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‘wrist’ Category

  1. Wrist sprain or Scaphoid fracture?

    July 25, 2012 by Greg Balourdas

    I indicated that I’d be covering the many injuries that can occur when you fall forward, sacrificing the health of your hand and wrist to protect your face!  I introduced you to FOOSH injuries which are common and usually heal in days to weeks.  However the occurrence of fractures and dislocations of the wrist are very common.

    The most common wrist fracture is a fracture to the scaphoid bone (peanut shaped bone at the base of thumb and also called the carpal navicular).  These fractures are common and notorious for problems in healing.  There a number of reasons wrist injuries are missed:

    • Contrary to popular wisdom you can still move the wrist even if it fractured

    • Scaphoid fractures occur without visible signs, sometimes even swelling is absent

    • Even when x-rays are taken in the first few days a fracture can be missed

    And why fractures of the scaphoid are slow to heal:

    • The bone is nearly completely covered by cartilage and therefor the blood supply is limited

    • Even stable scaphoid fractures, unlike finger and hand fractures must be immobilized for an extended time

    • The cast must include the thumb and many times requiring the elbow, making compliance difficult

    Certain fractures do not heal and require surgery with an embedded, headless screw.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Here is an awesome video by Dr. Nabil Ebraheim in Toronto.

    For more information or assistance please contact our office and the educational page on this subject.  TheHandDoctor.com

     

    Take care,

    Greg Balourdas, MD

     

     

    Category anatomy, Fracture, Injury, Scaphoid, Trauma, wrist | Tags: | No Comments

  2. Animated hand anatomy overview

    May 2, 2012 by Greg Balourdas

    Notice at 41 seconds how the carpal tunnel is filled with the tendons and tendon sheath… now put the median nerve in there.. not much room!
    Greg Balourdas, MD

    Category anatomy, Hand Specialist, nerve, wrist | Tags: | No Comments

  3. FOOSH!!

    January 25, 2012 by Greg Balourdas

    You’ve FOOSHed before and probably didn’t even realize you were doing it!  In my world this stands for one of the most common events which result in injuries to the hand, wrist and arm. It’s a natural reflex to protect your head and face!

    • Fall
    • On an
    • Out-
    • Stretched
    • Hand

     

    We have all done it and thankfully we are usually able to protect ourselves without significant injury. Occasionally the FOOSHer ends up sacrificing certain body parts to protect other parts.  Such falls can result in sprains, breaks and dislocations… A significant portion of upper extremity Orthopedic trauma and reconstruction can be traced to such injuries! Thought I’d introduce the subject and branch out to talk about specific fractures and dislocations of the wrist. I think we’ll start with Scaphoid fractures (one of the bones of the wrist, also known as the carpal navicular)…. easy to break and sometimes slow to heal!  …then perhaps move on to even more complicated injuries of the wrist such as this extreme FOOSH!. – Greg Balourdas, MD

    Also find me on Facebook: The Hand Doctor – Greg M. Balourdas, MD and my office site.

    Category Fracture, Hand Specialist, Injury, Sports, Trauma, wrist | Tags: | No Comments