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What Is a Boxer's Fracture?

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

A boxer's fracture is a fracture at the end of one or more of the metacarpals, the bones in the hand that span from the wrist to the fingers, near the knuckles. This type of fracture most typically results from hitting a hard object with a closed fist, hence the name, which references a sport where such impact injuries are common. It may also be known as a bar room or brawler's fracture, depending on regional slang, and the formal medical term for this injury is a fracture of the neck of the metacarpal.

In this type of injury, patients may notice pain and swelling around the knuckles. Sometimes the break is severe enough to push the bone out of position, in which case it may form an unsightly lump under the skin. Injuries to the knuckles can also include cuts that may expose the bone, and there is a potential for an open boxer's fracture, where bones break through the skin.

Individuals with a boxer's fracture will experience swelling around the knuckles.
Individuals with a boxer's fracture will experience swelling around the knuckles.

The best treatment for a boxer's fracture depends on the nature of the injury. If the fracture is closed, it may be possible to flex the hand to move the bones into position, and then splint them to hold them in place during healing. For open fractures, irrigation of the wound is necessary to clean it, and the patient may require surgery. In surgery, the surgeon can determine if fixators will be necessary to hold the bone in place as it heals.

An untreated boxer's fracture increases the risk of severe arthritis with age.
An untreated boxer's fracture increases the risk of severe arthritis with age.

Athletes like boxers use a number of measures to prevent this kind of fracture. They may pad their hands to distribute impacts, and they also learn how to throw punches to reduce the risk of injury while still dealing a harsh blow to an opponent. The boxer's fracture is more common in new fighters who are not yet fully trained, or people who are not athletes who throw punches in a dispute or who punch walls and other solid objects out of frustration or bad temper.

Boxer's fractures occur to the metacarpal bones in the hand.
Boxer's fractures occur to the metacarpal bones in the hand.

Failure to treat a boxer's fracture can result in the risk of infection, and could potentially lead to necrosis, where parts of the bone and tissue die because they do not get enough blood. The patient may also have limited mobility in the affected hand because of the poorly healed break, and could develop severe arthritis with age. Since the hands are needed for numerous fine motor tasks, it is critical to provide appropriate treatment for hand injuries to limit the risk of impairments later in life.

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a WiseGEEK researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

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Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a WiseGEEK researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

Drentel

@Laotionne - There are so many small bones in the hand that protecting all of them, especially in the case of a boxer, is not as simple as you might think. And today's boxing gloves are much better at protecting the boxer's hands from fracture injuries than gloves used to be in the past.

Laotionne

That's interesting that boxers get these boxer's fractures. I always assumed that the gloves they wear, and also the wraps they have on their hands protected their hands from these types of injuries. Seems like someone would develop better gloves or some type of protection so that hand fractures are not an issue for boxers.

Feryll

When I was playing on the freshman football team in high school we had a starting quarterback who was a hot head to say the least. He had a really difficult time controlling his emotions. This was most evident when things were not going his way, and he was angry.

At least once, and usually several times, every day in practice he would slam his helmet to the ground because he was angry at one thing or another. For the most part he was harmless. He was mostly just an annoyance to the rest of us.

During halftime of one of our games where we were losing badly, and he had thrown a couple of interceptions, he came into the locker room and punched one of the lockers with his right hand, which was his throwing hand. The hand swelled almost immediately.

By the time we got back on the field for the second half, his hand was about the size of the football. He had to sit out the rest of the game. When he went to the hospital and had x-rays it was determined that he had a hand fracture. His hand never did heal properly, and that ended his career as a quarterback.

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    • Individuals with a boxer's fracture will experience swelling around the knuckles.
      By: eyetronic
      Individuals with a boxer's fracture will experience swelling around the knuckles.
    • An untreated boxer's fracture increases the risk of severe arthritis with age.
      By: perfectmatch
      An untreated boxer's fracture increases the risk of severe arthritis with age.
    • Boxer's fractures occur to the metacarpal bones in the hand.
      By: Alila Medical Media
      Boxer's fractures occur to the metacarpal bones in the hand.
    • Boxers wear padded gloves to reduce the risk of hand injuries.
      By: AntonioDiaz
      Boxers wear padded gloves to reduce the risk of hand injuries.