5 Common Sports Injuries That Cause Pain In Your Fingers, Hands, and Wrists

By Stacie L. Grossfeld, MD 

Did you know that an estimated one out of five injuries for college and pro athletes happens to a person's hand or wrist? While it may be more commonplace to focus on preventing common sports injuries to the knees or shoulders like ACL injury and rotator cuff tears, it is important to also consider possible injuries to the hands and wrist. Extensor tendon injuries in the hand and wrist can sideline athletes.
As reported in academic research led by Dr. Aakash Chauhan and colleagues (2014), published in Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy Review, some of the most common sports injuries for athletes to the hand and wrist include mallet fingers, sagittal band ruptures, intersection syndrome, and tendinitis.
Here is a brief overview of 5 sports injuries to the hands and wrists that may affect athletes:

1. Mallet Finger - Sometimes also called dropped finger or baseball finger, a mallet finger happens when the extensor tendon in your finger gets injured. This injury happens at the distal interphalangeal joint or DIP when your finger becomes over-stretched, causing a pull or rupture in your tendon. This is a common sports injury that happens while trying to catch a ball (for example, while playing basketball, softball, or volleyball).
2. Sagittal Band Ruptures - Sometimes also called "boxer's knuckle," the rupture of the sagittal band can cause the extensor tendon to become dislocated. Typically this painful injury happens in a person's middle finger following some type of hit or trauma. It may also occur as a result of rheumatoid arthritis.
3. Intersection Syndrome - If you are suffering from pain in your wrist or forearm, it might be caused by intersection syndrome. This is a common sports injury for people engaged in activities that require repetitive wrist motions like those typical while skiing, paddling a canoe, or lifting weights. Discomfort from intersection syndrome typically occurs just above your wrist where muscles and tendons intersect. When you experience strain caused by friction from repetitive activity, your tendons may become inflamed, leading to intersection syndrome.
4. Swan-Neck Deformities - This memorable term is used to describe a finger that is in a deformed position at the uppermost joint near the finger tip. It may be caused by a sports injury or from chronic conditions like rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Sometimes it is also an inherited condition. Swan-neck deformity happens when the volar plate at the proximal interphalangeal joint or PIP joint is stretched too much or hyper-extended.
5. Extensor Carpi Ulnaris Tendinitis - Extensor Carpi Ulnaris Tendinitis or ECU tendinitis is caused by inflammation in the extensor carpi ulnaris tendon on the outside of your hand. People suffering from this condition often experience pain in the wrist and difficulty gripping onto things. This can be very frustrating to those engaged in certain sports like golf or tennis where a firm grip on equipment is a requirement for participation in the game.

Suffering from a sports injury can be very difficult for an athlete. Many sports injuries require rest and time away from competitive play. If you have some type of sports injury to your hand, fingers, wrists, or some other part of your body, that is keeping you from optimal performance, you should consult with a board certified orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine doctor for a thorough evaluation and treatment.
Gaining a good understanding of sports injuries in order to prevent them before they occur is ideal. Depending on the type of injury, there are often certain stretches, muscle building exercises, and cross training opportunities to consider in order to try to stay healthy and injury-free.

Dr. Stacie L. Grossfeld is a board certified Orthopaedic Surgeon practicing in Louisville, Kentucky. Dr. Grossfeld graduated from the University of Louisville School of Medicine, and completed a fellowship in Sports Medicine at the Fowler-Kennedy Sports Medicine Center. Dr. Grossfeld currently works as a louisville orthopedic surgeon in private practice at Orthopaedic Specialists. Dr. Grossfeld also serves as a clinical instructor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Louisville. Her special interests are in knee and shoulder reconstruction and sports medicine. Find out more about her orthopedic medical practice in Louisville, KY.

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Categories: HEALTH