Wrist pain
Wrist pain or open wrist is a syndrome inhibiting use of a hand due to pain in anatomical structures of the wrist.[1] It most commonly results from an injury to a ligament.[1] The pain may be sharp from a traumatic injury or from chronic repetitive wrist activities.[1]
Pain may be caused after exerting the wrist, as may occur during weight lifting, in any weight-bearing or athletic activity, manual labor, or from injury to nerves, muscles, ligaments, tendons or bones of the wrist.[2][3] Wrist pain may result from nerve compression, tendonitis, osteoarthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome.
Structure and etiology[edit]
Wrist anatomy includes 20 individual ligaments attaching the eight carpal bones between the radius and ulna bones of the forearm and the metacarpal bones of the hand.[1] Location and dynamic function of the wrist ligaments determine susceptibility to injury. Wrist structures prone to injury are the triangular fibrocartilage complex and the scapholunate ligament.[1]
Wrist sprains may occur when a ligament is ruptured or lacerated in severe trauma, stretched or twisted.[1] Commonly, wrist pain is caused by sudden load-bearing or twisting effects, such as falling from a height with an outstretched hand.[1] Rupture of multiple wrist ligaments in a more severe event may require surgical repair.[1]
Injury to and inflammation of the scapholunate ligament is a common wrist injury.[1] Injuries to the triangular fibrocartilage complex may result from chronic repetitive movements by wrist flexion-extension, supination-pronation, or sudden radius-ulna rotation.[1]
Osteoarthritis, typically in elderly people, and rheumatoid arthritis are other common causes of wrist pain.[4]
Types[edit]
Wrist pain can be a symptom of injury and several types of non-injury pathophysiology including:[1][2][4][5]
- Scaphoid fracture nonunion (a break of the scaphoid bone)
- Thumb carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis (breakdown of joint cartilage)
- Scapholunate ligament instability (rupture of this ligament leads to wrist instability)
- Triangular fibrocartilage complex (injury and degeneration)
- De quervain tenosynovitis (when two tendons that control movement of the thumb become constricted by their tendon sheath in the wrist)
- Extensor carpi ulnaris tendinopathy (triangular fibrocartilage)
- Carpal tunnel syndrome (nerve compression of the median nerve in the wrist)
- Ganglion cyst (fluid-filled closed sac with a joint or tendon sheath in the wrist)
- Kienbock's disease (breakdown of the lunate bone in the wrist)
- Wrist fracture, wrist sprain
Prevalence[edit]
Wrist pain has a prevalence of 10-14% in the general population.[3][4] It is highly prevalent in people performing physically demanding activities, such as manual laborers and athletes.[3]
Evaluation[edit]
The physical exam may show tenderness by palpation over the scapholunate ligament on the back of the wrist, immediately below the radius.[1][4] Swelling and deformities are the two clinical signs associated with arthritis. The wrist is clinically tested by slight flexion while the physician feels the back of the wrist with the thumb.[4] The physician may also test the range of motion by flexion, extension, radius, and ulna deviation, with normal ranges of 65-80 degrees of flexion, 55-75 degrees of extension, 30-45 degrees of ulna deviation, and 15-25 degrees of radius deviation.[4] Conventional radiography may be used for detection of wrist bone pathologies.[4]
Treatment[edit]
After applying hot or cold pads in the first moments, if there is no inflammation, the use of a simple leather or neoprene wrist brace (or even a steel-reinforced one), is recommended in order to rest the wrist.[5]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l May DD, Varacallo M (4 August 2023). "Wrist sprain". StatPearls, US National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ a b Hemmati S, Ponich B, Lafreniere AS, Genereux O, Rankin B, Elzinga K (January 2024). "Approach to chronic wrist pain in adults: Review of common pathologies for primary care practitioners". Canadian Family Physician. 70 (1): 16–23. doi:10.46747/cfp.700116. PMID 38262758.
- ^ a b c Ferguson R, Riley ND, Wijendra A, Thurley N, Carr AJ, Bjf D (November 2019). "Wrist pain: a systematic review of prevalence and risk factors- what is the role of occupation and activity?". BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders. 20 (1): 542. doi:10.1186/s12891-019-2902-8. PMC 6857228. PMID 31727033.
- ^ a b c d e f g Akhondi H, Panginikkod S (3 July 2023). "Wrist sprain". StatPearls, US National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ a b Schenck RC (1999). Athletic training and sports medicine. Jones & Bartlett Learning. pp. 346–. ISBN 978-0-89203-172-6. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
Bibliography[edit]
- "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Fact Sheet". National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
- "Symptoms". Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Mayo Clinic.