Wrist sprains are among the most common injuries to the lower arm and hand. They occur very often in almost every sport. Wrist sprains are up to 9% of all athletic injuries. In 2002, over 80% of all professional athletes of a variety of sports said that they had suffered from a wrist sprain at some time in their sports life. A wrist sprain is basically a stretch, partial tear, or complete tear of the ligaments in the wrist, and can occur whenever someone, athlete or not, falls forward.
During a wrist sprain, the ligaments in the wrist are stretched so much that they exceed their normal range of motion. Due to this, the ligaments are pulled to such extremes that in many cases, they tear partially or all the way, and repairing it can be hard work. The ligaments that are affected in a sprain are mainly the radiocarpal ligaments. In addition to the 5 radiocarpal ligaments, wrist sprains may damage the radial collateral ligament, any of the triangular fibercartilage complex, the palmer intercarpal ligaments, or the palmer ulnocarpal ligaments.
The most common way of spraining the wrist is by falling forwards. When an athlete falls forwards, it is natural instinct to but the hands out in front so that the athlete will not damage more important structures like the head or neck. When this happens, the wrists take a blow and are bent back to absorb the shock. Depending on protection, flexibility, and weight, the athlete's wrist will bend back a certain amount. More often than not, the athlete will end up bending the wrist so much that it will over-stretch the ligaments and cause a sprain.
Most sprains occur in younger athletes, both male and female equally, ages 13-30. This is because the majority of wrist sprains occur in sports primarily done by youth. Although wrist sprains happen in all sports with the potential for falls, the sports associated with the largest amount of wrist sprains are in-line skating, skiing, and skateboarding.