Wrist sprains result from a forced movement or the carpal joint. If the bones withstand the stress, no fracture happens but a strain or a ligament tear may occur. When it is a simple stretching, the sprain is called benign, and when the ligaments are torn, the sprain is termed severe.
The word ‘sprain’ has a different meaning depending on whether it is used in everyday speech or in the medical context. In everyday speech, a sprain refers to wrist trauma but does not actually describe the specific lesion, and could also be used to refer to a fracture. In the medical context, a sprain refers specifically to a ligament injury.
Occurence
Ligaments are like taut shrouds which connect the bones and allow the joint surfaces to stay in perfect contact during motion. The wrist has eight bones. Intrinsic ligaments connect small bones to each other while extrinsic ligaments join the carpal bones to the radius and to the metacarpal bones.
The reflex which consists in cushioning a fall by extending the palm of the hand causes hyperextension of the wrist joint. The ligaments that hold together the wrist bones are then subject to excessive stretching, beyond their natural limitations, which in turn causes a sprain. Less often, sprains may also happen during a fall on the back of the hand with the wrist in flexion. Be aware that a wrist sprain may be combined with a fracture of the wrist bones.