Wrist injuries accounting for 3–9% of the all sports injuries. However, wrist pain from repetitive motion in the workplace are much more common.
Wrist injuries are divided into two major classifications: traumatic and overuse. Traumatic injuries include fractures, dislocations, and ligament tears often seen in contact/collision sports. Stress and/or overuse conditions are frequently seen in racquet sports, golf, and through repetitive motion injuries (i.e. the workplace).
Researchers studying sports-related injuries in high school athletes found that fractures of the hand and wrist were the most common body region injured accounting for 40% of all fractures. The most common athletic fracture in the wrist the scaphoid fracture, which accounts for 70% of all wrist fractures.
The very nature sports require repetitive grabbing, catching, and throwing of objects; this coupled with the frequency of the fall on the outstretched hand (FOOSH) mechanism of injury make it easy to see why there are a wide variety of traumatic and overuse injuries to the wrist. Hand and wrist injuries are also common in extreme sport activities as well; finger tendon injures are common among rock climbers.
Wrist pain associated with numbness and tingling may be carpal tunnel syndrome. Carpal tunnel syndrome is an inflammation or compression injury of the median nerve as is passes from the forearm to the hand through the carpal tunnel of the wrist. This injury can be caused by repetitive motion of the wrist (specifically flexion) and prolonged position of the wrist in flexion.