Wrist X-ray
A wrist x-ray is most often taken after a fall onto an outstretched hand, to see whether the end of the forearm bone has broken and whether the pieces have moved. It also tracks a known break through healing, which is why one injury can generate several of these films.
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What it is
The wrist is a stack of eight small bones between the forearm and the hand, and the commonest thing to go wrong with it is a break at the far end of the radius, the thicker of the two forearm bones. Falling onto an outstretched hand is the usual cause. The x-ray answers two things at once: whether the bone is broken, and whether the broken pieces have shifted out of line or split into several fragments. That second part drives treatment, because a crack that has stayed in position is handled very differently from one that has not. Views are taken from front, side, and often an angle, since the small bones overlap each other and a fracture hidden behind one bone on one view comes clear on another.
Why it is done
- To identify a break at the end of the radius after a fall, and to see how far the pieces have moved
- To look for a fracture of the scaphoid, a small wrist bone that can be broken and still look nearly normal at first
- To check whether the bones have stayed in position during the first weeks in a cast or splint
- To assess chronic wrist pain for arthritis, an old injury that never healed, or a cyst in the bone
- To confirm alignment after a wrist has been manipulated back into place or repaired with plates and screws
What to expect
The forearm is laid flat on the imaging plate with the hand positioned a particular way for each shot, and the technologist steps out for each brief exposure. The visit is short — usually under ten minutes in the room. There is no preparation and no after-effect. An injured wrist that is already swollen can be sore to position. With a confirmed fracture, the wrist is typically re-imaged at intervals over the following weeks, because a break that looked well aligned on day one can drift as the swelling settles. Each of those visits produces its own report from a radiologist.
Questions worth asking
- How many follow-up x-rays are expected over the healing period, and is each one a separate charge?
- If the orthopaedic office has its own x-ray machine, what does a film there cost compared with the hospital radiology department?
- If a first film looks normal but the wrist still hurts, what is the next step and what does it cost — a repeat film in two weeks, a CT, or an MRI all have very different prices.
- Is the office reading the film itself, or sending it out to a radiologist who will bill me separately?
- If the other wrist is filmed for comparison, is that billed as a second study?
What Wrist X-ray costs by state
- Wrist X-ray cost in Texas — 109 hospitals, median $462.35
- Wrist X-ray cost in Florida — 82 hospitals, median $730.00
- Wrist X-ray cost in Ohio — 67 hospitals, median $395.20
- Wrist X-ray cost in California — 66 hospitals, median $431.60
- Wrist X-ray cost in Illinois — 51 hospitals, median $441.00
- Wrist X-ray cost in Virginia — 43 hospitals, median $299.00
- Wrist X-ray cost in Tennessee — 38 hospitals, median $100.05
- Wrist X-ray cost in Pennsylvania — 33 hospitals, median $315.20
- Wrist X-ray cost in Wisconsin — 33 hospitals, median $318.78
- Wrist X-ray cost in Iowa — 30 hospitals, median $310.76
- Wrist X-ray cost in Michigan — 27 hospitals, median $378.00
- Wrist X-ray cost in Indiana — 26 hospitals, median $516.00
- Wrist X-ray cost in Georgia — 25 hospitals, median $275.78
- Wrist X-ray cost in Washington — 25 hospitals, median $266.40
- Wrist X-ray cost in New Jersey — 23 hospitals, median $97.54
- Wrist X-ray cost in New York — 23 hospitals, median $104.19
- Wrist X-ray cost in Arizona — 22 hospitals, median $105.14
- Wrist X-ray cost in Kentucky — 22 hospitals, median $583.80
- Wrist X-ray cost in Missouri — 21 hospitals, median $246.95
- Wrist X-ray cost in Minnesota — 19 hospitals, median $257.66
- Wrist X-ray cost in Oklahoma — 18 hospitals, median $303.05
- Wrist X-ray cost in Colorado — 17 hospitals, median $1,088.28
- Wrist X-ray cost in West Virginia — 17 hospitals, median $318.00
- Wrist X-ray cost in North Carolina — 15 hospitals, median $229.33
- Wrist X-ray cost in Nebraska — 13 hospitals, median $251.16
- Wrist X-ray cost in Oregon — 13 hospitals, median $242.25
- Wrist X-ray cost in South Carolina — 12 hospitals, median $283.50
- Wrist X-ray cost in Kansas — 11 hospitals, median $386.10
- Wrist X-ray cost in Mississippi — 11 hospitals, median $105.60
- Wrist X-ray cost in Arkansas — 10 hospitals, median $288.60
- Wrist X-ray cost in Maine — 7 hospitals, median $384.60
- Wrist X-ray cost in South Dakota — 7 hospitals, median $339.20
- Wrist X-ray cost in Alaska — 5 hospitals, median $547.56
- Wrist X-ray cost in Nevada — 4 hospitals, median $526.65
- Wrist X-ray cost in North Dakota — 4 hospitals, median $241.60
- Wrist X-ray cost in Wyoming — 4 hospitals, median $311.17
- Wrist X-ray cost in Hawaii — 2 hospitals, median $196.80
- Wrist X-ray cost in Maryland — 2 hospitals, median $124.80
- Wrist X-ray cost in Montana — 2 hospitals, median $202.40
- Wrist X-ray cost in New Mexico — 2 hospitals, median $293.58
- Wrist X-ray cost in Louisiana — 1 hospitals, median $113.36
- Wrist X-ray cost in New Hampshire — 1 hospitals, median $390.10
Wrist X-ray prices at hospitals
- Wrist X-ray at 82-3844150 BMH Crittenden, West Memphis — $57.90
- Wrist X-ray at Mercy Health Love County Rural Health Clinic, MARIETTA — $61.00
- Wrist X-ray at Banner North Colorado Medical Center - Loveland Campus, Loveland — $61.25
- Wrist X-ray at Mercy Primary Care - Bernie, Bernie — $61.50
- Wrist X-ray at Banner Goldfield Medical Center, Apache Junction — $67.26
- Wrist X-ray at Dickenson Community Hospital, CLINTWOOD — $75.21
- Wrist X-ray at Hancock County Hospital, SNEEDVILLE — $75.21
- Wrist X-ray at Lee County Community Hospital, PENNINGTON GAP — $75.21
- Wrist X-ray at Johnson County Community Hospital, MOUNTAIN CITY — $75.21
- Wrist X-ray at Banner Casa Grande Medical Center, Casa Grande — $76.11
- Wrist X-ray at Bristol Regional Medical Center, BRISTOL — $76.35
- Wrist X-ray at Franklin Woods Community Hospital, JOHNSON CITY — $76.35
- Wrist X-ray at Greeneville Community Hospital, GREENEVILLE — $76.35
- Wrist X-ray at Hawkins County Memorial Hospital, ROGERSVILLE — $76.35
- Wrist X-ray at Holston Valley Medical Center, KINGSPORT — $76.35
- Wrist X-ray at Indian Path Community Hospital, KINGSPORT — $76.35
- Wrist X-ray at Johnson City Medical Center, JOHNSON CITY — $76.35
- Wrist X-ray at Johnston Memorial Hospital, ABINGDON — $76.35
- Wrist X-ray at Lonesome Pine Hospital, BIG STONE GAP — $76.35
- Wrist X-ray at Russell County Hospital, LEBANON — $76.35
See every published price for Wrist X-ray: the full national range, the state and hospital breakdowns, and which hospitals charge the least.
Wrist X-ray cost — see all prices →Sources
- OrthoInfo (AAOS): Distal Radius Fractures (Broken Wrist) (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)
- MedlinePlus: Bone x-ray (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)
- Wikipedia (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)