[Ulnar-sided wrist pain in sports: TFCC lesions and fractures of the hook of the hamate bone as uncommon diagnosis].

Injuries to the hand and wrist are common sports injuries. The diagnosis and therapy of wrist injuries are becoming more important, especially in increasingly more popular ball-hitting sports, such as golf, tennis and baseball. Ulnar-sided wrist pain is initially often misdiagnosed and treated as tenosynovitis or tendinitis but tears of the triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) and fractures of the hook of hamate bone, which can also occur in these sports are seldomly diagnosed. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the literature focussing on TFCC lesions and fractures of the hook of the hamate bone in racquet sports, baseball and golf. A systematic review of the literature was performed in PubMed on the occurrence of TFCC lesions and fractures of the hook of the hamate bone. All studies and case reports were included. Because of the rarity of these injuries there were no exclusion criteria concerning the number of cases. Injuries associated with ball-hitting sports, such as TFCC lesions and fractures of hook of the hamate bone are still underrepresented in the current literature on sports injuries. The diagnosis and treatment of these injuries are often delayed and can severely handicap the performance and career of affected professional as well as amateur athletes.