How effective is hand therapy for distal radius fracture?

A distal radius fracture affects the end of the forearm bone near the wrist. After a cast, splint, or operation, the wrist and fingers may feel stiff, swollen, weak, or sensitive. A hand therapist checks movement, grip, swelling, sensation, and how you use the hand. The timing of exercises depends on bone healing and any surgical instructions.

Early therapy may focus on finger, elbow, and shoulder movement, swelling control, and safe everyday use. Later work can include wrist and forearm mobility, scar care when relevant, strengthening, and tasks such as dressing, cooking, typing, or lifting. Therapy cannot change an unstable fracture, so follow-up imaging and the fracture team's restrictions remain essential.

Attend the planned fracture reviews and tell the therapist about numbness, increasing pain, or difficulty following the exercise plan. Keep the wrist protected for as long as instructed and do not add resistance before clearance. Elevate the hand for swelling when advised, move the fingers within the permitted range, and use the prescribed support correctly.

Set small functional goals, such as fastening clothing or holding a light cup, and track how the hand responds later that day. Ask when driving, work, sport, and heavier lifting can resume. [Distal Radius Fracture](/conditions/distal-radius-fracture/) gives condition information, and [Hand Therapy](/treatments/physiotherapy-and-rehabilitation/hand-therapy/) explains the rehabilitation approach.

Contact the fracture team promptly for worsening pain or swelling, a tight or damaged cast, new numbness, pale or blue fingers, or inability to move the fingers. Seek urgent care for severe pain with rapidly increasing swelling, a new deformity, or fingers that become cold or change colour. Do not wait for a routine therapy appointment in these situations.

Has the fracture healed enough for wrist movement or resistance? Which movements are restricted? How should I manage swelling and stiffness at home? What function should we target first, and what symptoms require an earlier review?