The scaphoid compression test
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Updated: Aug 13, 2026
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Published on: January 11, 2019
1Chase Farm Hospital, Enfield, Middlesex.
Abstract:
A clinical test for scaphoid waist fractures is described in which the first ray is compressed longitudinally. This has the advantage that it can be done when the patient is in a plaster cast. Of 52 patients with suspected scaphoid fractures, 37 had negative tests and proved by X-rays then and later to have no fracture. 12 had positive tests and X-rays. Two patients with positive tests had fractures nearby: one of the scaphoid tuberosity and one of the radial styloid. One patient with a negative test had de Quervain's disease. Once union has occurred, the test becomes negative.
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