The Effect of Radial Shortening on Wrist Joint Mechanics in Cadaver Specimens With Inherent Differences in Ulnar Variance

Wrists with ulnar-minus variance could accommodate radial shortening without as much increase in the ulna load as wrists with ulnar-plus variance. The clinical relevance is that a patient with an ulnar-minus variance may accommodate more radial shortening after a wrist fracture without developing an ulnar impaction syndrome than a patient with an ulnar-plus-variant wrist.