Ligament Strains in Wrist-Joint Motions

Abstract

The human carpus consists of seven carpal bones (Fig.1) and enables the hand to perform relatively large motions, while providing adequate stability. The passive stability of the wrist is ensured by capsule, ligaments and the geometry of the articulating carpal bones. In the clinical literature, carpal instabilities are usually related to lesions of the ligamentous structures (7,9). Based on anatomical dissection and conventional Roentgenography the possible functions of various wrist ligaments in relation to specific carpal motions were speculated upon (1,6,7,10). The purpose of the present investigation is to evaluate the precise 3-dimen-sional motions of the individual carpal bones in flexion and deviation of the hand and to measure the strains of various ligaments, using a newly developed method. Results describing the individual carpal bone motions were presented earlier (4,5).