Clinics in diagnostic imaging (156). Golf-induced hamate hook fracture

ABSTRACT

The wrist is a common site of injury and the most frequently injured body part among professional golfers. A 37-year-old, right-handed male golfer presented with pain at the ulnar aspect of his left palm, which grew worse after an initial traumatic impact from the golf club handle. There was tenderness over the hypothenar eminence of the left palm. Computed tomography of the left wrist showed an undisplaced fracture through the base of the hamate hook. The golf-induced hamate hook fracture was managed conservatively, with cessation of physical activity involving the left hand and wrist for eight weeks. The patient made a full recovery. Repetitive trauma, exacerbated by improper wrist motion, leads to typical wrist injuries affecting golfers, such as ulnar impaction syndrome, de Quervain's disease, and tendinopathy affecting the flexor carpi ulnaris and extensor carpi ulnaris, all of which can be diagnosed on imaging.