Finding the right tests…
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Emergency services available 24 x 7
Finding the right tests…
X-Ray
This X-ray pictures the bones of your hand, the metacarpals and finger bones, from the front and the side, and is most often booked after a direct blow, a punch, or a crush injury. The front view lays the bones out clearly enough to spot most breaks, but doctors depend on the side view to measure how far a broken bone has angled out of position, since a fracture that looks minor from the front can still be bent significantly when seen from the side. Breaks of the fifth metacarpal, the bone behind the little finger, are common enough after a punching injury to have their own name, a boxer's fracture, making up roughly one in five hand fractures.
The front view lays out the metacarpals and finger bones for an overall look at fracture pattern and displacement. The side view is used specifically to measure angulation, how far a broken bone has bent out of its normal line, a detail that guides whether a fracture needs correcting before it heals.
A hand X-ray with both views is built around one specific measurement: how far a fracture has angled out of position, which only the side view can really answer.
The front view is good for spotting where a bone is broken and whether it has shifted sideways, but the degree of forward or backward angulation, which affects how a broken metacarpal or finger bone will heal, shows up on the side view. This is why both views are read together rather than the front view being treated as good enough alone.
A break at the neck of the fifth metacarpal, the bone leading to the little finger, is common enough after a punch or direct blow that it has its own name, a boxer's fracture. It accounts for a meaningful share of all hand fractures seen in emergency settings.
A hand X-ray is also used in children to check bone maturity, since the bones of the hand and wrist develop in a fairly predictable pattern as a child grows.
The front view shows where a bone is broken and whether it has shifted sideways, but the side view measures how far it has angled forward or backward. That angle affects how the fracture heals and whether it needs correcting.
It is a break at the neck of the fifth metacarpal, the bone leading to the little finger, usually caused by punching something with a closed fist. It is common enough to have its own name and makes up a meaningful share of all hand fractures.
No, X-rays show bone, not tendons or soft tissue. A tendon injury alongside a suspected fracture usually needs a clinical exam and sometimes ultrasound or MRI to confirm.
Yes, this is one of the uses of hand X-rays in children, since the small bones of the hand and wrist develop in a fairly predictable pattern as a child grows.
This page is general information about the test, not medical advice. Your own report's reference ranges apply — please discuss your results with your doctor.
Yes, rings and other jewelry on the hand should come off beforehand, since metal can obscure the bones underneath on the image.
A standard hand X-ray covers all the metacarpals and finger bones in one image, though your doctor may request a focused view of a single finger if that is the specific concern.
The X-ray itself is painless, but positioning a swollen or injured hand for the image can be uncomfortable. Tell the technologist if a position is too painful so they can adjust.