Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex tears as a source of ulnar sided wrist pain in the athlete are commonly seen. A high index of suspicion is necessary to make this diagnosis. Physical examination is the hallmark in our hands for a confirmation of the diagnosis. Because of the vascular nature of the peripheral portion of the ulnar aspect of the wrist, MRI's have been frequently seen to miss this pathology. Often when patients are referred to the OSM Center they come with an MRI in hand but we have not allowed this to be the ultimate deciding factor regarding the diagnosis. We have seen many patients who have had a "normal" MRI who have ultimately had TFCC tears on arthroscopic evaluation. History and especially physical examination have the hallmarks for making this diagnosis. TFCC tears are very common in tennis players. It is our belief that dorsiflexion and ulnar deviation position of the wrist with ground strokes in conjunction with extremes of supination or miss-hitting of the ball are probably the source of this injury. Arthroscopic evaluation and repair has provided excellent results. Combined TFCC lesions can also be expected to do very well with arthroscopic treatment. The tennis player must be reassured that despite the injury which has significantly affected his or her game good and excellent results can be expected with arthroscopic repair and return to full competition.
© Copyright 2006 Medicine and Science in Tennis. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.