Wrist Fractures in Hockey
Anyone who has ever played hockey will tell of how dangerous the sport can be with its nasty injuries that may include injuries to the head and limbs. Fans watching hockey games are not safe and this shows how extreme this sport can sometimes prove to be. Thus, players must get immediate treatment to their injuries that come with playing the game, especially for severe injuries like a fracture to the wrist (Colles fracture), which is one of the common injuries to hockey players (Barboza et al., 2018). One can get their wrist fractured by being accidentally knocked by a hockey stick during play, being knocked by a hockey ball, or when a player falls on an outstretched hand, making the weak bones of the wrist break. This type of injury usually occurs on the forearm bones, also known as the ulna and radius, with wrist fractures commonly occurring on the radius bone.A fractured wrist can either be stable or not depending on the degree of the injury with unstable or severe fractures needing specialized treatment due to the shattering of the bone into smaller pieces (Barboza et al., 2018).
The symptoms of a fractured wrist include tenderness to the affected area, severe pain that aggravates when one tries to grip or lift an object, deformities like a bent wrist, and bruising, among other symptoms. For first aid, a padded splint can come in handy to hold the wrist in place while further treatment is sort. The padded splint helps align the bones and provide support to the wrist to reduce pain and swelling. For a stable fracture, a simple bandage can be used to hold the wrist in place while it recovers. In the case of unstable and severe fractures, special procedures like casting and fixing procedures like plating, or using rods, or screws and pins to hold the wrist in place. It is crucial that during the recovery period, one keeps their fingers moving to keep them from being stiff (Barboza et al., 2018). One can also seek for hand therapy at the right time to help them in the rehabilitation of their hand back to normal use. Recovering a wrist fracture can last for up to a few weeks to several months, depending on the severity of the injury.
Reference
Barboza, S. D., Joseph, C., Nauta, J., Van Mechelen, W., & Verhagen, E. (2018). Injuries in field hockey players: a syste