Review Question - QID 215455

A 38-year-old competitive curler, enraged after sending his stone off course, strikes the ice with a closed fist. The winter-sport enthusiast has immediate pain and swelling. The next day he visits his team's preferred hand surgeon, who diagnoses the patient with an isolated, closed, minimally displaced, 4th metacarpal shaft fracture. On exam, the curler has tenderness over the fracture site, but no rotational deformity and no shortening. Non-operative management is recommended. Which of the following best describes the effect of the transverse intermetacarpal ligament in this case?