There are several reasons why you may need a wrist scan. Injuries to the wrist are significant reasons for getting a wrist scan. With so many small bones, nerves, tendons, and ligaments located in the hand and wrist, it can be hard to see the cause of pain. If you are experiencing sudden or worsening wrist pain, a wrist scan is one of the doctors’ best tools to diagnose the issue. Wrist scans are also helpful in seeing how a previous injury is healing or determining the severity of a new injury.

The wrist is an ellipsoidal joint, meaning it can move on all sides. A wrist scan will capture images of the inner soft tissues and bones making up the lower forearm, the wrist, and the hand.

These structures include:

• Ends of radius and ulna
• Carpal bones
• Portions of metacarpal bones
• Ligaments
• Nerves
• Cartilage
• Muscles

By giving doctors an inside glimpse of the wrist joint, they can make an accurate diagnosis for your wrist pain or injury. The first step in recovering from wrist pain or injury is finding the root cause of your ailment and developing a proper treatment plan with your physician.

The wrist has different soft tissues, all converging in a small location. Therefore, wrist pain can have many causes. These can include:

• Bone fractures
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Ligament tears
• Pinched nerves
• Sprains and strains

Due to the complex location of the wrist, it’s easy for different wrist pain-related conditions to share similar pain symptoms. This makes it challenging for doctors to determine the exact cause of your wrist pain simply from the external appearance, making wrist scans critical in accurate diagnosis and treatment of wrist pain or injury. A physical wrist examination combined with a wrist scan will allow your doctor to see any damage that could be the culprit behind your wrist pain.

Although wrist scans help show abnormalities and damage within the radiocarpal joint or the wrist joint, not all scans are the same. Doctors prefer to use different types of scans than others in specific instances.

CT scans use a focused X-ray beam to generate images of the joints, muscles, and other soft tissues in the wrist. The pictures of the interior of the wrist let radiologists, doctors who specialize in reading scans, identify areas of damage or injury. CT wrist scans are a quick and effective way to see any foreign objects, fractures, inflammation, or deterioration within the joint.

Ultrasounds use sound waves that form images of the internal structure of the wrist. The ultrasound machine records data of the sound waves bouncing off different tissues and uses this data to form images of the inside of your wrist. An ultrasound technician will then give these images to a radiologist to interpret the results.

The cost of a wrist scan depends on a few factors. These include:

• The type of scan being performed
• Insurance coverage
• Insurance carrier
• Insurance copay
• The location where the scan will take place

However, on average, a wrist scan may cost between $600 to $3000. Ultrasounds are typically less expensive than other scans, and MRIs are the most expensive since they take detailed images. Insurance will usually cover medically-necessary wrist scans, so be sure to contact your insurance company before receiving a wrist scan to determine the full breadth of your coverage.

One of the additional stressors of needing a wrist scan is finding where to go for the procedure. You can find a reputable wrist scan center near you by using scan.com’s scan search tool.

Resources:

1. https://www.appliedradiology.com/articles/mri-of-the-wrist
2. https://www.healthline.com/health/wrist-pain#_noHeaderPrefixedContent
3. https://www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/ellipsoidal-joint
4. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/MRI-planes-for-MRI-head-scan-a-Axial-b-Coronal-c-Sagittal-MR-scanner-can-generate_fig2_338448026