Broken Hand

What is a broken hand?

A broken hand is a bone fracture (broken bone) in your hand.

There are 27 bones in each of your hands. Providers group them by their location and function:

• Carpals: The small bones that connect your hand to your wrist.
• Metacarpals: The bones in your palm that give it its shape.
• Phalanges: The individual bones that make up the segments of your fingers and thumb.

You might only need to wear a splint or cast while your hand heals. Some broken hands need surgery to repair the bones.

Injuries that cause broken hands also commonly damage other tissue in and around your hands, including your:

• Ligaments.
• Tendons.
• Muscles.
• Nerves.
• Blood vessels.

Types of broken hands

In addition to saying which of your hand bones is broken, a healthcare provider will assign the fracture a type or classification.

Providers classify some fractures by the break’s shape or pattern:

• Transverse fracture.
• Oblique fracture.
• Spiral fracture.
• Segmental fracture.
• Comminuted fracture.
• Buckle (impacted) fracture.

Some types of fractures are classified by how they happen:

• Stress fracture.
• Avulsion fracture.

For example, you might have a transverse metacarpal fracture or an oblique phalanx fracture. Some types of broken hands have their own unique name. Boxer’s fractures are a specific type of metacarpal fracture that happen when you punch something hard (like a wall) with a closed fist.

All of the different names and types are ways for your provider to quickly and specifically say which bone is broken, and what the injury did to it.

How common are broken hands?

Hand fractures are some of the most commonly broken bones.

Metacarpal fractures are especially common. One in 10 of all broken bones is a metacarpal fracture. They’re also the most common hand injury for people ages 18 to 34.

What are broken hand symptoms?

The most common broken hand symptoms include:

• Pain.
• Swelling.
• Tenderness.
• Difficulty moving your hand, fingers or thumb.
• Bruising or discoloration.
• A bump (deformity) that’s not usually on your hand.
• Parts of your hand looking different or out of place.

What does a broken hand look like?

Broken hands look noticeably different than usual. You’ll probably be able to see swelling, discoloration and a bump on your hand near the fracture. The swelling and discoloration may spread (radiate) from the fracture to the rest of your hand. Your fingers may cross over each other (malrotation).

If the fracture pushes your bone far out of place (a displaced fracture), pieces of bone may poke through your skin.

What causes broken hands?

The most common causes of broken hands include:

• Falls (especially catching yourself with your hands after a fall).
• Sports injuries.
• Accidents on jobsites or working with tools.
• Traumas (like car accidents).
• Hitting a hard surface (like punching a wall).

Health conditions that affect your hands and fingers can weaken your bones and make you more likely to break a hand. Enchondromas — benign (noncancerous) tumors that grow inside your bones — can cause fractures. Osteoporosis and osteopenia weaken bones, making them more susceptible to sudden and unexpected fractures. Many people don’t know they have osteoporosis until after it causes them to break a bone. There usually aren’t obvious symptoms.

What are the risk factors?

Anyone can break their hand, but some people are more likely to, including:

• People younger than 40.
• Athletes (especially people who play contact sports or practice martial arts).
• People with a health condition that affects their bones.

How are broken hands diagnosed?

A healthcare provider will diagnose a broken hand with a physical exam and some imaging tests. They’ll examine your hand and the area around it.

Which tests will I need?

Your provider will use a hand X-ray to take pictures of your bones to confirm where your hand is broken and what the fracture looks like. They may also use a computed tomography (CT) scan to take three-dimensional pictures of your bones (especially if you need surgery).

What is broken hand treatment?

How your provider treats your broken hand depends on which bones are broken, which type of fracture you have and if you have any other injuries. The most common treatments include:

Immobilization

If you have a mild broken hand and your bones didn’t move far out of place (if you have a nondisplaced fracture), you might only need a splint or cast. Most people need immobilization for three to six weeks. You’ll need follow-up X-rays to make sure your bones are healing correctly.

Closed reduction

More severe broken hands may require a closed reduction to set (realign) your bones. Your provider will physically push the outside of your hand to line up your broken bones. To prevent you from feeling pain during the procedure, you’ll receive one of the following:

• A local anesthetic to numb the area around the fracture.
• Sedatives to relax your whole body.
• General anesthesia to make you sleep through the procedure.

After the closed reduction, your provider will immobilize your hand in a splint or cast.

Broken hand surgery

Your provider may suggest surgery if you have an open fracture (bone breaks through your skin) or a comminuted fracture (if the bone is broken in more than two places). You might also need surgery if you have other injuries inside your hand.

Your surgeon will realign (set) your bones to their correct position and then secure them in place so they can heal and grow back together. They’ll perform an external fixation — with metal pins or wires holding your bones in place that stick out of your hand — or an internal fixation, where they’ll insert plates or screws into your bones to hold them in place from the inside. You might need follow-up surgery to remove the pins, plates or screws after your bones heal.

Surgery complications

Broken hand surgery complications are rare, but can include:

• Malunion: This happens when your broken bones don’t line up correctly while they heal.
• Nonunion: Your bones may not grow back together fully or at all.
• Bone infection (osteomyelitis): If you have an open fracture, you have an increased risk of bacterial infection.
• Stiffness: People who break a hand usually feel stiffness around their fractured bone. Home exercises and occupational therapy can help reduce your stiffness.
• Acute compartment syndrome (ACS): A buildup of pressure in your muscles may stop blood from getting to tissue, which can cause permanent muscle and nerve damage.

How can I prevent a broken hand?

You may not be able to prevent a broken hand, especially because traumas you can’t plan for cause them. You might be able to reduce your risk of injuries by following these general safety tips:

• Never punch or hit walls, the floor or other hard surfaces when you’re mad or frustrated.
• Always wear your seatbelt.
• Wear the right protective equipment for all activities and sports.
• Follow a diet and physical activity plan that helps you maintain good bone health.
• Talk to your provider about a bone density test if you’re older than 50 or have a family history of osteoporosis.

How long does it take a broken hand to heal?

How long it takes your hand to heal depends on a few factors:

• Which bone was broken.
• What caused the fracture.
• Which treatments you need.
• Any other injuries you experienced.

Most broken hands need a month or two to heal. Talk to your provider or surgeon about a timeline that fits your specific situation.

How long does it take to recover from a broken hand?

Even after your bone heals, it might be a while before you fully recover and can resume all your usual activities. Most people can resume physical activities (like playing sports) after eight weeks (around two months).

Talk to your healthcare provider or surgeon before resuming any physical activities, especially if you broke your bone doing a specific activity or sport.

When should I go to the emergency room?

You need to see a healthcare provider as soon as possible if you think you have a broken hand. Go to the emergency room if you experience any of the following symptoms:

• Intense pain.
• You can’t move your hand or fingers.
• Your hand looks noticeably different.
• You can see your bone through your skin.
• Swelling.
• New bruising that appears at the same time as any of these other symptoms.

What questions should I ask my healthcare provider?

You may want to ask your provider:

• Which type of fracture do I have?
• Will I need surgery?
• How long will I need to wear a splint or cast?
• How long will I need occupational therapy?
• When is it safe to resume physical activities like playing sports?

Can you still move your hand if it’s broken?

You might be able to move and use your hand depending on which of your bones is broken and the fracture’s severity. But, even if you can move your hand, you shouldn’t force it to — especially if it hurts a lot to use it.

Go to the emergency room right away if you think you have a broken bone in your hand. The sooner a healthcare provider diagnoses and treats a fracture, the faster it’ll heal and the less likely it is you’ll experience complications.

How can I tell if I broke my hand or just sprained it?

Though bone fractures (broken bones) and sprains are different injuries, the same kinds of trauma might cause them.

Bone fractures happen when something damages a bone enough to crack, snap or crush it.

Sprains happen when one of your ligaments stretches or tears. Ligaments are bands of tissue that connect bones throughout your body. It’s possible that the same injury that breaks bones in your hand also sprains your wrist or fingers (a jammed finger).

A note from Cleveland Clinic

We laugh at cartoons, movies and TV shows when a villain’s hand gets smashed in a window or bonked with a poorly-aimed hammer swing. But hand injuries are no joke. Your hands play such an important role in how you interact with the world around you. Breaking one of your hand bones can mean weeks (or longer) of learning new or different ways of navigating your routine.

Don’t ignore pain, swelling or other symptoms if you hurt your hand. The sooner a healthcare provider diagnoses and treats a broken hand, the faster your bones can heal correctly.