Yes, what Dr Dinesh said holds true. I think if you have persistent wrist pain despite a “normal” X-ray, we have to consider other potential problems.
1. Sometime very small minute cracks/ microfractures may not be seen on a standard X-ray. It may be necessary to do a more detailed radiological investigation - an MRI. This can pick up hairline fractures or bony oedema (swelling).
2. Injury to other hand/ carpal bones. Like the scaphoid bone. We usually order specific scaphoid X-ray views to look for a scaphoid fracture. A wrist X-ray may not be adequate.
3. Injury to soft tissue. Ligaments, tendons, TFCC (triangular fibro cartilage complex) injuries are also other potential injuries in the wrist.
If your symptoms are persistent, my advice would be to visit a doctor/Orthopaedic surgeon. He would then examine your hand/ wrist thoroughly, and determine what should next be done. This could be further supplemented with radiological investigations, medications, splinting etc
I hope you recover soon.
Kind regards
Dr Sean Ng
