How can I tell if the arm or wrist is broken?

A broken arm or wrist bone will be extremely painful and there may also be:

  • swelling or tenderness around the injured area
  • bleeding, if the bone has damaged the tissue and skin

These symptoms may also occur if your arm or wrist is sprained rather than broken (read about sprains and strains ). An X-ray in hospital is the only way to confirm whether or not the bone is broken.

If it's a clean break, you may have heard a snap or a grinding noise during the accident. The bone can break straight across, diagonally, or in a spiral pattern.

In severe cases, the bone may break into many pieces (comminuted), stick out at an angle or poke through the skin (open or compound fracture).

Content supplied by the NHS Website

Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 21 Dec 2018