Ulnar wrist pain care at Mayo Clinic
Your Mayo Clinic care team
Treating ulnar wrist pain takes teamwork by experts in orthopedic surgery, radiology, rheumatology, sports medicine, and physical medicine and rehabilitation. Mayo specialists work together to ensure that you receive all the expertise you need.
Advanced diagnosis and treatment
State-of-the-art imaging tests help Mayo healthcare professionals find the source of your pain. CT scans can give more-detailed views of the bones in the wrist and may show fractures that don't appear on X-rays. MRI tests use radio waves and a strong magnetic field to produce detailed images of the bones and soft tissues. For a wrist MRI, you may be able to insert your arm into a smaller device instead of a whole-body MRI machine.
If you need surgery on your wrist, minimally invasive techniques may be used, which help speed recovery. In minimally invasive surgery, surgeons use various ways to operate with less damage to the body than with open surgery. In general, minimally invasive surgery is linked to less pain, a shorter hospital stay and fewer complications.
Expertise and rankings
Nationally recognized expertise
Mayo Clinic specialists helped identify a common but unrecognized cause of ulnar wrist pain — called an ulnotriquetral split tear. The ulnar triquetral ligament is located in a portion of your wrist opposite from your thumb. It's also known as the UT ligament.
The UT ligament can be injured in a way that usually doesn't show up on X-rays or MRIs. If this ligament is twisted, it can split and tear lengthwise like a stalk of celery. The exposed surface of the UT ligament gets irritated and inflamed. This causes pain during use. To correct the problem, surgeons shave away the damaged tissue and then suture the sides of the ligament back together.
Mayo specialists also developed a simple physical test, called the ulnar fovea sign, for initial diagnosis of this injury. This test is done by the orthopedic specialist applying pressure to a specific spot, called the ulnar fovea region of the wrist, and comparing it to the opposite wrist. Tenderness and pain on one side likely means a positive test for a UT split tear.
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, and Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, are ranked among the Best Hospitals for orthopedics by U.S. News & World Report. Mayo Clinic Children's Center in Rochester is ranked the No. 1 hospital in Minnesota, and the five-state region of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, according to U.S. News & World Report's 2023-2024 "Best Children's Hospitals" rankings.
Locations, travel and lodging
Mayo Clinic has major campuses in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; Jacksonville, Florida; and Rochester, Minnesota. The Mayo Clinic Health System has dozens of locations in several states.
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Costs and insurance
Mayo Clinic works with hundreds of insurance companies and is an in-network provider for millions of people.
In most cases, Mayo Clinic doesn't require a physician referral. Some insurers require referrals or may have additional requirements for certain medical care. All appointments are prioritized on the basis of medical need.
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