Wrist Injury

• Wrist Injury Overview
• Wrist Injury Causes
• Wrist Injury Symptoms
• When to Seek Medical Care
• Exams and Tests
• Wrist Injury Treatment
• Self-Care at Home
• Medical Treatment
• Next Steps
• Follow-up
• Prevention
• Outlook
• Multimedia
• Synonyms and Keywords
• Authors and Editors

Wrist Injury Overview

The wrist is made up of the two bones of the forearm (the radius and ulna) and eight carpal bones (scaphoid or navicular, lunate, triquetrum, pisiform, trapezium, trapezoid, capitate, and the hamate). Many ligaments connect these bones to each other.

A sprain is an injury to the wrist ligaments without any evidence of bone injury (that is, no broken bones or cracks in the bone). With a sprain, there is usually only a partial tearing of the ligaments. In a severe wrist sprain, there can be a complete tear.

A fractured or broken wrist means there is a break or a crack in one or more of the bones of the wrist.

A strain is where there is a tearing of the muscle fibers in the area surrounding the wrist.