Traumatic injuries of the distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ) may give rise to complex
wrist pathologies. Substantial ongoing disability can arise should these injuries
go unrecognized resulting in sub-optimal treatment and lack of appropriate rehabilitation.
Injuries of the DRUJ may occur in isolation but more commonly are found with a fracture
of the radius. These challenging DRUJ injuries may be simple or complex (irreducible
or severe instability), acute or chronic. An adequate knowledge of the stabilizers
of the DRUJ is essential in understanding treatment options. Traumatic instability
of the DRUJ is reviewed and the anatomy and stabilizing factors are discussed. An
algorithm to guide selection of treatment options in complex cases is presented.
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