Each human hand has twenty-seven bones. There are total of fifteen phalanges, each in sets of three to make up your fingers, plus your thumb. In the palm of your hand are five metacarpal bones.

The top portion of your wrist contains the remaining seven small bones called carpals. A facture of any of the seven carpals is commonly designated as a broken wrist, not a broken hand.

The most common bone that breaks when the doctor says you have a broken hand is the metacarpal. Here is a description of the two most common ways a metacarpal bone is broken, plus a set of guidelines for rehabilitating a metacarpal fracture.

Broken Metacarpal

The longest and least protected of these twenty-seven bones are the metacarpals. A fractured metacarpal …show more content…
The boxer’s fracture on the other hand, can create a compound fracture situation, and if displacement is severe enough, the injury can require surgery to repair.

Immobilization

Mild breaks in a metacarpal bone, fractures that do not displace the bone, can be immobilized using a splint. The splint can be removed briefly, but caution should be exercised. Without the splint in place, even moving the fingers can aggravate the break area. Moving the wrist with the splint on will be exceedingly painful and could further damage the bone.

Breaks that are more serious, like the boxers fracture, will need to be fitted for a cast. If the force is extremely intense, surgery may be necessary to realign the broken bone, or bones. All multiple fractures involving more than one metacarpal, although rare, must have a cast applied to completely immobilize the hand.

The time that your hand must be immobilized will depend on the severity of the break, and the number of metacarpals that are fractured. Splint and cast time will be somewhere between 3 and 6 weeks depending on severity. Once you are cleared to move the hand and wrist, here are some steps to enhance your