Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Musculoskeletal problems of the wrist and hand classification
Introduction
Classification
Classification
Traumatic Injury
- Fracture
- Immediate severe pain and swelling
- Colle’s fracture
- Fracture of distal radius; most common, easily seen on X-ray
- Scaphoid Fracture
- May require special X-ray views to visualize
- Ligament Rupture or Tear
- Tendon Injury
Nontraumatic
- Inflammatory Arthritis
- Septic, crystal-induced, rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
- Pain with movement of wrist through its range of motion
- Synovitis with swelling in setting of inflammatory entities
- Osteoarthritis
- Rarely involves wrist except for carpometacarpal (CMC) joint at base of thumb
- Osteonecrosis (avascular)
- Localized pain interfering with hand/wrist function
- Entrapment Syndromes
- Wrist pain radiating into hand or forearm, +/- sensory or motor deficits
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Ulnar or interosseous nerve entrapment
- Tenosynovitis
- Ganglion Cyst
- Referred Pain from Cervical-Spine/Shoulder
- Pain in absence of local findings
- Symptoms worsened by neck/shoulder movement
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]