Episode Summary
How the basics can inform our practice.
The session teaches the practical anatomy and biomechanics of the hand and wrist, with a strong focus on how basic structure informs assessment and management. Learners are taken through the bones, key joints, and the role of the radius and ulna in wrist and forearm motion, then shown how to divide the region into fingers, thumb, and wrist for clinical reasoning.
Common injuries are linked directly to anatomy, including mallet finger, flexor tendon avulsions, pulley injuries in climbers, sagittal band tears, boxer’s carpometacarpal injuries, thumb ulnar collateral ligament injuries, and scapholunate problems. The explanation also covers wrist kinematics, especially the dart-throwing motion, and why combined movements matter in rehabilitation.
Assessment methods include functional and orthopaedic tests such as the scapholunate stress test, grip dynamometry, weight-bearing tests, and quick nerve screening using hand positions. Management principles emphasise when conservative care is appropriate, when urgent surgical referral may be needed, and how muscle function, joint position, and load direction influence exercise selection and wrist stability.
