Radius fracture

The radius is the bone that runs from the elbow to the wrist — on the thumb side. It's the more active of the two forearm bones, the bone that rotates when you lift or lower your palm. Without the radius you couldn't turn a screw, open a door, or extend your hand in greeting. It is the mobility of your arm, the fine calibration between you and the world.

When the radius breaks, it almost always involves a fall. The distal radius fracture — near the wrist — is the most common bone fracture in adults. It happens in fractions of a second: you fall forward, your hand reflexively reaches down to catch you — and at the place where your body wants to brace against the world, something gives. The bone can't absorb the impact. It breaks.