Authors:

P J Millett, N Rushton

Abstract:

Early Since the fracture of the distal radius was first described by the Dublin physician Abraham Colles’ in 1814, there has been no clear consensus as to the best means of treatment. Gartland and Werley were among the first to discuss the poor results seen after this relatively common fracture. Since then, there have been many proposed methods of treatment, including immobilization in plaster with the forearm and wrist in various positions, functional bracing, percutaneous pinning, and open reduction with internal fixation.

One of the conclusions that Bacorn and Kutzke made in a study of 2000 Colles’ fractures was that early and persistent activity motion was a key factor in decreasing long-term disability More recent studies have also advocated the use of early mobilization after fracture, either through functional bracing or flexible bandaging, as a means to improve clinical recovery.

As the functional outcomes is the most important clinical parameter, our study was undertaken to investigate whether early mobilization of the fractured wrist could influence the recovery and improve the functional outcome after Colles’ fracture. This study analyzed ninety consecutive adult women patients with unilateral Colles’ fracture were randomized into two different treatment groups.

For the complete study: Early Mobilization in the Treatment of Colles’ Fracture: A 3 Year Prospective Study