being done which could lead to complications. You may find that you are entitled to free private medical care for a fractured hand and to find out if this is so, please call one of our health experts today.

What are the Most Common Causes of a Fractured Hand?

If you suffer any sort of blunt force trauma to your hand, it could result in bones being fractured. The most common causes of this type of hand injury are as follows:

  • A fall onto your outstretched hand
  • An injury sustained while playing sports – this includes contact sports, ice-skating, snowboarding to name but three
  • Road traffic accidents
  • Cycling accidents

With this said, if you suffer from any health issues that negatively impact the strength of your bones, you are more at risk of suffering a fractured hand. This includes if you suffer from a condition known as osteoporosis.

If you were involved in any sort of incident that left you with a minor or more severe injury to your hand, you should have the injury thoroughly examined by a doctor by either going along to your local Accident and Emergency or surgery. The sooner a diagnosis is determined and a treatment set in place, the sooner you would be made to feel more comfortable.

What are the Symptoms of a Fractured Hand?

Fractured hand symptoms can be acute with the most common being as follows:

  • Extreme pain that gets worse when you attempt to grip or squeeze anything
  • Severe pain when you try to move your wrist or hand
  • Swelling
  • Bruising
  • Tenderness
  • An obvious deformity in the shape of your hand which could be a crooked finger or bent wrist
  • An inability to move the thumb and fingers on your injured hand
  • A stiffness in your hand
  • Numbness in your injured hand and fingers

If you suspect that you have suffered a fractured hand, you should seek medical attention without delay, even if you think it might just be a sprain. 

Call today and speak to one of our health experts who would tell you straight away if there are any free private treatments available in your area and if you would qualify to receive them.

How is a Fractured Hand Diagnosed?

A doctor would want to thoroughly examine your injured hand and would need to know how you sustained your injury whether in a road traffic accident or some other incident. They would examine the tendons in your hand as well as the joints to see if they have been negatively impacted. If you suffered an open hand fracture, a doctor would stem the bleeding before thoroughly cleaning out the wound while at the same time checking to see in any foreign objects are embedded in the wound. The tests that are typically carried out to establish the extent of the damage to the bones in your hand are as follows:

  • A series of x-rays from various angles
  • A CT scan to determine the extent of soft tissue damage

If you are unhappy with the NHS fractured hand diagnosis you received and would like to have a free orthopaedic assessment of your broken bone report, please speak to one of our health experts today.

How is a Fractured Hand Treated?

Once a definitive fractured hand diagnosis has been made on the extent of damage done to the bones in your hand, a doctor would then decide on the best course of treatment. In the meantime, you would be given pain relief medication to help you cope with any discomfort you are experiencing.

If you sustained a stable hand fracture, your injured hand may be put in either a cast or a splint to immobilise it. However, if the fracture is unstable, you may have to undergo fractured hand surgery with pins and wires inserted to hold displaced bones in the correct place. Should your hand injury be very severe, you would need to undergo surgery to set damaged bones with an end goal being to hold any bone fragments together using plates, screws and/or pins.

If any bone is missing or extremely crushed, you may need to undergo a bone graft because the bones are too severely damaged to repair. The bone needed in the operation would be taken from another part of your body. If you sustained an serious hand injury and you are not happy with an initial NHS fractured hand diagnosis, you may be entitled to a free orthopaedic assessment of your broken bone report which could highlight anything that might have been missed.

To find out what you may qualify for in your area, please call one of our health experts today.

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Could I Qualify for Free Treatment for a Fractured or Broken Hand?

If you were involved in an accident that left you with a fractured hand and you are not happy with an NHS diagnosis and treatment you are receiving, you may be entitled to free private treatment and physiotherapy in your area. You may also qualify for a free orthopaedic assessment of your broken bone report which may identify something that has been missed or it may confirm an initial NHS fractured hand diagnosis as being accurate. Either way, your mind would be put at rest and receiving private medical care for your injury means you are in expert, specialist hands.

Fractured hand treatment

Fractured hand treatment

Speak to one our of health experts today and find out what free medical care and physiotherapy is available in your area and whether you also qualify for any free medical aids.

What Free Treatment Is Available for a Fractured or Broken Hand?

There are many free treatments available to people who suffered injuries which includes fractures to the hand. This could include the following:

  • Free private medical care in your area
  • Free private physiotherapy aftercare in your area
  • Free medical aids which includes ice packs, wrist supports and slings that could help speed up your recovery

Call one of our health experts today and find out what you may be entitled to receive in your area. You could qualify for free medical aids which includes ice packs, slings and wrist supports. You may also be entitled to free treatment and physiotherapy aftercare in your area.

Are There Any Complications Associated with a Fractured Hand?

There are a few complications associated with a fractured hand, mainly because so many bones could be negatively impacted whether you were involved in a car crash or some other incident that left you with a crushed hand. These could include the following:

  • Chronic ongoing discomfort in an affected hand
  • Stiffness in your hand and fingers
  • Osteoarthritis – more especially if the joints in your hand were negatively impacted by the injury
  • Nerve damage
  • Damage to blood vessels in your hand
  • Circulation issues – if you experience any circulation problems, you should consult your doctor without delay

If you suffered a severe hand injury whether it was because you were involved in a road traffic accident or some other incident that left you injured, and are unhappy with an NHS diagnosis and/or treatment, you may be entitled to free private treatment and physio aftercare in your area. Please speak to one of our health experts today.

I Think My Doctor Missed Something When Diagnosing My Fractured Hand?

If you are worried that a doctor could have missed something when diagnosing your injury, you should do as much research on hand fractures as possible. Like this you can either confirm your suspicions. The links at the bottom of this page provide essential reading on fractured hand injuries and how they should be diagnosed and treated.

Contact one of our health experts today and find out in minutes whether you qualify for any free private medical care, free private physiotherapy aftercare and free medical aids.

What’s The Average Broken Hand Recovery Time?

According to the NHS, a fracture to the carpal bone in the hand will generally take 4-6 weeks to heal. During this recovery period, you may be given certain exercises to carry out that involve your wrist and fingers.

However, if your fractured hand symptoms result in you struggling with these exercises, you could potentially speak to your doctor about what else you could do to help you in your recovery.

There are other factors that could mean your injury may take longer than average. For instance, evidence shows that smoking can slow down the healing process. In some severe cases, it’s possible that smoking can prevent healing altogether. You can give yourself a better chance of reducing your broken hand recovery time by stopping smoking during the recovery process.

If you start to exhibit signs of a broken hand, we recommend that you seek the guidance of a medical professional as soon as possible. Receiving the proper treatment as early as possible can help you on the road to recovery.

Can I Speed Up My Recovery Time Safely?

Physiotherapy is an essential part of the healing and rehabilitation process. Receiving private physio aftercare for a fractured hand could speed up your recovery and would do so safely. Having a programme tailored to suit your needs means you do all the right fractured hand exercises which help reduce the risk of losing any movement in an injured hand.

A private physiotherapist would set up specific fractured hand exercises that suit your particular needs and studies have established that the sooner a rehabilitation programme is set in place, the better the outcome which is especially true if you had to undergo extensive surgery.

To find out more about free private physiotherapy aftercare in your area and whether you qualify for this type of treatment, please speak to one of our health experts today. It takes minutes to get an answer.

Are There Any Long Term Health Issues Associated with a Fractured Hand?

Most people who suffer minor fractured hand injuries recover well, but should your injure be more severe and you had to undergo hand surgery, you may develop the following health issues:

  • Stiffness in the affected hand
  • A loss of some movement in your fingers and hand
  • Arthritis – any bone fracture could lead to you suffering from arthritis later on

It is also worth noting that some hand fractures do not mend well which could leave you with a weaker hand. In children, a fractured hand injury could affect future bone growth.

If you would like to know more about fractured hand injuries and whether you would be entitled to any free private treatment in your area as well as free private physiotherapy and medical aids, please contact one of our health experts today.

Contact Us to See Whether You Are Eligible for Free Private Treatment

If you suffered a fractured hand whether in a road traffic accident, an incident at work, while playing sports or in some other incident that left you with the injury and are not happy with the NHS diagnosis, treatment you received, speak to one of our health experts who can let you know straight away whether you qualify for a free orthopaedic assessment of your broken bone report and whether you are entitled to receive any free private medical care and physiotherapy aftercare in your area.

To speak to one of our health experts today, please call us on, our phone lines are open from 8 am to 11 pm, 7 days a week.

Helpful Links

If you suffered a fractured hand and would like more information on how physiotherapy aftercare can get you back to your normal self sooner, safely, the link below provides essential reading on the topic:

More information on hand therapy

If you would like to know more about how to care for your hand following an accident that left you with a serious injury, the following link provides essential reading:

More about damaged tendon aftercare

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