The residual condition may be posttraumatic arthritis. Posttraumatic arthritis can occur if the joint cartilage has been damaged due to previous trauma even without fracture with a joint trace (such as traumatic wrist steoarthritis due to a fracture 5 years ago, shown in the question above). It can also occur if joint trauma weakens the tendons and ligaments, which can destabilize the joint and make it more likely to develop osteoarthritis again.
