Wrist Injuries in Professional Athletes

The wrist is a complex of eight small carpal bones with dense ligament connections and a cartilage complex (TFCC) on the little-finger side.

Common conditions include ligament sprains and instability, TFCC tears, scaphoid and distal radius fractures, tendinitis and post-traumatic arthritis.

Scaphoid fractures are notorious for being missed initially and for healing poorly when treatment is delayed.

• Falling on an outstretched hand is a routine mechanism in both sports.
• Blocking with the hands and taping the wrists to play through pain lets injuries progress.
• Bat impact, sliding and diving apply force directly through the wrist.

Repeated jamming and hyperextension can produce cumulative ligament laxity and cartilage wear.

Untreated small injuries during a career often present as arthritis years later.

More on how repetitive-exposure claims work: Cumulative trauma explained.

• Pain and weakness with gripping, twisting or pushing up from a chair
• Clicking or clunking with rotation
• Reduced range of motion
• Aching that worsens with cold or use

• Examination for point tenderness, instability and provocative maneuvers
• X-ray, including scaphoid views and stress views for instability
• MRI or CT for ligament, cartilage and occult fracture assessment
• Grip strength measurement compared with the other side

• Records of wrist taping, splinting, injections and any surgery
• Any imaging from the career, including films read as negative
• Team injury reports, athletic training room logs and daily treatment notes
• Team physician and consulting specialist records, including imaging reports
• Surgical operative reports and post-operative rehabilitation notes
• Contracts, transaction history and roster or practice-squad records showing dates of employment
• Post-career medical records from primary care doctors, orthopedists and other specialists

Wrist conditions are often included alongside hand, elbow and shoulder in an upper-extremity claim.

Old undiagnosed fractures found on later imaging can support a career-related origin when the history matches.

Grip strength loss is an objective finding that carries weight in evaluation.

Rules differ by state and by sport. Eligibility factors and types of compensation cover the general framework.

• Bracing, therapy and activity modification
• Injections for tendinitis or arthritis
• Arthroscopic ligament or TFCC procedures
• Fusion or reconstruction in advanced arthritis

• Impairment is generally based on motion loss, grip strength and diagnosis.
• Dominant-hand involvement affects post-career work capacity more significantly.
• Wrist findings often combine with hand and finger impairment in the overall rating.