Symptoms of Wrist Sprain

Wrist sprain usually occurs after a fall on an outstretched hand. This results in stretching or tearing in the ligaments of the wrist. It is a common type of injury in sports such as inline skating, snowboarding, soccer, football, baseball and volleyball.

The common signs and symptoms of a wrist sprain include:

• Pain while moving the wrist. If the injury is severe, the pain can prevent you from moving the wrist normally in any direction. Mild injury may cause a deep dull ache in the wrist.
• Swelling around the wrist joint.
• Wrist may be red, tender and warm to touch.
• Bruising or red-blue discolouration of the skin of the wrist.
• Burning or tingling sensation at or around the wrist.
• Decreased range of motion of wrist.

In case of severe injury (complete tear of the ligament), there may be a deformity, numbness, and severe pain. You may be unable to move the wrist or the wrist joint may seem unstable on movement.

Depending on the severity of injury wrist sprains are graded as:

• Grade I: The injury is mild. The ligaments are stretched and injured, but there is no significant tear.
• Grade II: The injury is moderate. The ligaments are stretched, injured and may be partially torn.
• Grade III: This is the most severe type of wrist sprain in which the ligaments are completely torn and the joint is unstable.

If the injury is mild, the symptoms of injury (pain and swelling) begin to improve in a few days. If you have severe pain or swelling, consult a doctor to rule out fracture of a bone in the wrist.