How to tell if you have a sprained wrist

Video: How can you tell if your wrist is sprained or broken?

Content

Steps
Part 1 of 2: Identifying the Symptoms of a Sprained Wrist
Part 2 of 2: Making a diagnosis
Tips
Additional articles

Sprains of the wrist are a fairly common injury, especially among athletes. In this case, the wrist ligaments are too stretched and may even break, partially or completely. A sprained wrist causes pain, inflammation, and sometimes bruising, depending on the severity of the injury, for which there are three grades. It can be difficult to tell the difference between a severe wrist sprain and a bone fracture, so it is helpful to know the signs that can be used to do this. If you suspect you may have a fracture, you should seek medical attention.

Steps

Part 1 of 2: Identifying the Symptoms of a Sprained Wrist

1 Pain is felt when moving. Wrist sprains can be of varying severity, depending on how much the ligaments are stretched and / or torn. With a slight strain of 1 degree, the ligaments are slightly stretched, but almost not torn; with moderate stretching (grade 2), a significant part (up to 50%) of the fibers of the ligaments is torn; severe stretching of the 3rd degree is characterized by another bOLarger (or complete) rupture of the ligaments. In view of this, with sprains 1 and 2 degrees of movement are possible, although they are accompanied by pain. Grade 3 sprains often cause instability (too much mobility) of the joint when moving because the ligaments are not properly attached to the wrist bones. Conversely, with a fracture of the wrist, its mobility is usually markedly limited, and friction of fragments of bones is often felt during movement.
- A grade 1 wrist sprain is associated with mild pain. This is usually a aching sensation that can develop into more acute pain when moving.
- Grade 2 wrist sprains are characterized by moderate to severe pain, depending on how many of the ligaments are torn. In this case, the pain is sharper than with a 1-degree sprain, and sometimes it is pulsating due to inflammation.
- A Grade 3 wrist sprain is often accompanied by less pain at first than a Grade 2 sprain, since the ligaments are mostly torn and less irritating to the surrounding nerves, although then the pain becomes much stronger due to the development of inflammatory processes.
2 Pay attention to inflammation. Inflammation (swelling) is a common symptom of both sprains and wrist fractures, and the severity depends on the severity of the injury. Typically, inflammation is minimal with a grade 1 wrist sprain and maximal with a grade 3 sprain. As a result of the swelling, the wrist becomes thicker and more swollen. Usually, the body's response to injury (especially sprains) is overwhelming as it prepares for the worst-case scenario - open injury followed by infection. Therefore, when stretching, it is recommended to reduce inflammation with cold compresses and / or anti-inflammatory drugs. This helps relieve pain and maintain range of motion in the wrist.
- Swelling caused by inflammation does not cause significant discoloration of the skin, except for slight redness due to accumulation of warm fluid under the skin.
- Due to inflammation, which leads to the flow of lymph and various specialized cells of the immune system, a stretched wrist feels warm to the touch. A similar pattern is usually observed with a fracture of the wrist, but in this case, the wrist and palm may be cold to the touch due to damage to the blood vessels and circulatory disorders.
3 Look closely for bruising. Although the body's response to inflammation leads to swelling of the damaged area, this is different from bruising and bruising. Bruising occurs when blood from damaged blood vessels (small arteries and veins) seeps into the surrounding tissue. Grade 1 wrist sprains usually do not cause bruising unless the injury was caused by a violent blow that destroyed small blood vessels just below the skin. With grade 2 sprains, the swelling is more pronounced, but bruising is not always observed - it all depends on how the injury was received. Grade 3 sprains are accompanied by severe swelling and, as a rule, significant bruising, since with such a serious injury, not only most of the ligaments are torn, but also the surrounding blood vessels are destroyed and damaged.
- The dark color of bruises is caused by the accumulation of blood flowing from the vessels under the skin. As the accumulated blood decomposes and is flushed out of the tissues, the color of the bruises changes - they turn dark blue, then green and yellow.
- Unlike sprains, wrist fractures are almost always accompanied by bruising, since a bone fracture requires moreOgreat strength.
- A Grade 3 wrist sprain can lead to an avulsion fracture, in which a ligament that comes off the bone pulls a small piece out of the ligament. In this case, the injury is followed by immediate severe pain, inflammation, and bruising.
4 Apply ice and watch for improvement. Cold therapy works well for all three grades of wrist sprains because it reduces inflammation and numb the surrounding nerves that transmit pain signals. Cold therapy (applying ice packs or gel packs) is especially helpful for grade 2 and 3 wrist sprains, which are accompanied by severe inflammation. Immediately after injury, apply cold compresses to the sprained wrist for 10-15 minutes every 1-2 hours. After 1-2 days, you will notice significant improvements - pain will decrease and it will become easier to move your hand. Cold compresses can help relieve pain and inflammation in wrist fractures, but in this case, symptoms often return soon after the compress is removed. Thus, cold compresses are generally more effective for sprains than for fractures.
- Minor stress fractures can resemble a grade 1 or 2 sprain and respond better to cold therapy than more severe fractures in the long term.
- Be sure to wrap the cold compress in a thin towel to prevent skin irritation and frostbite.

Part 2 of 2: Making a diagnosis

1 Go to the emergency room. While the information above will help you determine if you have a wrist sprain (and roughly estimate its severity), the trauma doctor has a disproportionateOwith the best knowledge and experience to make the correct diagnosis. As practice shows, reliable information allows you to immediately make a correct diagnosis in about 70% of cases of pain in the wrist. Your doctor will examine your wrist and perform certain orthopedic tests. If the injury is serious enough, you may be given an x-ray to rule out the possibility of a fracture. However, x-rays provide information about the condition of the bones, not the soft tissues (ligaments, tendons, blood vessels, and nerves). Because the wrist bones are quite small and densely packed, fractures (especially stress fractures) are not always clearly visible on x-rays. If the X-ray doesn't show a fracture, but the injury is serious enough and requires surgery, your doctor may refer you for an MRI or CT scan.
- Minor stress fractures of the carpal bones (especially the scaphoid) are very difficult to see on regular x-rays until the inflammation subsides, so another x-ray may be taken after about a week. Other imaging tests, such as MRI, may also be required for this type of injury. You may also receive a splint or cast, depending on the severity and type of injury.
- Osteoporosis (a disease in which bone demineralization and embrittlement occurs) is a significant risk factor for wrist fractures, while it does not increase the likelihood of a wrist sprain.
2 Get a referral for an MRI. For Grade 1 wrist sprains and most Grade 2 sprains, MRI and other high-tech diagnostics are not required because the injured wrist heals within a few weeks without medical attention. However, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be needed if the ligament is more severely damaged (especially if a grade 3 sprain) or if it is difficult to make an accurate diagnosis. MRI uses magnetic waves to produce a detailed image of any part of the body, including soft tissue. An MRI is great for seeing torn ligaments and determining the severity of the injury. If you are about to have surgery, this information will be very helpful to your orthopedic surgeon.
- Tendinitis, tendon rupture, and wrist bursitis (including carpal tunnel syndrome) are similar to sprains and can be distinguished by MRI.
- An MRI can also help determine how badly damaged blood vessels and nerves are, especially if an injury to the wrist has affected the palm and has resulted in numbness, tingling, and / or discoloration of the skin.
- Another cause of wrist pain that resembles a mild sprain can be osteoarthritis (wear and tear of cartilage tissue). However, osteoarthritis is associated with chronic pain that gradually gets worse over time. It is also characterized by a feeling of friction between the bones when moving the wrist.
3 Consider getting a CT scan. If you have a serious, difficult-to-treat wrist injury and have difficulty making a diagnosis after X-ray and MRI scans, you may be referred for computed tomography. In computed tomography, X-rays taken from different angles are processed by a computer, and as a result, a layer-by-layer set of images (sections) of all hard and soft tissues is formed. Like MRI, computed tomography can provide more detailed information than single x-rays. Generally, computed tomography is good for detecting hidden fractures of the wrist, while MRI is better at assessing soft tissue (ligament and tendon) damage.Computed tomography is usually less expensive than MRI.
- Computed tomography exposes your body to ionizing radiation. Although the dose of radiation is higher than that of a conventional x-ray, it is considered safe.
- The most common sprain is the scaphoid-lunate ligament of the wrist, which connects the scaphoid and lunate bones.
- If the tests listed above have failed and you still have severe wrist pain, your doctor may refer you to a podiatrist (bone and joint specialist) for a more thorough evaluation.

Tips

Wrist sprains are often the result of falls, so be careful when walking on wet or slippery surfaces.
Wrist sprains are common when skateboarding, so remember to wear wristbands.
If left untreated, severe wrist sprains increase the risk of osteoarthritis.