What Is A Wrist Sprain And it’s Symptoms?

The ligaments are made up of strong, very flexible fibers that surround the joints and hold the bones of the wrist. If when we suffer a fall, we load all the weight of the body on the joint in bad posture or we receive a strong blow - for example, a ball - these ligaments can stretch or break.

This is what we call a wrist sprain and, depending on its severity, can be of three types:

Grade 1: the ligaments stretch a lot, but do not break.

Grade 2: partially broken.

Grade 3: the ligaments have completely ruptured.

Common symptoms of all of them are pain, swelling, bruising and loss of strength.

After an examination by the traumatologist and the necessary diagnostic tests, they will be treated depending on their severity with analgesics, anti-inflammatories, orthotics or, if necessary, surgery.

If sprains are not treated properly, they can become chronic and create serious problems over time like fractures, bone injuries, hand fractures. When one or more bones of the wrist are broken, a wrist fracture occurs.

A strong fall or impact may be the cause of these fractures, but osteoporosis can also cause bones to break. Depending on the affected bone or bones, the symptoms will be different, but in general, we can say that we will find pain, swelling, spillage, loss of strength and difficulty moving the joint.

To confirm the existence of the lesion, and to check that bone or bones are affected, a radiological study will be performed. At first it can be applied cold to reduce inflammation, but then plasters or splints to immobilize and analgesics for pain. In some cases of complicated fractures, to put the bone back in place, it will be necessary to resort to surgery.

Open fractures always involve surgical treatment and after surgery, it will be necessary to administer antibiotics to prevent infections.

Falls, bad supports, or violent twisting of the hand can cause trauma to the ligaments that leave the wrist joint unstable, causing the bones to move out of place. This is what we call dislocation.

The traumatologist will perform an examination and the radiological tests necessary to rule out that, in addition to the dislocation there are fractures or other injuries to be treated with proper wrist and thumb support.

The symptoms are: deformity, inflammation, reduced movement and an important limitation for movements such as extending and flexing the wrist. The most frequent dislocations are those of the cubit and dorsal.