Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) is a set of conditions that result from the continual use of tools that require repeated movements. Common tools include computer keyboard and musical instruments. The exact cause of the inflammation has not been clearly identified. It is believed that several factors are to blame including mechanical fatigue of the ligaments, tendons, and soft tissues.

The site of inflammation is the key to differential diagnosis. Differential diagnosis can be used to diagnose Acromioclavicular degeneration, Ankle degeneration, Anterior cruciate laxity, Achilles tendon injuries and tendinitis, Knee degeneration, Neck pain, Shin splints, Suprascapular nerve compression, tendinopathy, Carpel tunnel syndrome, Elbow degeneration, and also Gamekeeper's thumb. A well known injury among this list is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). A small injury to the cartilage-like structure in the wrist joint is know as a Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex Injury (TFCC). Clicking sounds in the wrist, a reduced strength in grip and pain on the ulnar side of the wrist are all symptoms of TFCC. In patients with systemic sclerosis, wrist pain may also be caused by Osteonecrosis of the lunate bone in the wrist. This is an important cause of wrist pain in many people and especially those with scleroderma. If the presence of a scaphoid fracture cannot be determined with initial X-rays then a positive compression test can confirm that it is indeed fractured.

A definitive test for scaphoid instability is the scaphoid shift test, which uses pressure against the scaphoid tubercle. The compression of the median never at the wrist is the cause of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS), or median neuropathy, this can lead to pain in the hand. Some cases of carpal tunnel syndrome are caused by repetitive activities, while occur without any known cause. There remains a correlation between a painful dorsal wrist ganglion and wrist joint abnormality, but the exact cause of the dorsal wrist ganglia is still a medical mystery. Scaphoid fractures and dynamic scapholunate instability are both injuries that can happen to the scapholunate ligament. The scapholunate ligament stabilizes the palmar rotation force of the scaphoid against the dorsal rotation force of the lunate and maintains the proximal pole of the scaphoid adjacent to the lunate.

De Quervain's tenosynovitis is an inflammation of the tendons in the wrist. The affected tendons are on the side of the wrist near the thumb. When they swell, it can make movement of the wrist and thumb difficult. Diagnostic imaging and bone X-rays can lead to the diagnosis of this syndrome. Once the condition is diagnosed, appropriate treatment can begin.

It is not known just how widespread these intercarpal ligament injuries are or how they begin, but Scapholunate injuries have often been seen in conjunction with distal radial fractures. Injuries or the occurrence of rheumatism in the distal radius often precedes the discovery of distal lunate joint instability which has resulted from dysfunction of the distal radio-ulnar joint. The hamate bone has been found to be fractured in 2% of all carpal fractures resulting from sports injuries.