C. Noel Henley, MD

Hand and Upper Extremity Specialist

  • About
  • For Patients
    • Deciding to Have Surgery
    • Nonsurgical Treatment
    • Living With One Hand
    • After Treatment
    • Instructions After Surgery
    • Make An Appointment
  • Disclaimer
  • Articles
  • What Patients are Saying
  • Appointments

Baseball Wrist Injuries – Christian Walker’s Broken Wrist

June 28, 2011 by Dr. Henley 2 Comments

Christian Walker of the South Carolina Gamecocks scored a go-ahead run in the College World Series last night with a broken left wrist.

2011 college world series ameritrade park

from Flickr - ensign_beedrill

What kind of wrist fracture does he have? In this article, I’ll show you where the most common type of hamate fracture is in baseball players.

The hamate bone is one of eight small bones in the wrist, called carpal bones. Each carpal bone has smooth cartilage and forms one or more joints in the human wrist.

Where is the hamate bone?

The hamate is a bone on the pinkie, or ulnar side of the wrist. You can see it outlined in this x-ray.

hamate bone on ulnar side of wrist

The hamate bone is outlined (on the pinky side of the wrist)


 

Where is the hamate on Christian Walker’s palm?

Here the arrow is pointing to the location of the hamate hook in the palm. This area is tightly compressed against the bat during ball contact and you can imagine how you would hit this part of your hand first when sliding into a base.

palm of hand showing hamate hook area

Area of hamate hook in the palm of the hand


 

In this view, you can see where the hamate hook sticks out toward the palm side of the wrist.

x-ray of hamate bone wrist

The hamate hook on the palm side of the wrist (palm facing up)


 

Here I’ve superimposed an x-ray onto the skin so you can see how the bones line up.

hamate wrist bone

The hamate hook on the pinky side of the hand in the palm


How is the hamate vulnerable to fracture?

One reason the hamate is fractured is because it sticks out a little into the palm side of the wrist, where it forms a “hook”. Tendons, a nerve, and blood vessels that move and supply the pinky finger (or small finger) right inside the groove formed by this hook of bone.

Baseball players break their hamate bones in one of several possible ways:

  • landing directly on the palm (sliding into a base with outstretched hands)
  • a baseball violently strikes the palm
  • “fat” or awkward ball contact during batting
  • a check swing with violent deceleration

Why are these fractures dangerous?

Hamate fractures rarely heal on their own. The break creates a sharp edge of bone that can rub on tendons and irritate the ulnar nerve, which supplies the pinky side of the hand. If one of the tendons ruptures, this can mean very complicated and difficult surgery for the player.

How are hamate wrist fractures treated in baseball players?

Most wrist surgeons recommend treating hamate hook fractures by taking out the fractured piece. This takes away the source of nerve and tendon irritation and drastically lowers the risk of a tendon rupture. The surgery takes several weeks to recover from and players sometimes have slight leftover weakness in the hand after healing.

Filed Under: fractures, sports

Comments

  1. Matt says

    July 8, 2012 at 1:57 PM

    what are some good ways to recover from this injury? im 18 years old and going into college to play baseball, i had my surgery about a month ago and i still have pain. i have yet to do anything rehab wise and i need some help, any ideas?

  2. C. Noel Henley, MD says

    August 25, 2012 at 11:00 PM

    Matt:

    Did you ever get sent to therapy?

    You need a good hand therapist to help you recover.

    CNH

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

EDUCATION PAGES

click on the links below to start learning:

  • arthritis: base of the thumb
  • arthritis: osteoarthritis
  • carpal tunnel syndrome
  • trigger finger
  • ganglion cysts
  • tennis elbow (epicondylitis)
  • wrist fractures
  • cubital tunnel syndrome
  • deQuervain's tendonitis
  • elbow fractures
  • olecranon bursitis
  • fingertip injuries
  • hand fractures

MAKE AN APPOINTMENT

Call our office today at 479-521-2752 to make an appointment with Dr. Henley

Featured Articles

Mallet Finger Injury

“my finger doesn’t work”“my finger is bent”“my finger won’t straighten”“my finger is drooped” These are several of the most common things I hear when patients come in with a mallet finger.  A mallet finger is the name for a ruptured (torn) tendon at the tip of the finger. A tendon rupture is where a tendon […]

Bad Thumb Arthritis – What Does It Look Like?

The video below shows a patient’s thumb moving back and forth. As you’ll see, most of the range of motion is at the MP (metacarpophalangeal) joint. This is abnormal – in a normal thumb, the majority of the motion is through the CMC (carpometacarpal joint, at the base of the thumb). When the CMC joint […]

Forearm Fractures In Kids – What Parents Need To Know

Bones in children are different from bones in adults. They break differently and they respond differently to injury. Some fractures occur both in adults and kids – some fractures occur only in children. Forearm fractures occur in both, with some important differences. This article will cover some of the basics of forearm fractures in kids. […]

Fingertip Ganglion Cysts – Mucous Cysts

The most common tumor in the finger is a ganglion cyst. A ganglion cyst is simply a fluid-filled sac. It can be visible from the outside or buried deep underneath the skin. Sometimes it causes symptoms like soreness and pain; other times patients have no idea it’s there. What is a mucous cyst? Ganglion cysts […]

Categories

  • anatomy
  • announcements
  • arthritis
  • bone health
  • carpal tunnel syndrome
  • common problems
  • current events
  • Famous Hands and Arms
  • FAQ
  • fractures
  • hand surgery
  • injections
  • media appearances
  • news
  • nonsurgical treatment
  • nutrition
  • philosophy of medicine
  • prevention
  • sports
  • surgery
  • tests
  • thumb
  • Uncategorized
  • video
  • wrist surgery

Copyright © 2023 · Dynamik-Gen on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in