Background: The radius is the most commonly broken bone in the arm. Distal radius fractures are very common and are commonly associated with ligament injuries and chondral damage.
Objective: To report the incidence of ligaments and cartilage lesions associated with extra-articular distal radius fracture.
Patients and methods: Fifty consecutive patients with extra-articular distal radius fractures, who attended at Al-Azhar University Hospital during the study period, were included in the study. 42.0% of the patients were males, 58.0% of them were females, and their mean age was 45.5 ± 5.24 years.
Results: The affected wrist was the right wrist in 56% of cases and on plain radiographs. 46% of cases had A2 fractures, and 54% of them had A3 fractures. Ligament and cartilage lesions were found in 88% of cases. No significant statistical association was found between the intracarpal soft tissue injury and the different types of fractures.
Conclusion: Using arthroscopy is recommended in distal radius fractures for verification of the degree of associated injuries and larger studies are needed to confirm our results.