Editing Distal radius fracture (section)

====Outcome of nonoperative treatment====
Failure of nonoperative treatment leading to functional impairment and anatomic deformity is the largest risk associated with conservative management. Prior studies have shown that the fracture often redisplaces to its original position even in a cast.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Abbaszadegan|first1=H|last2=von Sivers|first2=K|last3=Jonsson|first3=U|year=1988|title=Late displacement of Colles' fractures|journal=Int Orthop|volume=12|issue=3|pages=197–9|doi=10.1007/BF00547163|pmid=3182123|s2cid=22597586}}</ref> Only 27-32% of fractures are in acceptable alignment 5 weeks after closed reduction.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Earnshaw|first1=SA|last2=Aladin|first2=A|last3=Surendran|first3=S|last4=Moran|first4=CG|date=March 2002|title=Closed reduction of colles fractures: Comparison of manual manipulation and finger-trap traction: a prospective, randomized study|journal=J Bone Joint Surg Am|volume=84-A|issue=3|pages=354–8|pmid=11886903|doi=10.2106/00004623-200203000-00004|s2cid=23661205}}</ref> For those less than 60 years in age, there will be a dorsal angulation of 13 degrees, while for those older than 60, the dorsal angulation can reach as high as 18 degrees. In people over 60, functional impairment can last for more than 10 years.<ref name="Court-Brown 2015"/>

Despite these risks with nonoperative treatment, more recent systematic reviews suggest that when indicated, nonsurgical management in the elderly population may lead to similar functional outcomes as surgical approaches. In these studies,  no significant differences in pain scores, grip strength, and range of motion in patients' wrists occurred when comparing conservative nonsurgical approaches with surgical management. Although the nonsurgical group exhibited greater anatomic misalignment such as radial deviation, and ulnar variance, these changes did not seem to have significant impact on overall pain and quality of life.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ju |first1=Ji-Hui |last2=Jin |first2=Guang-Zhe |last3=Li |first3=Guan-Xing |last4=Hu |first4=Hai-Yang |last5=Hou |first5=Rui-Xing |title=Comparison of treatment outcomes between nonsurgical and surgical treatment of distal radius fracture in elderly: a systematic review and meta-analysis |journal=Langenbeck's Archives of Surgery |date=1 October 2015 |volume=400 |issue=7 |pages=767–779 |doi=10.1007/s00423-015-1324-9 |pmid=26318178 |s2cid=32745520 }}</ref>