Alidad Ghiassi, MD

A 50-year-old right-hand-dominant woman with a history of a left distal radius fracture presented to the orthopedic clinic 5 weeks after a ground-level fall. She was told at the time of her initial injury that she had sustained a distal radius fracture, but she did not feel an urgency to follow up because she had a low-demand occupation. At her initial visit, there was no gross motion at the fracture site and the patient was not interested in operative intervention. Subsequently, she was lost to follow-up until 3 months post-injury. At that time, she reported a pain-free period after her last visit followed by new onset ulnar-sided left wrist pain that occurred mostly during pushing and pulling activity. On exam, the patient was noted to have minimal radial- sided tenderness. On the ulnar side, there was significant tenderness over the extensor carpi ulnaris. Range of motion testing revealed 20° less wrist extension compared with the contralateral side.