Ulnar impaction syndrome: how to diagnose and treat?

Ulnar impaction syndrome (UIS), also called ulnocarpal abutment syndrome, is a degenerative condition induced by repeated load in ulnocarpal joint and is a representative cause of ulnar-sided wrist pain. Because of small, complex, and overlapping anatomy of ulnar wrist, ulnar wrist pathologies often present very similar symptoms with UIS and cause confusion in diagnosing UIS. Thus, careful history-taking, clinical examinations, and diagnostic imaging are essential to diagnosis of UIS. To appropriate and effective treatment for UIS, early surgical treatment should be considered if patients cannot reduce their wrist usage in daily living and work and have distal radioulnar instability. There are various surgical techniques for UIS. Surgeons should be deliberate in choosing them and pay attention to combined disorders around ulnar wrist for satisfactory treatment outcomes.