Most types of wrist injuries and hand injuries are caused by acute, repetitive motion and overuse of hands and wrists. The normal wrists injuries are called acute wrist injuries and are caused by accidents. Prevention of these wrist injuries is impossible, since they are caused by ?accidents?. The wrist injury could be a fracture, dislocation or a simple sprain. This can happen while riding, skating and impact that may not be the patient's mistake in the first place. Any acute wrist injury which causes discomfort, swelling pain or impedes movement should be medically evaluated immediately. First aid could be an ice pack at 15-20 minute intervals.



Overuse wrist and hand injuries could be nerve conditions (like carpal tunnel syndrome) or tendonitis. They are caused by constant stress and twisting motions. In children, overuse wrist injuries result in growth plate fractures.

Tendonitis is a result of swinging a weight. This can be caused by sport activities like golf, hammer throw, javelin throw, baseball, cricket, bowling, rowing etc. If you observe, all the above sports involve swinging an object or releasing an object with a sudden jerk.

Nerve damage is a wrist injury caused by applying constant pressure on the wrists. This is caused by continuously leaning hands on the bicycle handle bar, continued holding of bats or rackets etc.

Children, victims of growth plate fractures may show impaired growth of wrists and may stunt the growth of the forearm bones.

The Carpal tunnel syndrome is the most common wrist injury caused by repetitive-motion. This normally and most often occurs by the usage of a computer keyboard over extended periods of time. This kind of wrist injury normally occurs in the hand that is used more. The first symptom is a pain or tingling or numbness at the base of the thumb. This has to be addressed immediately, otherwise it could result in a severe pain, in forearm and shoulder and a weakened grip. This could also result in permanent disability of certain hand muscles.

Initial treatment is using the wrist splints. Always use an appropriate splint. If pain continues by the use of splint consult the doctor again. If the symptoms or carpal tunnel syndrome persist after the splint treatment, use ice packs after each of your work sessions. Take rest and keep away from the computer keyboard for a fortnight. In case the wrist injury does not show any signs of improvement, opt for medical care.