Common Hand Wrist sports Injuries Experienced
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Sports such as baseball, football, and basketball that are often leisurely played by the general public are typically found to cause hand and wrist injuries. About 25% of all sports-related injuries involve the wrist or hand. This risk of injuries is only growing as the activity levels of the general population increase. Hand and wrist injuries often go disregarded by the public as a severe injury, however, this can have significant impacts and delay recovery time or worsen conditions.
Types of injuries that may be experienced by athletes generally fall into two different categories:
Traumatic Injuries:
These injuries are common in sports that involve a lot of contact with other players. This includes hockey, wrestling, and football.
Injuries include:
Joint Dislocation
Muscle Strains
Tendon Inflammation
Ligament Tears
Fracture Injuries in the Fingers
Chronic Injuries:
These injuries are common in sports with repetitive motions. This includes tennis, golf, and baseball. Injuries include:
Tendonitis
Tendon Dislocation
Nerve Injuries
Stress Fractures
Chronic injuries do not commonly result in long-term disability compared to traumatic injuries but if left untreated, an athlete’s performance can be impacted.
Common Hand and Wrist Injuries Experienced among Athletes:
Jammed Finger
This is a common injury in sports like basketball where it involves contact with a ball. A jammed finger occurs when a fully extended finger is struck at the tip.
Symptoms: swelling at joint, pain, difficulty bending
Treatment: ice, buddy taping to adjacent finger
Scaphoid Fracture
This acute injury results from the break in one of the small bones of the wrist. This injury is common in football and can happen by falling onto an outstretched hand, putting all weight onto the palm, and hyperextending the wrist.
Symptoms: swelling, tenderness around the base of the thumb
Treatment: splinting, casting, surgery, treatments often depend on the severity and location of fractures
Skier’s Thumb
This is caused when the thumb is bent backwards and causes the ligament to tear. Sports that athletes commonly experience this injury in is skiing. When skiers fall on their hand while holding a ski pole causes radial deviation of the thumb.
Symptoms: tenderness of base of thumb, difficulty in grasping objects
Treatment: 4-6 week splint or cast, in some cases surgery may be needed
Wrist Ligament Tear
This can be caused by acute trauma or overuse that leads to a tear in the ligaments of the wrist. It is commonly caused by a hard fall onto an outstretched arm that causes the wrist to twist abnormally.
Symptoms: swelling and pain of the wrist that worsens with movement, wrist may be bruised
Treatment: immobilizing the wrist for about 4-6 weeks with a brace or cast, in some cases surgery may be needed
De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis
This form of tendonitis is due to overuse of the hand and wrist. It causes inflammation through the forearm, wrist, and to the thumb. Repetitive movements like tennis or golfing may cause this injury. Forms of tendonitis can develop into carpal tunnel if conditions worsen.
Symptoms: tenderness of the wrist and the base of the thumb
Treatment: Ice, physical therapy exercises, steroid injection
Preventing Sports Injuries to the Hand and Wrist and Treatment Options
When seeking treatment for sports related injuries it is important for an individual to know their own limits and when it is time to seek proper medical care. Seeing a doctor that specializes in sports medicine may be most effective when experiencing:
pain/swelling of the arm, wrist, or hand
Numbness of the arm, wrist, or hand
Grating noises when moving your wrist/fingers
To lower the risk of injury to the hand and wrist, it is important to make sure protective gear is being worn. This includes wrist guards or gloves which help prevent traumatic injury. Stretching routinely and giving time for the body to rest can lessen the severity of the injuries stated above.
