Wrist Instability

A break in the small wrist bone below the thumb, often mistaken for a sprain, that heals poorly because of its blood supply and leads to arthritis if missed.

Scaphoid Fracture

A torn ligament between the small bones of the wrist, most often the scapholunate ligament, that lets the bones shift out of alignment and wear the joint.

Wrist Instability

Cuts, ruptures and overuse injuries of the tendons that bend and straighten the fingers and wrist, including mallet finger, jersey finger and tendinitis.

Hand and Wrist Tendon Injuries

Stretched or torn ligaments in the wrist, thumb and fingers, including skier thumb and jammed fingers. Most heal with splinting; complete tears may need repair.

Hand and Wrist Ligament Sprains

Cuts, crush injuries and stretch injuries to the nerves of the hand and arm, causing numbness and weakness. Timing matters because nerves recover slowly and only when repaired early.

Nerve Injuries of the Hand and Arm

A finger or thumb joint knocked out of place, usually by a ball or a fall. Reduced promptly, then protected so the ligaments heal and the joint stays stable.

Finger and Thumb Dislocations

A tear of the cartilage and ligament complex on the small-finger side of the wrist, causing pain with twisting and weight bearing. From a fall or from years of load.

TFCC Tear

Hand differences present from birth, from trigger thumb and extra or joined fingers to underdeveloped thumbs. Evaluated early, treated when it improves function.

Congenital Hand Conditions

Elbow · Hand and Upper Extremity

Complex Upper Extremity Trauma

Severe injuries of the hand, wrist, forearm and elbow: open fractures, crush and saw injuries, combined bone, tendon and nerve damage, and injuries that need reconstruction.

ContactTalk toa real person.

Two clinics, one number to call or text. Same-day appointments for acute injuries whenever we can. The front desk will match you with the right surgeon.

Call801-640-0000

TextSend a text

Provo1055 N 300 W, Ste 104

Orem700 W 800 N, Ste 330

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What it is

Wrist Instability

Eight small bones make up the wrist, held in alignment by short ligaments.

When one tears, most often the ligament between the scaphoid and lunate, the bones shift with every load and the cartilage wears.It is the most common serious wrist sprain and is often missed early.

Treated by

Toby Johnson, MD, Hand and Upper Extremity surgeon at Ridgeline Orthopedic Specialists

Dr. JohnsonHand and Upper Extremity

M. Shane Frazier, DO, Hand and Upper Extremity surgeon at Ridgeline Orthopedic Specialists

Dr. FrazierHand and Upper Extremity

Travis Peterson, DO, Hand and Upper Extremity surgeon at Ridgeline Orthopedic Specialists

Dr. PetersonHand and Upper Extremity

or call801-640-0000

Wrist Instability

Symptoms

Pain on the back of the wrist with weight bearing through the hand, pushing up from a chair or doing a push-up.A clunk or click with wrist motion. Swelling, weak grip, and a wrist that never fully recovered after a sprain.

Years later, arthritis in a predictable pattern.

Common signs

Pain pushing up from a chair

Clunk or click with motion

Swelling, weak grip

Never recovered after a sprain

See us sooner if

A gap on X-ray

Pain months after a sprain

Wrist Instability

Causes

A fall onto the outstretched hand with the wrist bent back and turned, a sudden twist, or a sports collision. Sometimes alongside a wrist fracture.Inherited ligament laxity makes some wrists more vulnerable.

Wrist Instability

How We Diagnose It

Exam finds tenderness over the ligament and specific shift tests.X-rays, including stress views, show a gap or tilt between the bones. MRI with contrast, or wrist arthroscopy, confirms the tear and its grade.Early diagnosis matters because repair is more successful before arthritis sets in.Stress X-rays and wrist arthroscopy are both available locally; early diagnosis matters. Dr. Johnson, Dr. Frazier and Dr. Peterson operate at Utah Valley Hospital and Orem Community Hospital.

Wrist Instability

Treatment Options

Partial tears are treated with splinting, therapy and sometimes arthroscopic debridement.

Complete acute tears are repaired. Chronic tears without arthritis are reconstructed with tendon grafts or ligament procedures.Once arthritis has developed, salvage procedures such as partial wrist fusion relieve pain at the cost of some motion.

Your options

Non-surgical

Splinting

Therapy

Arthroscopic debridement

Surgical

Ligament repair

Reconstruction

Partial fusion

Wrist Fracture Repair

Scaphoid Fracture Repair

Ganglion Cyst Removal

Wrist Instability

Procedures That Address It

Wrist Fracture Repair

Scaphoid Fracture Repair

Ganglion Cyst Removal

Wrist Instability

Surgeons Who Treat It

Dr. Johnson, MD

Weill Cornell graduate, hand fellowship at Allegheny General. Twenty-one years in practice and seventeen as a collegiate team physician.

Dr. Frazier, DO

Fellowship trained in hand and upper extremity surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. Seventeen years in practice. Fluent in Spanish.

Dr. Peterson, DO

Hand surgery fellowship at UMass Chan. Office-based, wide-awake carpal tunnel release. Fifteen years in practice. Speaks German.

or call801-640-0000

ContactTalk toa real person.

Two clinics, one number to call or text. Same-day appointments for acute injuries whenever we can. The front desk will match you with the right surgeon.

Call801-640-0000

TextSend a text

Provo1055 N 300 W, Ste 104

Orem700 W 800 N, Ste 330